Food intolerances

[gardenmommy]

Talk to me about the mechanics of intolerance to certain foods through breastmilk. I'm just wondering how, if your food is digested in the gut, proteins transfer through your milk. I've had one child for sure (and probably 2) who was very sensitive to dairy; I eliminated dairy from my diet for 18 months while she nursed. I'm thinking that my current nursling is sensitive to dairy also. Anyway, it got me thinking about it, and what better place to ask then here?!

[ClaudiaTh]

I only drink soy milk, because my daughter spits up more frequently when I drink whole milk.

[gardenmommy]

What I'm really wanting to know, is, *how* does it work? I mean, you eat, food is digested, waste is excreted. Assuming you don't have some major leaky gut happening, by the time nutrients hit the bloodstream (and your milk), there aren't definable "milk" proteins, peanut proteins, soy proteins, etc, right? So what is causing the babe to react to foods in your diet?

[kismetbaby]

I'm not sure I can answer this question with confidence, but there are some good resources out there. One book I liked was: Dealing with Food Allergies in Babies and Children by Janice M. Vickerstaff Joneja

[gardenmommy]

Thanks! I wonder if I would get a better response if I posted this in the allergies forum.

[hildare]

i'd post there too, but what i know basically is this:
the babe's gut doesn't close in order to allow antibodies from bm to directly enter the bloodstream. the gut closes at around 6 months.
i've read some interesting things about how formula can affect allergies, too, such as this..
and, oddly enough.. i have a book on raising cattle that speaks of cattle having this same mechanism and the importance of colostrum.

[TSomm]

What I know of is something to do with the size of the protein in the milk. The larger the animal, the larger the protein. So when you take in cow's milk dairy, your body only breaks down the protein so far. Your babe then ingests the milk and the protein is still quite big, then leading to digestion issues.

I may be totally wrong here, since I'm still new to this as well (off dairy for 4 weeks with my first), but maybe it will help.

If it is true, then my question would be - Wouldn't goat's milk or sheep's milk dairy then be ok?

[gardenmommy]

Hmmm... that is interesting. Off to look that up.