Stopping Food Allergies In Babies: Is It Possible ?
Stopping Food Allergies In Babies:Is It Possible ?
So many children seem to have food allergies these days. However, there are things you can do that may help prevent your child developing one.
With food allergy, eating even a tiny amount can cause a reaction. Most reactions will be mild to moderate, but in some cases it can lead to life-threatening symptoms, known as anaphylaxis.
If your infant or child has a serious reaction such as a swelling mouth, tongue or lips, or they have difficulty breathing or if they collapse, call 111 immediately for an ambulance.
Allergies tend to run in families, so a baby with parents who have allergies is at has a higher chance of developing food allergy. Some babies develop food allergy even though there is no family history of allergy. Common foods that can cause allergic reactions are peanuts, eggs, fish and shellfish, cow’s milk (dairy), wheat, soy, seeds and tree nuts.
Researchers aren’t sure why the number of children with food allergies is on the rise, but it is. Following the tips below may reduce the risk of your infant developing a food allergy.
1. Include allergenic foods in your diet
Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should eat a healthy, balanced diet, including allergenic foods. Cutting allergenic foods out will not prevent food allergy in your infant. There is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids (found in oily fish) during pregnancy and breastfeeding may help prevent eczema in early life, so try to include up to 3 serves of oily fish per week.
2. Breastfeed if you can
Breastfeeding has many health benefits for infants. If breastfeeding is not possible, or your baby is partially breastfed, a commercial infant formula should be used for the first 12 months of age.
3. Introduce solid food around 6 months of age
When your baby is ready, at around 6 months but not before 4 months, start to introduce a variety of solid foods, starting with iron-rich foods, while continuing breastfeeding.
4. Expose your child to a variety of foods
All infants should be given the common food allergens (peanut, tree nuts, cow’s milk, egg, wheat, soy, sesame, fish and shellfish), including smooth peanut butter/paste, cooked egg (not raw), dairy and wheat products within their first year of life, unless they are already allergic to the food. Introduce one food at a time every 2 to 3 days (give them foods the family usually eats).
If your child already has an egg allergy or other food allergies or severe eczema, you should discuss how to do this with your doctor. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, regular peanut intake before 12 months of age could reduce the risk of developing peanut allergy.
5. Get medical advice
If your baby has an allergic reaction to a food, seek medical help. Keep the food out of the baby’s diet until you have discussed this with your GP and possibly been referred to a specialist.
Don't remove food groups such as dairy or wheat products from your child's diet unless your child has an immediate reaction to the food. If this happens, it is important to get specialist advice including from a dietitian.
Remember, your infant or child could develop a food allergy at any time, regardless of what steps you take. If this happens, stop the food and see your doctor.
Food allergies affect between 2 to 5 per cent of all children, in general, and up to 10 per cent of infants. Some of the most common allergenic foods are peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat.
A new study shows that letting infants taste these foods from the age of three months can reduce the child’s risk of developing a food allergy.
– The children who were introduced to peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat from the age of three months were less likely to have food allergies when they were three years old than the children of parents who followed the national recommendations from the Norwegian Directorate of Health, says Karin C. Lødrup Carlsen.
Carlsen is a professor at the Institute of Clinical Medicine at UiO and senior physician/paediatrician at Oslo University Hospital. She leads the PreventADALL study.
– By introducing infants to these foods early, we can reduce the prevalence of food allergies in children in a simple and safe manner, she says.
Small amounts of the foods are enough to reduce the risk
The infant merely needs to receive regular, small amounts of foods containing peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat, several times a week, to reduce the risk of food allergies, according to the new study.
– We recommended the parents to dip their finger in smooth peanut butter and let their infant taste it, and correspondingly for eggs, milk and wheat from the age of three to four months, Carlsen explains. She adds:
– For example, parents could let their infant taste soft scrambled eggs and some porridge that contains wheat.
The researchers advised parents to introduce their infant to one of the foods per week, and then continue to give the infant some of the food at least four times a week.
The goal was for the foods to become part of the child's regular diet.
It is safe and does not affect breastfeeding
According to the Professor, it is safe to give infants small amounts of food containing peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat from the age of three months.
– Available documentation shows that it is safe to start introducing children to food from the age of three months. International guidelines, last updated in 2020, indicate that it is safe and probably appropriate to start with eggs and peanuts between the ages of four and six months, she says.
In the study, the researchers also investigated whether early food introduction could affect breastfeeding.
– We are very much in favour of breastfeeding and believe that breastfeeding is the best for the health of the infant. Giving them the different foods additionally from the age of three months did not affect breastfeeding at six months of age, the Professor says.
Furthermore, both the current and previous studies show that early introduction of food is safe for children at high risk of getting severe, allergic reactions, according to Carlsen.
The foods stimulate the immune system in a natural way
When young children are introduced to different foods, the intestines usually ensure that the body learns that the foods are harmless. Little by little, the child then develops a natural tolerance for different types of food.
However, sometimes the immune system thinks that parts of the food are harmful to the body. The immune system's reaction then leads to the development of food allergies.
– We believe that early introduction of peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat is important because it trains the immune system to recognise common foods as harmless. This helps the immune system to accept these foods, which are completely normal foods that children will need throughout life, the researcher says.
Increased prevalence of food allergies among children
For decades, parents have been advised to postpone the introduction of food to their infants. However, Professor Carlsen is concerned that this has not been good advice.
– Throughout this period, we have seen an increase in the prevalence of food allergies. The documentation for why one should postpone food introduction is quite unclear, she says, and adds:
– We cannot say for sure whether the advice to postpone has contributed to increased prevalence of allergies, but these two things have taken place at the same time.
PreventADALL is the largest and most comprehensive study in the field
In the PreventADALL-study, 2397 children were divided into four approximately equal groups. One group had no intervention, one group had to introduce the infants to peanuts, eggs, milk and wheat from the age of three months, one group used oil baths and face cream from the age of two weeks to nine months, and a group of children had both interventions.
The researchers told the parents in the control group to follow the Norwegian Directorate of Health's national guidelines. These recommend exclusive breastfeeding until the infant is six months old. They also state that infants can be introduced to food from the age of four months if needed.
The researchers followed the parents and their children until the children were three years old.
Around the age of three, it is quite common that food allergies developed around the age of one disappear. The researchers therefore wanted to investigate how many children were allergic to peanuts, eggs, milk and/or wheat at the age of three.
– The results were clear. The children who had been introduced to the foods when they were three months old had less allergies at the age of three than the children of parents who followed the national guidelines, says Carlsen.
Believes the Norwegian national guidelines are not based on the latest research
The Professor believes that the Norwegian Directorate of Health should revise its national guidelines to reflect new research findings in the field.
– Available documentation points in the same direction and demonstrates that we can prevent the development of food allergies by early food introduction, Carlsen says. She adds:
– It does not work to postpone the introduction of food to infants. Now we have to think differently.
Will follow the children into adulthood
Professor Carlsen and colleagues have recently received research funding from Helse Sør-Øst and others to investigate the long-term effects of early introduction of food by assessing the children who participated in the PreventADALL study in early school age.
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