What are the healthiest options for my baby’s first solid foods?
By Carolyn Sax, MD, a primary care physician with the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s and practices at Hyde Park Pediatrics in Hyde Park, Mass.
In an effort to prevent food allergies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended introducing white rice cereal as an infant’s first food for years. Bland rice cereal was felt to be unlikely to cause digestive problems or allergies. Doctors suggested delaying a baby’s exposure to some of the more common food allergy triggers—milk, eggs, fish and nuts—until a child is between 1 and 3 years old, because they worried that exposure too early would stress a child’s immune system and increase the risk of developing allergies.
However, during the years that these recommendations were in effect, the number of children with food allergies skyrocketed. And, during this same time period, the rates of childhood obesity multiplied.
Is this a coincidence? Probably not.
Turning over a new leaf
These days the AAP and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAI), based on several studies, now recognize that delaying the introduction of foods that commonly cause food allergies doesn’t prevent food allergies—even in infants born into a family with a history of food allergies.
In fact, several studies have shown that introduction of foods like eggs, fish, milk and nuts during the first 12 months of life actually reduces a child’s risk of developing food allergy.
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Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: All posts feeding difficulties infants Source Type: news
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