Allergies Health Center

Food allergies often occur in people who have a family history of asthma, atopic dermatitis, or allergies to pollen, mold, or other substances. These people are said to be atopic, meaning they have an inherited tendency to have allergic conditions. Allergies cannot be prevented in these people.

There isn't enough proof to recommend that people who are at risk for allergies should avoid common foods that cause allergies or foods that may be similar to common allergens like milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish.

If you are a woman with a food allergy who is planning on a pregnancy and breast-feeding, talk to your doctor about what foods to avoid while pregnant or nursing. But if you don’t have food allergies, avoiding certain foods during your pregnancy isn’t recommended as a way to prevent the baby from having food allergies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies be breast-fed for the first year of life or longer.⁴ For babies with family members who have food allergies, breast-feeding only for at least 4 months helps prevent allergies to milk.⁵ If your baby is at high risk for allergies and you can't breast-feed, try a hydrolyzed milk formula. The milk protein in hydrolyzed formulas is changed to try to prevent allergies.⁶ There is no proof that giving your baby soy formula instead of cow's milk formula will prevent a food allergy in children at risk for food allergies.

For more information on breast-feeding, see the topic Breast-Feeding. To learn more about how to introduce solid foods to your baby, see the topic Weaning.

Tobacco smoke can make allergies worse, so it is important to have a smoke-free environment.