Do vegetarian mothers have kids more prone to food allergies?

[atlantafemme]

I'm in the process of investigating whether or not my 10-month-old DS has food allergies, specifically to legumes. (He's had 2 horrific vomiting bouts after eating fresh peas and a 3rd bout after eating ravioli w/hidden pea byproducts.)

Anyway, I came across a study online that suggested legume allergies in children were on the rise b/c of the rise in popularity of vegetarianism. I've been mainly vegetarian (eat dairy and eggs, was vegan for 4 years at one point) for 22 years (I'm 30 now) and ate lots of nuts and legumes during pregnancy. Is there any truth to this theory? I'm worried that I caused this...

(I have no known food allergies, nor does my family or the donor's family.)

[MissLotus]

My son (age 8) has always been vegetarian (like me) and has never had any sort of food allergy. I'm sorry your baby has experienced that, but you didn't cause it!

[caiesmommy]

I really don't think that vegetarian children have more allergies. But sometimes it seems like that lol.

My dc have dairy allergies. BUT so do dh and I. And I know MANY meat eatinng children that have way more severe allergies to different foods then I even knew was possible.

He's still on the young side so I wouldn't really worry to much about it. I would just keep him away from the peas until he's a bit older and re-try them. An allergy doesnt pop up "just because your vegetarian"

*btw* donors family COULD have an allergy. If they were meat eaters/not big vegetable eaters it could never have shown up.

[mntnmom]

I'm not vegetarian, and DS still has peanut allergies. So far no problems with other legumes. Peanut allergies are MUCH more common than vegetarians. I don't know about peas/beans, but I doubt there's a connection.

[crunchy_mommy]

I'm vegan, I have food allergies, but DS does not (he is vegan as well). My mom was not vegetarian. I also don't know anyone else that's vegetarian IRL but I do know lots of people with food allergies. I would be interested in reading the study you found to see how it was conducted etc. but I am highly doubtful that legume allergies can be attributed to vegetarianism.

[russsk]

I'm vegetarian, but ds doesn't seem to have any allergies.

[fresh_veggie]

Really, just going from this forum, I see a lot less posts about kids with food allergies over here in the veggie forum...
I had food allergies as a kid from animal products. But I really don't think "being vegetarian" makes kids have allergies - kids have allergies regardless.

[atlantafemme]

Here's the article I read: http://www.articlesbase.com/advertis...rgy-61341.html

I read A LOT last night and thought I read the actual study but can't find it now...

[crunchy_mommy]

OK, it sounds like from that article they are basing it on the theory that frequent exposure to peanuts increases the risk of peanut allergy, and one possible reason for frequent exposure is relying heavily on plant-based foods. But, I'm not sure that vegetarians are significantly more likely to eat peanuts/peanut butter than non-veg... it seems like many many people I know love PB in all its forms. I'm also not convinced on the theory of increased exposure = increased allergies, and I believe there are more studies coming out in direct opposition to that theory (for instance, they are now saying NOT to delay introducing potentially-allergenic foods to babies, and they are also finding that repeated (VERY CONTROLLED, don't try this at home) exposure to small amounts of the allergen can eventually reduce or eliminate the allergy altogether.

[mirlee]

I don't think so. I am the one with the sensitivities and allergies. He can eat darned near anything he wants provided he is willing to put it in his mouth.

[BeanyMama]

Every veg kid I know or know of is allergy free. I have three myself. I know many kids with food allergies and each is omni. So in my experience, no.

[PlayaMama]

i've been veg for almost 16 years and neither of my kiddos have allergies (knock on wood). no one else in my family does either though so i think a genetic component would be missing in my case.

[spedteacher30]

when I was pregnant with my son, the OB mentioned that there were preliminary studies out of England that showed that large amounts of soy consumption while pregnant was linked to increased risk of peanut allergy in children.

I decided it was worth the risk (had been a vegetarian for 20 years at that point). my son had soy, egg, milk, and peanut allergies as a baby as well as terrible eczema that didn't fully respond to an elimination diet. he's outgrown the egg and milk (and corn and beef) but still has class 3 allergies to soy and peanuts.

I went through a long period of blaming myself, and mourned for many months.

