Food allergies have become a public health concern, with up to 10.8% of adults and 6-8% of children believed to be food allergic. Health professionals—from family doctors and physician assistants to nurse practitioners and registered dietitians—have an important role to play in reducing the risk of developing food allergies in the next generation.
Food allergies occur in approximately 8% of kids, with peanut allergies reported in 2.2% of US children. Because peanut allergy is outgrown less frequently than other allergies like milk and egg, it has become an increasing public health concern, as well as a source of anxiety and common topic of conversation amongst parents. Surely you may already have felt the “peanut panic” amongst some of your fellow parents, in the media, and even within your own families.
Many parents are aware of the benefits of introducing common allergens early, but keeping peanut foods in baby’s diet is an important piece of the prevention puzzle. Parents had few ready-to-serve choices in the past, but options continue to grow and expand with some exciting new entries in the peanut-for-baby category.
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and a great time to talk about some of the benefits of and surprising facts about breastfeeding. Here's what the research shows about breastfeeding and food allergies.
There are a lot of firsts for parents and Baby in that beginning year of life. From Baby’s first smile and laugh to the first full night of sleep and first time rolling over, it’s an exciting time! Feeding babies food beyond breastmilk or formula is a fun-filled experience too. You can introduce a wide variety of foods when your baby is ready, including common allergens. In fact, you may be surprised how early your baby can start eating these foods so they can grow up to be a big, healthy kid with a diverse diet – and they may also have a reduced risk of food allergies.
Mission MightyMe co-founders J.J. and Catherine Jaxon are on a mission to help raise up a generation of kids that are free from the burden of food allergies. And they’re doing it with the launch of a peanut puff that makes it easy and “normal” to feed peanuts and other allergenic foods to infants.
Some people may say that peanuts are the “poster child” for food allergies. While less than one percent of Americans (including less than two percent of children) have a peanut allergy, the average American thinks 24 percent of people do. When you search the phrase “food allergies” online, peanuts are the focus of the majority of results. In the media and in discussions of food allergies in public places like restaurants, schools and airplanes, peanuts are commonly the focus. But is being the poster child always a negative?
Kids love the great taste of peanut butter, and school nutrition professionals love the protein and other key nutrients of this American staple. Some schools, however, struggle with managing peanut products due to concerns about food allergies. Others are unsure of how to use peanut butter as an ingredient in meals beyond the typical PB&J. We sat down with two experts in K-12 school nutrition to get their insights on the importance of peanut butter in nutrition programs, advice on managing food allergies, and culinary tips to elevate school meals with peanut butter.
Introducing new foods into your baby’s diet is exciting and consistent research is showing that adding peanut products as early as 4-6 months can help reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy later on in life.
Have fun introducing your little one to peanut butter by adding it to easy recipes that the whole family will love.
When it comes to your children, you want to keep them safe, and have their best interest at heart. New guidelines recommend introducing peanut foods to infants as early as 4-6 months, which can be understandingly scary for parents.
In this Q&A Eleanor Garrow-Holding, President and CEO of Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT) and food allergy mom, shares her view and experience, to help ease parents’ fear.