By Dr. Christopher Labos, February 7, 2019
Intuitively you would think that avoiding allergens is best. But in reality, exposing yourself early is what can help prevent them. Thinking on allergies has changed a great deal over the past few years and new guidelines from the Canadian Pediatric Society have reflected how our thinking has evolved.
Check out the article here : https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/christopher-labos-early-exposure-can...
New guidelines issued by the Canadian Pediatric Society have changed course on the best way to prevent food allergies in children. Previous recommendations had suggested delaying the introduction of high-risk foods. For example, it used to be felt that introducing dairy products should only happen after children were 1 year old, whereas eggs should be delayed until 2 years, and peanuts, nuts and fish until 3 years.
This volte-face may seem surprising, because it seems intuitively obvious that you should avoid something that causes allergies. However, avoiding potential allergens may actually be making the problem worse.
Parents have been perennially worried about peanut allergies. Any parent whose child has a food allergy will understand how labour intensive it is to make sure they don't accidentally eat something they shouldn't. Peanuts have always been an issue because of their propensity to be included as an ingredient in candy and other...read more