Honestly, you'll never know if you "caused" it or not. My wife and I also used frozen donor sperm--and never thought to check the donor's allergy history. our allergist has told us that food allergies are often seen in little ones who will outgrow their food allergies and then have strong environmental allergies. I have tons of environmental allergies, and our son has developed enviro allergies as he has outgrown his food allergies.

[Koalamom]

I have been back and forth from meat to no meat and my kids have tons of allergies. But I think it stemmed from when I was a vegan. When I was a teenager, I became vegan and ate crap soy food all day. Sure it is good, but I didn't think about if I was getting enough nutrients. I lost weight and got sick. Come to find out, I don't do well with soy, and I developed thyroid problems. I had trouble getting pregnant when I got married and couldn't hold a pregnancy. When I started eating meat, I finally could hold a pregnancy, but I think that it was too late for my dd has so many allergies.

To say that veg*n's have less allergies is false as it really depends what diet you are eating specifically.

[ShadowMoon]

I have a 3 year old vegan kiddo and I've been vegan for several years. We haven't had any allergy issues so far. K eats a variety of legumes, nuts, and soy on a daily basis.

[eepster]

If this turned out to be the case, I would be more likely to suspect correlation than causation.

[To-Fu]

We are a vegan family with no known food allergies.

Of course, that's just anecdotal, but I don't know offhand of any studies.

[To-Fu]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

I have been back and forth from meat to no meat and my kids have tons of allergies. But I think it stemmed from when I was a vegan. When I was a teenager, I became vegan and ate crap soy food all day. Sure it is good, but I didn't think about if I was getting enough nutrients. I lost weight and got sick. Come to find out, I don't do well with soy, and I developed thyroid problems. I had trouble getting pregnant when I got married and couldn't hold a pregnancy. When I started eating meat, I finally could hold a pregnancy, but I think that it was too late for my dd has so many allergies.

To say that veg*n's have less allergies is false as it really depends what diet you are eating specifically.

Right--it's possible to eat poorly on any diet. Not all veg*n diets are created equal.

[es1967]

I've been a vegetarian for about 22 yrs. During my pregnancy I ate soy etc etc but I eat a very healthy diet-very little processed, only organic, lots of fruits veggies,nuts, etc etc. My DS is 3 1/2 and has no allergies at all. He eats basically what I eat. Numerous friends have children around my ds's age and they have lots of allergies. Some very bad. They are not vegetarians. I read/heard somewhere that the increase in allergies is caused by the numerous vaccines that the kids are getting and also the vaccines parents got as children. Not sure where I heard it -think it was interviews Mercola did with individuals.

[organicmidwestmama]

Originally Posted by atlantafemme

I'm in the process of investigating whether or not my 10-month-old DS has food allergies, specifically to legumes. (He's had 2 horrific vomiting bouts after eating fresh peas and a 3rd bout after eating ravioli w/hidden pea byproducts.)

Anyway, I came across a study online that suggested legume allergies in children were on the rise b/c of the rise in popularity of vegetarianism. I've been mainly vegetarian (eat dairy and eggs, was vegan for 4 years at one point) for 22 years (I'm 30 now) and ate lots of nuts and legumes during pregnancy. Is there any truth to this theory? I'm worried that I caused this...

(I have no known food allergies, nor does my family or the donor's family.)

well, i was raised vegan until about age 5 and have a list about 20 foods long of food intolerances. ive also suffered from debilitating hay fever (had to miss school due to non-stop sneezing as a kid)and some other environmental allergies. my parents too me to many regular allopathic and naturopathic docs and healers but basically the "cure" has been not eating the allergenic foods and growing up! as an aside i was nursed for 2.5 years so thank my mom for that.

really the foods that never bother me are meat, cultured dairy and seafood. all my allergies are veggies and fruit; all melons, some citrus, walnuts, avocado, celery, raw garlic, raw carrots... yummy healthy foods. i considered for a while being raw vegan but probably would end up hospitalized from the allergies.

in re; to vaccines i was actually NOT vaxinated mostly until my late tween years, so in my case vaxines didnt cause allergies, nor were my parents given vaxs except polio.