Health Tip: Minimizing Food Allergies

The way you feed your child has a significant impact during the child's early years on the child's risk for developing a food allergy, experts say.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests how to reduce a child's risk of food allergies:

• If possible, breast-feed infants to at least 4 months of age.
• Don't feed your infant solid food before at least age 4 months.
• Withholding foods known to cause allergies isn't known to affect allergy risk.
• Call the pediatrician at once if your child seems to have an allergic reaction.