Preventing food allergies???

[Jodie8]

I'm hearing conflicting info about this. Some sources say to avoid allergens completely, while others say not to. My son has a non IGE allergy to say and dairy (basically he poops out blood if he has soy or dairy-he had HORRENDOUS colic due to the allergies in my breastmilk). I am due with #2 in a few weeks and I have been eating small amounts of dairy-mostly for the protein (I'm a vegetarian), but I have limited soy. I will be cutting out the dairy next week so it gets out of my system. Does anyone know any current recommendations about this???

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by Jodie8

I'm hearing conflicting info about this. Some sources say to avoid allergens completely, while others say not to. My son has a non IGE allergy to say and dairy (basically he poops out blood if he has soy or dairy-he had HORRENDOUS colic due to the allergies in my breastmilk). I am due with #2 in a few weeks and I have been eating small amounts of dairy-mostly for the protein (I'm a vegetarian), but I have limited soy. I will be cutting out the dairy next week so it gets out of my system. Does anyone know any current recommendations about this???

My DD has only a soy intolerance now, but as an infant it was soy, diary, egg and probably some other stuff. Poor kid had issues with everything. Even strawberries and pineapple make her break out in hives. But, I am not avoiding anything with #2, because I would not know or begin to take a guess at what #2 will have issues with. Anyway the only thing I did do was add a strong multi strain probiotic. I have issues with IBS and stomach ulcers so if the cause is leaky gut, I wanted to strengthen that area. I am also avoiding anything like flu vaccines - may or may not have been the cause for some of her issues, I don't know. Anyway, just my 2 cents. I am not avoiding any food because I have no idea where to begin. DD had issues with other foods besides top 8, so it would be anyone's guess what I should avoid, ykwim?

[LHcj2008]

Yikes, I hope this isn't the case that what you eat can cause food allergies...only one person has mentioned that to me throughout this pregnancy and I kind of blew it off as just a rumor. My go-to staples for high protein intake have been eggs, greek yogurt, and lots of almonds...like, on a daily basis. God forbid my baby comes out with dairy and nut allergies- I'll definitely know who to blame.

[homemademom]

I'm pretty sure the current rec says there's no evidence that avoidance will do you any good (of course, no one really knows, right?). A couple of my babies have had allergies/sensitivities to different foods when they were bfing (and one had them beyond that). For my pregnancy, I'm just trying to get a variety of foods and not rely on anything too much (like od-ing on dairy). Also, and there's research to back this up, getting good probiotics in your system now (I take Culturelle, l-reuteri and acidophilus/bifidus) and giving them to your baby does make a difference. Also, avoid antibiotics (for beta strep and such) and a c-section (not always possible, obviously, but evidence says those babes have more allergy problems because mom doesn't transfer good bacteria to the baby the way should would if he/she was born vaginally). You can search pubmed for studies and info about the probiotic-allergy connection.

I just searched here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed with "reuteri allergies" and got 9 related studies back. . .

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by LHcj2008

Yikes, I hope this isn't the case that what you eat can cause food allergies...only one person has mentioned that to me throughout this pregnancy and I kind of blew it off as just a rumor. My go-to staples for high protein intake have been eggs, greek yogurt, and lots of almonds...like, on a daily basis. God forbid my baby comes out with dairy and nut allergies- I'll definitely know who to blame.

id say nooooo because if that were the case we would all be allergic to everything

only allergens you should avoid in pregnancy are ones you are allergic to. but that should be common sense. or, of course if you are breastfeeding aan older child avoid their allergens.

i see more reason to believe mommy avoiding allergens during pregnancy could cause baby to be allergic.

[WifeofAnt]

I would say most of us don't have a whole lot of food allergies but our mothers didn't get any advice about avoiding milk/eggs/wheat/ect. I personally haven't been avoiding anything and average about a tablespoon of peanut butter a day. The only thing I purposely avoid is straight milk because it makes me sick. If I use it to cook or its in a different form (cheese, yogurt, ect) then I don't have any problems. I just can't drink straight milk.

[dakotablue]

My allergy doctor said that the whole allergy thing was that mom should avoid things they are allergic to especially in the third trimester.

This makes sense in that the baby would be exposed to reactions to allergies, just as some immunity passes on from the womb. (Or I could be totally wrong...its been a while...)

[fujbeck]

My son is my 1st and has a non-IgE allergy to dairy. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I avoided drinking straight cow's milk for the entire pregnancy (only drank rice milk) and avoided dairy entirely for the 3rd trimester and the first few months of breastfeeding. Also took Culturelle through the second and third trimesters. Found that she could handle dairy while I was nursing but still did not give her any dairy directly until she was over 2 years old. She has no food allergies now and I'm not sure how much any of that helped, but I will probably follow a similar protocol with baby #3 just in case it did.

[Shyentist]

I agree with the others who are saying it is not likely avoiding foods you're not allergic to will do anything. People have been eating soy and dairy for millennia.

I WOULD, however, avoid any chemicals you can -- I'm trying really hard to avoid chlorine (it's been implicated in the development of some allergies). It's hard, because it's EVERYWHERE, but I have filters on the drinking water and shower now and am using natural cleaning products. I'm more concerned ingesting chlorine and other chemicals will sensitize the baby than food or other natural stuff people have been around forever.

[HRJ]

If you don't have food allergies in your family, you don't need to avoid anything.

If you yourself have food allergies, or there are a lot of members of your family with a certain allergy, or previous children of yours have an allergy, you should avoid those foods while pregnant and breastfeeding. Otherwise, a normal diet is fine.

My son had bad reactions to milk from birth (I had to cut it out of my diet while he was nursing). His pediatrician and allergy doctor recommend I not eat those foods while I am pregnant.

[babymango]

As per my son's allergist, there is no evidence one way or the other. I chose to not cut out any food from my diet when pregnant or breastfeeding, except the food I am allergic to (nothing to do with the pregnancy, I just don't think a shrimp, no matter how good it is, is worth an anaphylactic reaction!)

[Lyss]

My kids had IgG sensitivities to lots of things (DS was sensitive to RICE!)

My idea was to eat a lot of dark leafy greens and also to only feed on one side once the milk comes in for at least 4 hours.

I always wondered how much my oversupply and crazy letdown contributed by only giving them that sugary foremilk but not the fatty hindmilk.

DS was pooping green mucous in the hospital. He never had a normal mustard poop. I wonder if there was *anything* I could have done.

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by Lyss

I always wondered how much my oversupply and crazy letdown contributed by only giving them that sugary foremilk but not the fatty hindmilk.

DS was pooping green mucous in the hospital. He never had a normal mustard poop. I wonder if there was *anything* I could have done.

I too had oversupply and let down issues - I could never nurse in public, she would pull off and people across me would get drenched, I read sometimes it's related to food issues - like maybe DD never had an issue with eggs, but that when I ate them I got crazy let down and so I assumed eggs bothered her. I don't know - but I have heard a lot of people with kids with IgG issues also had super fast letdown/oversupply.

Yeah, too my DD poop always had mucus in it, then at 6 months it started getting blood in it too.