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Babies, solid food and allergies |
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Written by Tera Schreiber
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Sep 01, 2006 |
Many parents look forward to introducing solid foods to their baby. Who
doesn't enjoy seeing a baby explore new textures and smear peas in his
hair? Families also enjoy sharing food traditions with children, from
birthday cakes to Easter eggs to Halloween candy. However, many parents
also worry about food allergies, and with good reason.
"Research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
reports that the incidence of serious food allergies has doubled in the
past 10 years," says Gail Shapiro, M.D., board certified allergist
immunologist from Northwest Asthma and Allergy Center. Shapiro
sympathizes with parents' anxieties about food introduction because the
medical research varies widely and even conflicts.
A food allergy is an immune response. Possible symptoms of allergies
include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, runny eyes and noses,
hives, breathing problems, asthma, eczema and other itchy skin
conditions. A food sensitivity is not an allergy, but the body refusing
to tolerate a particular food. The body's response is less severe, but
the treatment is the same -- avoiding the food.
Food allergies can be influenced even before the introduction of solid
foods. "Good data suggests that breastfeeding a baby for at least four
to nine months decreases the chance of asthma and allergies," Shapiro
says. Cynthia Lair, nutrition educator at Bastyr University and author
of Feeding the Whole Family,
agrees: "The best allergy prevention is breastfeeding. The easiest,
safest and best-tolerated food for the first year is breast milk. It is
all that the infant needs to survive in the way of nourishment."
Lair encourages parents to use common-sense guidelines such as the
emergence of teeth and the ability to sit up without assistance before
introducing other foods. If a mother doesn't or can't breastfeed,
Shapiro recommends hypoallergenic formulas as the next-best option.
When it comes time to introduce solid foods, the American Academy of
Pediatrics and other experts recommend delaying introduction of
potentially allergenic foods for one to three years, with the goal of
allergy prevention. While this area is little researched, Lair explains
the holistic perspective taught at Bastyr: "Starting solids too early
can result in allergies brought on by exposing the immature digestive
system to foods it can't handle."
Parents are also encouraged not to be overly restrictive. "While
introducing allergens too early and in too-high a quantity can cause
allergies, it's also not beneficial to completely avoid all allergens
until children are older," explains Tracy McDaniel, N.D., L.M., from
Seattle Natural Family Medicine. "When humans eat a new food, an
intestinal immune cell will sample the food for recognition by the
immune system and train the body not to react to the food as a threat.
This process works particularly well in healthy children. It is a good
idea for children to be exposed to small amounts of potentially
allergenic foods by the time they are 2 years old."
McDaniel recommends high doses of probiotics, the healthy bacteria
found in yogurt, to help "train" the body to accept potentially
allergenic foods. In fact, many doctors prescribe managed doses of
probiotics to help decrease allergy symptoms and incidence.
How should parents monitor for potential reactions? "Introduce one food
at a time with no new foods or changes in medication for two or three
days," says Susan Casey, R.D., C.D., pediatric clinical dietician at
Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center. "This will allow
parents to observe and determine whether a food is problematic." If a
reaction is suspected, parents should seek the support and assistance
of a physician.
When deciding which foods to introduce, Lair encourages parents to be
educated consumers and look beyond commercial baby food, which is
designed more for profit than health and trains baby to prefer bland
calories. "We all need to be more conscious about what we eat and where
it came from if we want to lead healthful lives," Lair says.
Ultimately, the upside to delayed introduction is that an allergy may
be decreased or avoided. There are no guarantees, of course, and
children who delay introduction of certain foods may still end up with
allergies. The best advice is to discuss food introduction with your
child's physician, learn about nutrition for your child and continue to
revisit these issues as she grows.
Tera Schreiber
is a freelance writer, a lawyer and former executive director of Great
Starts. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
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