Pediatricians have long recommended that babies be breastfed exclusively until they are six-months-old. Now there is evidence that the strategy could increase a child's likelihood of developing allergies.
Researchers followed close to 1,000 children who were participating in a diabetes prevention study. They found late introduction of some foods increased the likelihood that the child would be sensitized to that food by the time he or she was five-years-old, whether or not the parents had allergies themselves.
The relationship was the strongest for eggs introduced after 10.5 months, oats introduced after five months and wheat introduced after six months.
