How To Prevent Baby Food Allergy What Should Parents Do

The baby's immune system is not yet fully mature, and its adaptability to the external environment is weak. In particular, some ingredients in food are prone to allergic reactions. Its symptoms are diverse and may develop rapidly, ranging from mild rash to severe diarrhea, and even affect the respiratory system, which cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is very important to master scientific complementary food adding skills to prevent and reduce food allergy.

First of all, adhering to breastfeeding is the first line of defense to prevent food allergy in infants and young children. Breast milk is not only rich in all kinds of nutrients that babies need for growth, but more importantly, it contains immune factors and antibodies, which can help babies establish a sound immune system and reduce the chance of contacting external allergens. For infants with a family history of allergy, breastfeeding should be emphasized and extended to 10-12 months as far as possible to reduce the risk of allergy to a greater extent. At the same time, lactating mothers should also pay attention to their diet and avoid taking allergenic food to avoid passing it to their babies through milk.

With the growth of the baby's age, the introduction of complementary foods is inevitable. However, how to add complementary foods scientifically and reasonably to avoid allergy is a subject that needs careful planning. When choosing the type of complementary food, the principle of "hypoallergenic food first" should be followed. The hypoallergenic food such as rice flour and vegetables should be added first, and then fruit and meat should be gradually tried. For highly sensitized foods such as milk, eggs, peanuts, etc., try again after the baby is 1 year old to reduce the risk of allergy.

The process of complementary food addition should follow the principle of "from one to many, from less to more, from fine to coarse, from thin to thick". Only introduce one new food each time, and observe the baby's reaction to ensure that there is no allergic reaction before trying the next one. This can not only detect and avoid allergies in time, but also help the baby gradually adapt to different food textures and tastes, and promote the development of oral muscles and chewing ability.

For infants who cannot breastfeed due to special reasons or have a history of severe allergy in their families, hypoallergenic milk powder has become a feasible alternative. Partially hydrolyzed protein, deeply hydrolyzed protein, free amino acid milk powder, etc. can help the baby safely pass the high-risk period of allergy by reducing the allergenicity of protein. However, long-term use of these special formula milk powder needs to be conducted under the guidance of professional doctors or nutritionists, and adjusted according to the growth and development of the baby, gradually transitioning to normal diet.

In general, the prevention and control of food allergy in infancy is a systematic project, which requires careful observation, scientific feeding and professional guidance from parents. Reasonable complementary food addition strategies can effectively prevent and reduce the occurrence of food allergy, and protect the healthy growth of the baby.