Important risk factors for the development of food allergy and potential options for prevention

Abstract

Introduction: Food allergy currently affects up to 10% of infants. Identification and implementation of effective food allergy prevention strategies is thus imperative. Areas covered: We focus on five food allergy risk factors/prevention strategies which have been or are currently being tested in randomized controlled trials: (1) timely introduction of allergenic foods into the infant diet; (2) maternal diet and consumption of allergenic foods during pregnancy and breastfeeding; (3) infant skin barrier and the role of moisturizers in early life; (4) infant Vitamin D levels and the role of Vitamin D supplementation; and (5) microbial exposure in early life. Expert commentary: Earlier introduc..