For Parents

Simple Tips and Expert Advice on How to Prevent Food Allergies in Your Baby

For Parents

Simple Tips and Expert Advise on How to Prevent Food Allergies in Your Baby

“As a pediatrician, researcher, and mom of a child with food allergies, I know how food allergies can impact a family’s daily life. When my daughter was born, we were told to wait to introduce to allergen foods. We now know that was the wrong advice. And since we know better, we all must now do better for our children!”

Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH
Director, Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR); Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine & Lurie Children’s Hospital

5.6 million children have food allergies in the US. That’s roughly two children in every classroom.

Gupta RS, Warren CM, Smith BM, et al. The public health impact of parent-reported childhood food allergies in the United States. Pediatrics. 2018;142(6):e20181235. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-1235

377% increase in medical procedures to treat severe food allergy reactions between 2007 and 2016. Two-thirds of these reactions were in children.

Up to 80% of peanut allergies are preventable with early allergen introduction.

Du Toit G, Roberts G, Sayre PH, et al. Randomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy. N Engl J Med. 2015;372(9):803-813. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1414850

Learn Food Allergy Basics

More than 33 million people in the U.S. have a potentially life-threatening food allergy. That includes 5.6 million children. Learn the basics about food allergy below.

There Are Simple Steps You Can Take to Prevent a Food Allergy in Your Baby

Recent research shows you can prevent up to 4 out of 5 peanut allergies before they start by using a simple process called early allergen introduction.

Downloads for Parents

Download and use these simple handouts to help you follow early allergen introduction guidelines at home.

Food Allergy Prevention FAQs for Parents

Here are simple answers to many of the common questions we get asked about food allergy prevention.