A study has found that babies fed cow’s milk, eggs and peanuts before their first birthday are less likely to develop sensitization to those foods.

The study led by McMaster University in Hamilton showed that early introduction of eggs was especially beneficial, as it appeared to decrease the risk of sensitization to all three foods.

Lead author Maxwell Tran says food sensitization is not the same as developing a full-blown allergy, but it can help set the table for the more serious reaction.

Researchers looked at the timing of food introduction in more than 1,400 children up to a year old as part of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development study.

Tran says the results reinforce a shift in thinking that has led to worldwide recommendations that kids be introduced earlier to foods such as peanuts to prevent allergies from developing.

The study is being presented today at the American Thoracic Society annual meeting in San Francisco.