Allergen Introduction & Training | Allergen ImmunoButters

All children are at risk of developing food allergies.  If you think this is someone else’s problem, think again. You don’t want to roll the dice and avoid food allergens. 

Common food allergens like milk, egg, nuts, and sesame are naturally nutritious, from diverse food groups and are typically high in protein and fiber anyway - all of which support a healthy gut microbiome! 

If you suspect your child may have a higher chance of a food allergy (e.g. your child has an egg allergy and/or eczema that is early onset, persistent, severe or slow to respond to treatment), talk to your doctor about how to get allergens in the diet safely.  For example, allergy testing or even a food challenge with an allergist the first time you feed certain allergens may be a good idea.

As soon as your child can start eating solid foods, you could start feeding allergens. It depends on their development, but most are ready between ages 4-6 months.

A summary of early allergen introduction studies showed us that the first year of life is the safest time to introduce common allergens, and the earlier the better, especially if at increased risk of developing food allergies. The goal is to get the allergens in by proactively feeding allergens in the first year of life. You and your baby can learn together in a controlled environment when you are in charge. 

Some signs that your baby may be ready to start solid foods are: 

1. Being able to control the head and neck
2. Sitting up with or without support
3. Bringing objects to the mouth
4. Losing the tongue thrust reflex that pushes food out of the mouth
5. Showing an interest in food and reaching for it

The first year of life is the safest time to introduce common allergens, as reactions are usually milder in infants.

Not unless your child already has a food allergy, or is at high risk to develop a food allergy, for example with eczema that is early onset, persistent, severe, or slow to respond to treatment. In these cases, you may want to see an allergist to discuss food allergies before introducing any other major allergens.

If your child has a known or suspected allergy to any food, he or she must avoid that food entirely while you seek an allergist’s advice to make sure that the suspected allergy is true; many people who think they have a food allergy do not, and if your child doesn’t have one, you need to feed it before he or she actually does. Find an allergist who does allergy testing, such as skin pricks or blood work, and also offers food challenges.

If the food allergy is confirmed, seek an expert to discuss treatment options. Treatment options are generally more effective when commenced earlier on the allergy journey, usually in the toddler years. Talk to your doctor about how to get other typical food allergens he or she is not allergic to yet into the diet to proactively reduce the chance of additional allergies developing. This is an important intervention as your food-allergic child may be at higher risk of more food allergies.

Because we have thought through every science-backed detail so that you don’t have to. GrowHappy is peace of mind, knowing you are with a dream team of allergy experts.  

We make it easy and safe, so you can focus on what matters most: watching your child grow, thrive, and enjoy a world full of delicious foods — without the fear.

The GrowHappy Difference:

• Co-founded by world-leading allergy experts - our ImmunoNutrition Squad
• Consistent 2g LEAP doses across 5 major allergens
• 5 allergens introduced (7 allergens addressed) early during the critical window
• REAL FOOD approach — not ultra-processed. We serve the whole nut and seed with all of its goodness. We don't use nut and seed powders
• Each allergen is separated for flexibility and peace of mind
• Helps your child learn to like the taste of allergens

Your child’s journey toward food freedom starts here — with GrowHappy. Subscribe today to the monthly Allergen ImmunoButter™ Variety Box and take the first step with confidence!

This is not a one-and-done and like many things, practice makes perfect. Your child’s immune system needs regular training through the early years to be sure it learns to tolerate the foods long-term.

The LEAP patients who were fed peanut multiple times for 5 years developed the most protection. It may seem overwhelming to keep it up for 5 years and that's ok. Focus on getting these foods in regularly the first year of life when it is most important. Then aim for 6 months at a time and you may be surprised how far you get. Even if you don’t quite make it to 5 years, know that every bit counts and will make a difference for your child.

A summary of early allergen introduction studies showed us that the first year of life is the safest time to introduce common allergens, and the earlier the better, especially if at increased risk of developing food allergies.

That’s why the USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend introducing potentially allergenic foods (e.g., peanuts, egg, cow milk products, tree nuts, wheat, shellfish, fish, and soy) when other complementary foods are introduced to an infant’s diet.  The goal is to get the allergens in by proactively feeding allergens in the first year of life. You and your baby can learn together in a controlled environment when you are in charge. 

If your child already has a food allergy, or is at high risk to develop a food allergy, for example with eczema that is early onset, persistent, severe, or slow to respond to treatment - in these cases, you may want to see an allergist to discuss food allergies before introducing any other major allergens.

If your child has a known or suspected allergy to any food, he or she must avoid that food entirely while you seek an allergist’s advice to make sure that the suspected allergy is true; many people who think they have a food allergy do not, and if your child doesn’t have one, you need to feed it before he or she actually does. Find an allergist who does allergy testing, such as skin pricks or blood work, and also offers food challenges.

