Currently, mothers are recommended to exclusively nurse their children for the first six months, and begin introducing solid foods thereafter. The reason for this delayed schedule is to slow the introduction of potential allergy triggers until the gastrointestinal tract matures.
A study published this month in the journal Pediatrics challenges this food introduction strategy. In fact, the authors of this study found that the longer the delay in adding several categories of foods, the more risk of allergy and asthma by the age of five.