Understanding Food Allergies

With the increase of processed foods in our daily diets, food allergies are becoming more commonplace.  Why the sudden rise in children with food allergies?  One reason could be the advanced means of a true medical diagnosis; however, food production methods have become significantly more sophisticated allowing for many new and manufactured food products to make their way to our plates.

Food Allergies Vs. Food Intolerances

True food allergies are not as common as you might think, affecting about 4-6% of adults and 6-8% of children. Food allergies are often mistaken for food intolerances.   The main difference between an allergy and intolerance is that an allergy actually elicits an immune system response.   This response occurs when the body treats a food as an “enemy invader″ and begins making antibodies for that particular food, similar to the reaction involved in celiac disease.  A food intolerance is a digestive system response, as opposed to immune, and occurs when a certain food irritates a person’s digestive system and they cannot digest the food properly.  The most common intolerance is lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products.

The most common allergies/intolerances in children are:

• Wheat
• Peanuts
• Soy
• Milk
• Eggs

Other sources of allergies/intolerances include:

• Casein (a protein in milk also used as a food stabilizer)
• Artificial colorings and flavorings
• Other tree nuts
• Citrus Fruits
• Nightshade vegetables: tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers

It is important to note that children do not always express a food allergy or intolerance in the same manner as adults do.   The good news is many children with food intolerances often outgrow them when reaching adulthood.

Symptoms of food allergies can include rash, asthma, chronic ear infections, nausea, diarrhea, sinusitis, stuffy nose, or behavioral disturbances.  Food Intolerances can include symptoms of allergies in addition to cramping, heartburn, gas and bloating.

Helping Your Kid’s Avoid Food Allergies
There are several things you can do to help prevent food allergies in your child.  The most critical time for prevention is when introducing solid foods.  Prior to six months, infants lack the digestive ability to break down food and may treat certain foods as an “invader″; thus producing an allergy.  It is best that your baby is exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.  If you need to use a formula, make sure it is hypoallergenic.  It is also helpful when introducing foods that you avoid feeding your baby any foods that you or your spouse are allergic to.  Also, avoid all common allergens as listed above for the fist year of life.

At 6 Months:

• Begin with a rice cereal and rice or bran based teething biscuits
• Introduce only 1 new food at a time, every 3 days, to watch for reactions
• Avoid citrus fruits
• Avoid wheat and gluten

At 8-9 Months:

• Introduce meat, protein foods, and legumes

At 1 Year:

• Introduce cow’s milk or other milk of your choice

At 2 Years:

• Introduce Eggs

At 3 Years:

• Introduce peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood

Tags: Baby Feeding, food allergies, food allergy symptoms

This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Baby Food Allergy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.