Food Allergies in Babies Explained

For a long time, parents were told not to allow their babies to have certain allergy causing foods until after their first birthday. We now know that this was probably not the best advice. The rates of severe food allergies in children went up dramatically after that advice was introduced. Luckily, those rates are now dropping in response to new campaigns to change the way we feed our babies.

Breastfeeding for Allergy Prevention

To start with, let’s recognize that a breastfed baby will get small doses of allergenic foods from their parent through breast milk. If you eat peanuts, a small amount of that peanut protein can get into your milk supply. Your baby will receive micro doses of these compounds when you eat them and then breastfeed. We recently published an article to help you learn more about how to manage breastfeeding if your baby DOES have a particular allergy.

Unless your baby is already allergic to something, the fact that your baby gets these doses of allergenic foods in breast milk might actually be a good thing. By giving babies very small amounts of these proteins, the milk could have been offering some protection to breastfed babies even during the time parents were avoiding feeding their babies allergenic foods before age one. I was raising my babies during that time. I remember not feeding cow’s milk, egg whites, and peanuts specifically. Now that I know more, that seems a little silly. I was eating lots of ALL of those things on a regular basis, so I’m sure my breastfed babies were getting some!

What We Know Now About Food Allergies

There have been some great studies done testing the differences between food allergy rates for babies who did and did not receive allergenic foods at a younger age. So far, there has been very good evidence that peanut allergies are reduced when babies are offered peanuts at a younger age, and there is more research being done to show that this might also be true for the other top allergens.

The most common food allergens in order from most to least common are:

• Cow’s milk
• Peanut
• Tree Nuts
• Soy
• Wheat
• Shellfish
• Fish
• Sesame

What This Means For YOU

If you are expecting a baby soon or have a young one now, know that it is likely very safe and even most likely beneficial for you to continue eating allergenic foods when you’re breastfeeding. It is very rare for a baby to have an allergic reaction, and more likely that your consumption of these foods will benefit your baby in the long run if you’re breastfeeding.

If your breastfed baby DOES show signs of a food allergy, there are things you can do to keep them healthy without having to discontinue breastfeeding. You can remove the most common allergens from your diet one at a time and see if your baby’s symptoms resolve. It can take a few days or even a couple of weeks before you see a big difference. This is not because your baby is still getting the food allergen, because that passes out of your milk supply within 24 hours, but because once a reaction occurs, it can take some time for it to stop.

Imagine a toddler tantrum. If a toddler misplaces a favorite toy and starts a tantrum, it might go on for many minutes after the toy is back in their possession. Once those stress hormones are flowing, it can take some time for them to flush out of the system so they can feel better. It’s similar to an allergic reaction. Once that response has been triggered, it takes some time for it to stop. You also may start introducing small amounts of allergenic foods to your baby before age one. It’s a good idea to add them one at a time.

For example, you might introduce fish first. Maybe for a week or two you give your baby a little bit of fish at a few meals. If your baby shows no signs of a reaction, fish can stay in the rotation AND you can add another. So then you might try eggs and see how that goes for a couple of weeks before adding another. Doing it this way just ensures that if your baby DOES have a reaction, you’ll be able to tell what caused it. If you introduce them all at once, it will be harder to get it figured out.

When to Get Support With Food Allergies

Some parents feel very nervous about introducing allergenic foods, especially right now when the recommendations have been changing. It can be hard to trust and take that step if you’ve always believed something different. You can definitely get guidance when you feel ready to take that step. Breastfeeding Success has a registered dietician on staff to help. You can schedule an appointment to get nutrition guidance with these kinds of issues and more.

References:

Food Allergy Research & Education

The LEAP Study

Early Introduction of Other Top Allergens – FoodAllergy.org

Proteins in Breastmilk Protect Offspring Against Food Allergy – FoodAllergy.org