If the food allergy is confirmed, seek an expert to discuss treatment options. Treatment options are generally more effective when commenced earlier on the allergy journey, usually in the toddler years. Talk to your doctor about how to get other typical food allergens he or she is not allergic to yet into the diet to proactively reduce the chance of additional allergies developing. This is an important intervention as your food-allergic child may be at higher risk of more food allergies.

The first year of life is the safest time to introduce common allergens, as reactions are milder in infants and often consist of simple hives or vomiting. That said, its always better to be overprepared: know the signs and have medication on hand – allergy experts recommend antihistamines such as Children’s Zyrtec (Cetirizine) because it is fast-acting and non-drowsy.

Most allergic reactions occur within 30 minutes of eating, and nearly all immediate-type (IgE-mediated) allergic reactions are within two hours of consuming the food. If you do see signs of an allergic reaction, stop feeding the food and consult a doctor. One of the most common symptoms are hives, which look like a mosquito bite.  

Mild to Moderate Symptoms: 

• Itching, sneezing, hives, rashes, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea or stomach pain
• Zyrtec is often given for treatment
• If two or more body symptoms are affected (e.g. vomiting/stomach and hives/skin), it is also considered severe. 

Severe Symptoms:

• Trouble swallowing or breathing, loss of consciousness and a weak pulse among others
• Severe symptoms can be a sign of life-threatening anaphylaxis and require immediate treatment with epinephrine.  
• In the case of severe symptoms, administer an EpiPen if available and go to the nearest Emergency Room. Zyrtec may also be taken if the child is able. 
• Severe reactions in babies less than one are rare, which is why the first year of life is the safest time to introduce common allergens.

If you do see signs of an allergic reaction, stop feeding the food and consult a doctor. It's important that you get seen by an allergist asap to properly diagnose the allergy so there is no unnecessary exclusions to the diet and so that you can work together on how to safely get other allergens into the diet during the critical years to teach the immune system.

We only serve whole nuts and seeds ground into butters, so there's no need to swap into jars!  Our whole nut and seed butters go great with your yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, toast and smoothies.  We chose the packet format instead of jars so you get a pre-measured dose like what was used in the LEAP study (the study that led to your early & often guidance, which our co-founder authored).  Most nut butter jars add salt, sugar, and ultra-processed ingredients that harm your microbiome and hurt your chances of food freedom - while we add ingredients that we've studied improve your chances like freeze dried blueberries that retain their vitamins and minerals. We never use defatted flours for nuts and seeds like every other early allergen intro company. That's because we've studied how serving the whole nuts and seeds is more effective for training the immune system!  We like to keep it whole! 

No.  If your baby doesn’t react the first few times you feed allergens, that’s great, but your work has just begun! We aren’t simply “born allergic” or not.  You’re in a race to get enough of the right allergens down the GI tract the first few years of life to TEACH the immune system to accept them.  You need to keep feeding these top allergens weekly in 2g doses for as long as possible. Immune markers suggest 3 years could do the trick but the LEAP study that led to the Early & Often guidance was 5 years. Make it to the first birthday and then you’ll realize you’ve created an amazing habit of eating nuts and seeds that are magic for the gut, and you won’t want to stop!

We added 10 real fruits and veggies to our nut and seed butters because they enhance your gut diversity and improve your baby’s gut microbiome health.  The fruits and veggies we chose are lower risk for IgE mediated reactions so that in each packet there is only one top allergen, which make up most of food allergies.  For example, check out co-founder Dr. Carina Venter’s studies on blueberries here and here, which is why we loaded up our peanut flavor with blueberries that don’t lose their vitamins and minerals.

Decades of leading research has led to the design of that box for you. The most proven way to teach the immune system is to start early and then KEEP GOING!  We are not born allergic; we have to teach the body that these are foods through repetition throughout the toddler years.

The first time you feed our packets, feed one new one a day. After that, you can feel free to mix and match and feed multiple different allergens a day. Serving multiple different allergens in a day is the only way to keep up with the doses and variety of allergens that pediatric allergists want you to. If you are going slower the first month, feel free to push your next box out a month to catch up but stay subscribed so you can stay on track with keeping these in the diet.

No. You don’t need to introduce every single ingredient individually before using GrowHappy. GrowHappy already offers the option to give one top allergen at a time. The fact that it contains fruit and veg is a total bonus!

The NIH guidelines (written by GrowHappy co-founder Dr Carina Venter) advises to start with a few veggies or fruit and then start giving the allergens. Once your baby is confidently eating a few foods, GrowHappy can be introduced. It’s not necessary for GrowHappy to be the very first food—think of it as part of building diversity early on.

Traditional advice was “one new food every 3 days,” but this has evolved. Current guidance supports introducing a variety of foods more quickly, even within the same day. The key is to introduce common allergens one at a time initially (but they can be mixed with other foods that are not common allergens, like in our packets) so reactions can be identified.