New Guidelines For Introducing Babies to Peanuts Are the Exact Opposite of What You've Been Told

Updated on 1/5/2017 at 11:44 AM

In the last 10 to 15 years, the prevalence of peanut allergies in children has increased like crazy, causing schools to become nut-free and parents to become more worried.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has released new guidelines for introducing peanuts to children, and the new recommendations suggest that depending on the level of risk an infant has for developing a peanut allergy, peanuts should be introduced into their diet earlier — as early as 4 months — rather than later to potentially prevent them from developing an allergy.

So, what does this mean for you? Allergist Dr. David Erstein wants to help decrease the amount of worry associated with peanut allergies by helping to lower the rate of children who develop the allergy in the first place.

According to three in-depth peanut allergy studies — LEAP, LEAP-On, and EAT — introducing peanuts to children as young as 5 months old significantly reduces the prevalence of peanut allergies. Dr. Erstein, who has developed a system for introducing peanuts to children based off the extensive scientific research from these studies, shared some tips with us to help make your child's first time eating peanuts a worry-free one.

Read through for five tips to help you begin adding peanuts to your child's diet.

Identify whether your child is high-risk for a peanut allergy or not.

Before ever introducing peanuts into an infant’s diet, it's important to determine if they’re at high risk for an allergy. They may be considered high-risk if:

Allergies run in your family
Your infant already has an identified food allergy
Your baby suffers from eczema

If your infant falls into any of those three categories, see your pediatrician and have them evaluated first before introducing them to peanuts. If none of the above apply, your child falls into the general population, and Dr. Erstein says it’s "typically safe to introduce peanuts at home early on."

Introduce peanuts early in the day so there's time to spot a reaction.

Like with most new foods you introduce your infant to, you want to start them on it early in the day so that there is plenty of time to monitor them for a potential reaction. Dr. Erstein never recommends trying a new food before bed.

Reactions to look out for:

Fussiness, crying, disgruntled appearances
Skin rash or hives
Diarrhea or vomiting

Consider the form of peanut you are planning to use.

It seems almost second nature to associate peanuts with peanut butter, but the gooey spread is difficult to swallow for young infants, and whole or chopped nuts could be a choking hazard, so they should never be given to infants. There is the option of peanut puffs, but bear in mind that they may not be organic or could have added salts or other unhealthy ingredients. A second option is Dr. Erstein’s FDA-registered system, Hello, Peanut!, which introduces infants to peanut proteins in doses over time with ready-to-go packets that blend right into your baby’s stage-one foods.

Prepare to be consistent — with small amounts.

When trying any new food, it’s a good idea to start with small amounts, and peanuts are definitely no different. After they try a small amount of peanuts with no reaction, continue to feed them slightly more with each reaction-free day for at least five days.

Follow up every week.

After the initial five days with no reactions, continue to feed your infant peanuts a few times a week to prevent a peanut allergy from developing in the future. According to the EAT study, feeding an infant greater than two grams of peanut protein a week — around 7 whole peanuts — has been associated with an over 90 percent reduction in peanut allergies. Dr. Erstein’s system follows these guidelines and has "maintenance packets," which are ready to blend in your child’s food until they are able to eat peanut butter or actual peanuts.