Health expert shares how to introduce peanut products to babies

(CNN) – It has been a decade since a landmark study sparked new guidelines, recommending peanut products be fed to young babies in order to help prevent the development of life-threatening allergies.

Since then, peanut allergies have significantly declined in the U.S., according to a new study.

In today’s Health Minute, an expert shares how peanut products can safety be introduced to babies.

For decades, parents were told to keep peanuts and nut products away from young children until age 3, but in 2015, research caused experts to flip flop.

The current guidelines say introducing these foods in infancy can actually help prevent food allergies.

Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, said, “The end the goal is to see this tide turn.”

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics determined about 60,000 children have avoided food allergies since guidelines changed.

This includes 40,000 children who otherwise would have developed peanut allergies.

Still, about 8% of children are affected by food allergies, including more than 2% with a peanut allergy.

Gupta said, “There’s been a lot of fear.”

Gupta said fear may have stopped some from following the guidelines, and she says parents should start introducing peanut products as soon as their baby is ready to eat solid foods, usually around four to six months.

Gupta said, “Use like peanut butter, smooth peanut butter, and then thin it out with breast milk, formula, apple sauce, whatever you desire, and then slowly introduce it to your baby, a little bit on the lip, and let him lick it, uh, add a little bit more.”

Gupta said when introducing peanut products, parents should watch for signs of an allergy like a rash, hives and vomiting.

She says those are the most common symptoms in babies with a food allergy.

Gupta said, “But if they eat it just fine, then I recommend just keeping it in their diet, you know, keeping it in two to three times a week and hopefully, you know, that way they go on to enjoying it.”

Gupta said the more different foods parents can introduce at a young age, the better.

She says that includes other allergenic foods, like yogurt and eggs.