There's new guidance to clear the confusion about when parents should introduce foods to prevent allergies.
The Academy of Pediatrics says delaying foods like eggs, fish, or even peanut products, beyond 4 to 6 months old doesn't prevent allergies. In fact, there's evidence that introducing peanuts as early as 4 months old can prevent bad reactions in high-risk kids.
High-risk means that the baby has a close relative with food allergies.
Doctors say giving those foods early - and giving them regularly - conditions immune cells in a baby's GI tract to tolerate them.
And they say there's a critical window of time to develop that tolerance.
Researchers estimate nearly 5 and a half million children in the U-S have food allergies.