The Baby Mum-Mum Blog

Child Heath - Food Allergy Survival Guide

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

 
With all the talk about the rise in the incidence of food allergies, particularly peanuts, eggs, and milk; it may feel near impossible to find foods suitable for your infant or child with allergies. As discussed in previous posts, children are not outgrowing their allergies as early as previously suspected.  It is important to remember- wheat allergy and gluten intolerance (or celiac disease) are completely different.  Celiac disease is never outgrown and requires lifelong dietary management and avoidance of gluten.

 

Commercial Foods

Unfortunately, many allergen containing baby foods are marketed to infants and children.  Despite all the evidence pointing to decreasing allergens in an infant’s diet, many baby and toddler foods still contain wheat, soy, and casein.  These foods include:

• Gerber “Puffs”: contains wheat, soy
• Instant infant cereals: contains soy
• “Stage 2”, “Stage 3”, and Toddler Meals: contains wheat, soy, casein, and egg protein
• Cheerios: contain wheat, soy protein

  Also, be on the lookout for hidden allergens in food labels:

• Noodles and pasta may contain eggs
• Canned soups: often contain wheat, eggs, dairy, and casein
• Breads: contain wheat, diary, and sometimes eggs
• Margarine: often contains whey
• Lunch meats, hot dogs, and “nondairy” desserts or creamers contain casein

Dairy Free Diet

Many foods contain milk or milk proteins.  Foods completely without dairy will state “Parve” on the packaging.  You can typically find these foods in the kosher aisle of the supermarket.  A “D”, “K”, or circled “U” indicates the presence of a milk protein. There are many common sources of dairy such as cheese, milk, or ice cream; but dairy may be lurking under a variety of different names.

Avoid the following foods if you or your child is following a dairy-free diet:

• Butter flavoring
• Butter fat, or butter milk
• Curds
• Custard
• Half and half
• Nougat
• Pudding
• Rennet casein
• Milk:  solids, malted, condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, protein, or derivative
• Whey: protein, de-mineralized, or concentrate
• Lactose
• Lactalbumin, Lactalbumin phosphate, or lactoglobin

Egg Free Diet

Eggs can be another ubiquitous ingredient in our food supply.  It is important to recognize the other names for egg ingredients as listed on food labels. This way, if your infant has a reaction you can know the culprit. The presence of a shiny or yellow glaze on baked goods often means that eggs are present.  Other names for eggs include:

• Globulin
• Mayonnaise
• Ovalbumin
• Simpleese
• Eggnog
• Egg: white, yolk, dried, powdered, solids, substitutes
• Meringue

Peanut Free Diets

Peanuts are often obvious in foods such as peanut butter, peanut sauce, and nut pastes.  The not so obvious sources of peanuts include almond, hazelnut, or wintergreen extracts, in addition to imitation or artificially flavored extracts.  Be sure to read food labels, manufacturers must state on the label in the food was processed in a plant that also processes peanuts, as these would also be foods to avoid. 

 

With a little shopping savvy and careful food label reading, food allergies can be easily managed.  Keeping the most common allergens out of your infants diet for the first 1-3 years of life while introducing solids can aid in preventing food allergies, especially if you have a familial history.