What causes food allergies?
Allergies are the result of incorrect decisions by the immune system. In infancy, the immature immune system must quickly learn what is safe and what is not, and sometimes it gets it wrong.
Many changes in our modern diet, lifestyle and environment are likely to be causing the current allergy epidemic.
What are the most common food allergies?
Although any food can potentially cause an allergic reaction, more than 90 per cent of childhood food allergies in Australia are to common foods such as hen's eggs, cow's milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish and shellfish. In general, allergies to egg, milk, sesame, soy and wheat are transient and children will usually grow out of them. However allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish tend to be life-long.
Preventing food allergy
For up-to-date information on allergies and how to reduce the risk of food allergy visit:
- https://www.allergy.org.au
- https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention/ascia-how-to-introduce-solid-foods-to-babies
- https://preventallergies.org.au/
*If you have concerns that your child has a food allergy, please seek medical advice.
More information
- Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy
- The Allergy Epidemic: A Mystery of Modern Life - Dr Susan Prescott
The results from two studies led by researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia – which investigated the timing of egg introduction in infant solid food diets – have been used to inform national and international infant feeding and allergy prevention guides.
Our team is currently conducting the Nuts for Babies Study, to investigate whether the amount of nuts a mother eats during breastfeeding has an influence on her baby's food allergy development. For more information or to get involved, visit www.thekids.org.au/nuts-for-babies
