Learn why Ready, Set, Food! is a more reliable choice for early and sustained allergen introduction than peanut puff snacks like Bamba.
According to new guidelines from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), feeding your baby allergenic foods early and often can help keep them from developing a food allergy. These guidelines are based on recent landmark clinical studies, including the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study.
Guidelines recommend early and sustained introduction:
- Early introduction: Introduce baby to allergenic foods as early as 4 months of age.
- Sustained introduction: Continue to feed baby these foods multiple times a week, for several months.
Many parents have heard of peanut puff snacks, such as Bamba, Puffworks and Earth’s Best Organic, and have considered them as an option to introduce allergenic foods to their babies. But these puffs are not the most reliable option for early allergen introduction. Here's what families need to know before starting allergen introduction with peanut puffs.
Compare Ready, Set, Food! to peanut puff products:
Why choose Ready, Set, Food! over peanut puffs?
Ready, Set, Food! is a healthy choice, with no additives
While some peanut puffs on the market are organic and non-GMO, peanut puffs are primarily snack and finger foods. Every one of these snacks contains two or more additives. They all contain corn and salt, and some contain sugar and other additives. And in particular, babies don't need extra salt. Breastmilk, or formula, provides all the sodium they need.
Ready, Set, Food! contains only organic, non-GMO peanut, egg, and milk -- no added sugar, salt, corn, or other additives. In fact, it's the only completely additive-free system that introduces your baby to multiple allergenic foods.
Ready, Set, Food! provides the exact dosage babies need
The dose of peanut in peanut puffs is not transparent, so it's difficult to know if your baby is eating enough. Due to the additives in peanut puffs, one gram of puff does not equal one gram of peanut. This results in time-consuming, frustrating guesswork.
And to follow the landmark studies' allergen introduction protocols, you'll need to consistently prepare correct doses of peanut puffs multiple times per week, for at least several months.
In addition, for the safest, most effective allergen introduction, pediatricians recommend a "stepwise" approach. In this approach, you start with a lower dose of an allergenic food, and then gradually increase the amount, for maximum safety and efficacy. But when measuring out a dose of peanut puffs, there's the concern that you may give baby too little --- or too much --- peanut all at once.
Ready, Set, Food!'s pre-measured daily packets introduce peanut, egg, and milk in the exact amounts and frequencies used in the landmark clinical studies. Also, the system starts with a lower dose of each allergen, and then safely increases the amount over time. Thus, you won't have to guess or worry that baby is consuming the right amounts.
Ready, Set, Food! introduces peanut, plus egg and milk
Peanut, egg, and milk are the most common childhood food allergens. Together, these three foods account for approximately 80% of childhood food allergies.
The peanut puffs reviewed above only introduce peanut, though. They do not introduce egg or milk.
Peanut only accounts for around 25% of food allergies. In young children, egg allergies are about as common as peanut allergies, and cow's milk allergies are even more common than peanut allergies.
Also, milk and egg are the hardest allergens to avoid, causing a significant impact on a child's quality of life.
If you're using peanut puffs, and want to introduce baby to egg and milk, you'll have to prepare your own egg and milk snacks in addition to measuring out the puffs. This will take even more guesswork and time.
Ready, Set, Food! covers over 80% of childhood food allergies with peanut, egg, and milk --- all three of the most common food allergens.
Follow AAP Guidelines and Start Ready, Set, Food! At 4 Months (even if your baby is not ready for solid food)
NIH and AAP guidelines recommend introducing allergenic foods starting as early as 4-6 months of age, based on the results of landmark clinical studies. However, many babies are not ready for solid foods at this early age.
And even though many brands of peanut puffs are made to dissolve quickly, all peanut puffs are finger foods. Thus, they are only appropriate for babies who are eating solid foods.
In fact, some brands of peanut puffs, like Earth's Best Organic, are made only for toddlers 2 years and older.
And two years of age is far too late to start early allergen introduction. According to a recent JACI study, infants who did not eat peanut during their first year of life were over four times more likely to develop a clinical peanut allergy by age three.
Other brands, like Bamba and PopChips, are snack foods not designed for babies or toddlers. Such brands should only be given to a child well accustomed to eating solid foods.
You could try to soften these puffs with breastmilk or formula, but many families will still struggle with introducing their child to peanut as early as 4 months of age when using peanut puffs.
In contrast, Ready, Set, Food! easily dissolves into a bottle of breastmilk or formula, making allergen introduction simple even if your baby is not ready for solid foods. Need an all-natural and safe solution for early allergen introduction? Skip the peanut puffs and instead, rely on Ready, Set, Food! -- the easy, all-natural, evidence-based way to help introduce food allergens.
Ready, Set, Food! can help you follow the new clinical guidelines on infant food allergen introduction. Plus, it's recommended by over 300 pediatricians and allergists. Give your baby the best chance at food freedom with Ready, Set, Food!
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All health-related content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the advice of your own pediatrician in connection with any questions regarding your baby’s health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If your infant has severe eczema, check with your infant’s healthcare provider before feeding foods containing ground peanuts.