Sound Bites With Melissa Joy Dobbins

There’s no evidence that withholding any allergen prevents food allergies, and the newly revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans reinforce that in order to reduce the risk of food allergies babies should be fed infant-safe potentially allergenic foods once they’ve eaten a few other complementary foods successfully – starting at around 6-months of age. This recommendation is particularly important when it comes to helping prevent peanut allergies.   Despite current research, recommendations and expert consensus, many families are still apprehensive. Yet, research shows that parents and caregivers are 47 percent more likely to introduce peanut products to their infant if it is recommended by their pediatrician or family doctor. Dietitians and other healthcare professionals have an opportunity to spread awareness of new evidence-based research in this area and help reduce parental stress around early infant feeding so that people are more likely to feed their babies in such a way that the likelihood of food al