「Introduce allergens like peanut early」

Where the claim comes from

It feels safer to hold back the foods most likely to cause allergy, so many families keep putting off peanut and egg. The LEAP trial found the opposite.

What the evidence says

LEAP randomly assigned 640 high-risk infants — with severe eczema, egg allergy or both, aged 4 to under 11 months at enrolment — either to eat peanut regularly or to avoid it completely until age 5. Among the 530 children with a negative skin-prick test at the start, 13.7% of the avoidance group had peanut allergy at age 5 versus 1.9% of the consumption group. Among the 98 with a mildly positive test, the figures were 35.3% and 10.6%. Serious adverse events did not differ significantly between groups. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) tells parents the same thing in plain terms: there is no evidence that waiting beyond 4 to 6 months to introduce baby-safe foods such as eggs, dairy, soy, peanut products or fish prevents food allergy.

What to do instead

• Check readiness for solids first: steady head control when sitting, opening the mouth for food, and moving food to the back of the mouth to swallow.
• Add new foods one at a time: one single-ingredient food every 3 to 5 days, watching for any reaction.
• Keep the form safe: soft or puréed foods; no chunks of peanut butter under 1 year (a choking hazard).
• If it goes well, keep it in the diet — in LEAP, children kept eating peanut until age 5, not just once.