5 Powerful Reasons Not To Avoid Early Allergen Introduction
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If you’ve been putting off introducing new foods to your child—or if just the thought of doing so makes your heart race—you’re not alone.
As moms, we want to protect our kids from harm, and when you have a history of food allergies, it can seem like every new food could be a minefield.
But research over the last few years shows that introducing allergens early could actually help protect your child from developing food allergies. How great would that be? Not only that, but in this episode I’m sharing 5 reasons not to put off trying that new food.
By the end of this article, you’ll feel empowered and ready to face those new foods with a little less fear and a lot more confidence.
But first, have you checked out the Food Allergy Made Easy Podcast?
You can listen to this episode and get personal stories and experiences too!
If we haven’t met yet, my name is Corinna.
I help severe food allergy moms & dads keep their kids safe and worry less at home, school, social events, and while traveling. I care and believe that food allergy families deserve safe, fulfilling life experiences & inclusion.
If you believe this too, sign up for my free Food Allergy Kids Empowerment Guide. You’ll get a full checklist of skills to teach your child as they become more independent so they can help keep themselves safe, and you can worry less.
Dealing with food allergies is like navigating a ship through stormy waters.
As a food allergy mom, you're the captain, doing everything you can to steer your child toward safety. You’re running all over the deck, trying to see where to go, while running back to the helm to actually steer the boat to where you think you should go. But sometimes, the storm is overwhelming—the fear of a reaction, the anxiety of introducing new foods, and the pressure of getting it right.
Now imagine trying to navigate that storm without a map or a compass. You're relying on your instincts, but the winds are strong, and the waves are unpredictable. You can’t see clearly, and every decision feels like a risk.
But getting help from a trusted mentor is like getting that map and compass. They guide you through the storm, showing you safe pathways you couldn’t see on your own. They help you understand where the danger zones are and where you can sail with confidence. Now you don’t have to run so much anymore, instead, you steer the boat where you want to go without the stress of figuring everything out.
Without a Mentor’s help, you’re left guessing in the dark, but with it, you can navigate the waters with knowledge and assurance, knowing that you're making the best decisions for your child.
Just like every great captain relies on a crew, moms don’t have to face food allergies alone. I hope that this podcast helps be that compass and map for you.
And, if you need deeper support, I’ve created workshops and templates that will help you get through many of the storms of food allergy life so that you can use the safe pathways and avoid the danger zones.
Go here to get information on all of the food allergy support I offer, including the highly popular workshop: Get Over The Fear of Trying New Foods. You’ll get the support you need to try allergenic foods with your child, even if you’re heartbeat quickens, just thinking about it.
You don’t have to do it alone!
5 Reasons Not To Avoid Early Allergen Introduction
So let’s start with the REASONS you should go ahead and try that new food with your child. Let me tell you, it will help you increase your meal variety, and as awesome as that is, there are even better reasons to do it.
Increase your family’s meal variety, and nutrition
When you introduce new foods, you're expanding the range of ingredients you can use in your family’s meals. Instead of feeling restricted to a few “safe” dishes, you’ll have more options to get creative in the kitchen. New foods bring new flavors, textures, and possibilities. That means you won’t be stuck making the same meals over and over again, which can lead to everyone saying, “Not this again”!
The more foods you try, the less limiting your meal planning becomes, making mealtime a fun and exciting experience for everyone.
2. There’s promising data that says that early allergen introduction and offering a VARIETY of foods in younger years may decrease the chance of allergy.
So the LEAP study was done a few years back. It was a study where they tested introducing peanut early, or avoiding peanut until the child was at least 60 months, or 5 years old.
Get ready for the results because they are really substantial.
In the group that initially had a negative skin prick test, which was the larger group of over 530 kids, the prevalence of peanut allergy at 60 months of age was 13.7% in the avoidance group and 1.9% in the consumption group. Thats a reduction of almost 12% of kids.
There was even better results in the participants who had a positive skin prick test to start. I’ll let you read those results from the study, which I’ll post in the show notes.
This was done with peanut allergy, but they are coming to figure out that this works for other allergies as well. This means you’re helping your child decrease their chance of allergies by allowing them to try new foods. Let that sink in for a moment, doing this one thing will actually lower the chance of allergy. HOW amazing is that?
3. There are consequences of avoiding early allergen introduction with your child.
What do I mean by that?
First, as I already mentioned, your family will have less food variety because you’re avoiding not only the allergens, but also the foods you’re afraid to let them try. Now the effects of the allergy are compounding and decreasing all those amazing healthy options too.
But that really isn’t the worst consequence of avoiding early allergen introduction.
I want you to think about down the road when your child is at preschool or somewhere else without you. You’ve informed the teacher or parent about their allergies, BUT do you also inform them of all the OTHER foods that you avoid? Maybe you do, but if not, maybe they get a bit of that food and they have their first reaction there?
Now they’re somewhere without you and going through a reaction.
Right now, you’re able to try that new food in a safe and controlled area where you’re watching them closely. You have their emergency plan nearby. You have their epinephrine nearby. You have everything set up for success if there was a reaction. This is a MUCH better environment to try a new food in, right?
And then you know whether there really is an allergy, so you can freely educate people about it, instead of getting everyone to avoid a whole list of foods that you don’t even know are actually allergens.
And this leads to number 4…
4. Knowing about a new allergy earlier is better because then you can either properly AVOID the allergen OR you may be even able to get treatment.
There are treatment options for food allergies and of course it depends on what your doctor prescribes, BUT the sooner you know, the sooner you can move FORWARD in the BEST way possible.
5. YOU are the right person to try that new food with your child.
As a parent, you’re going to have to do lots of hard things. I want to encourage you because you are the person who knows your child best. You know when things aren’t right. You also likely know more about treating a reaction than anybody. Your child is in GOOD hands with you. I want you to understand the research and then trust yourself. You can do this!
Conclusion
I hope these 5 reasons help you try that new food with your child. If you want a proven calming technique, and a checklist of things to do on the day of introduction, as well as a myth-busting fact sheet that will help you feel totally confident, check out my Get Over The Fear of Trying New Foods. I’ve had many food allergy mamas reach out and tell me how game-changing it is. Check it out before leaving this post so you don’t lose it!
Now tell me, which of these 5 reasons resonated with you most? Comment below or just send me a quick DM on Instagram @friendlypantry. I love hearing from you!
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