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Early allergen introduction is the process of gradually introducing common allergenic foods to your baby as early as four months of age. For years, physicians had advised parents to delay introducing their infants to highly allergenic foods like peanuts, eggs, and dairy in an effort to ward off allergies.

However, recent groundbreaking clinical trials have offered scientific evidence that there is no benefit to delaying introduction of allergenic foods like peanuts, eggs, and cow’s milk to infants beyond 4 to 6 months of age. In fact, the data demonstrates that delaying the introduction of these foods may increase your baby’s risk of developing allergies. Therefore, early and sustained introduction of allergenic foods can help prevent food allergies.

Currently, doctors and scientists do not believe that specific maternal diets during pregnancy or breastfeeding are enough to reduce the risk of food allergies, but this area is still being studied.

Although breastfeeding imparts countless benefits for mother and child and is highly recommended when possible, there is still inconclusive evidence proving that breastfeeding alone can reduce a baby’s risk of developing food allergies. Therefore, in addition to breastfeeding, early and sustained allergen introduction is recommended as a part of a baby’s feeding routine, regardless of the mother's diet.

Yes, on our website we only offer subscription plans. That means that when you order a product from us, you are signing up for a recurring subscription where you’ll receive one box of Ready, Set, Food! right to your door each month, and your credit card will be charged each subsequent month until you cancel.

If you’re not ready to commit to a recurring monthly subscription plan, we do offer a one-time purchase option which you can purchase directly on Amazon. Please note that since the key to food allergy prevention is regular, sustained exposure over time, we highly recommend our suite of subscription plans.

The clinical trials and current guidelines recommend 3 to 6+ months of regular, sustained exposure to common allergenic foods. In fact, in the LEAP study, babies were exposed to allergens for 4 years! It all depends on when a parent begins early allergen introduction, but the right time to finish early allergen introduction is when a baby is regularly consuming peanut, egg, and dairy at least three times per week through solid food. For many families, this will be about 6 months from starting.

For many babies, Ready, Set, Food! will be their first exposure to food other than breast milk or formula. Our system gradually introduces one food at a time, starting with a very small amount of each allergenic protein. Our starting amounts are significantly less than what families typically first feed their infants, equivalent to ~1 teaspoon of milk, 1/8th teaspoon of peanut butter, or 1/250th of an egg.

We are confident our system is the most safe and methodical approach, but in some cases, non-life threatening reactions such as hives or an itchy rash may occur, as with any new feeding routine. Not every baby who experiences symptoms after eating certain foods has a food allergy or needs to avoid that food entirely, but if your child experiences an allergic reaction within two hours of consumption, immediately discontinue Ready, Set, Food! and consult your child's pediatrician. Proper evaluation by your pediatrician and/or an allergist can help sort out the likelihood of an allergy and the appropriate next steps.