Food allergies... can I help my children?

This time we have invited an expert in nutrition in children, Betzabé Salgado, with more than 10 years of experience working in the Mexican Children’s Hospital.  She will explain us what a food allergy is and how to help our children to cope with them.

Food allergies are caused when the immune system reacts to certain proteins found in our diet.  Symptoms go from skin dermatitis to asphyxia (anaphylaxis).

The diagnosis of a food allergy should be done by a specialist to determine which food is to be removed from the child's diet.  

If we remove the food that causes the allergy, we can erase the immune system’s “memory” for that protein and decrease the symptoms until the child returns to normal.

Some of the food that can cause allergic reactions are:

Cow's milk

Egg

Fish

Seafood

Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts.

Wheat

Fruits: melon, kiwi, strawberry, watermelon.

The treatment for children with a food allergy depends on the stage of life in which they are.

In children under 6 months it is recommended to continue breastfeeding at least until they turn 1 year old.  No artificial formula offers the benefits of breastfeeding for allergic children.  The mother should take a diet that eliminates certain food such as cow's milk protein, which will improve the baby’s dermatitis.

If their gastrointestinal or respiratory symptoms do not improve, there are special milk formulas with pre-digested (hydrolyzed) milk protein to be prescribed by a specialist (gastroenterologist and nutritionist).

The beginning of solid food in these children should be between 4 and 6 months of age.  As long as it is scheduled and has the supervision of the parents and pediatrician it will be successful.

Nutritional care should be a daily task so we recommend:

• Having a proper diet, complete and balanced, with a list of foods that your child should not eat, and knowing the ingredients of everything you buy.
• Scheduling the feeding of your children which will decrease the risk of giving them allergenic food.
• Make a list of new recipes, change the ingredients for healthy food for your child.
• Talk to other families with children suffering from food allergies and search for specialty food stores.

If you need more information write to: betzasalg@hotmail.com

See you next week!