Elimination diet and breastfeeding

[violafemme]

I've got my 17mo dd on an elimination diet and it's been going very well. We've figured out that all gluten, dairy, eggs and almonds trigger her excema. We are having a heck of a time finding food she can eat but she seems to like rice, hummus, carrots, peas, blueberries and bannanas with a few other veggies thrown in when I can manage to convince her that it's better to eat the stuff then throw it at the wall (or on the floor, or in her hair...........sigh)

Anyway my question is should I eliminate the things we discover she is sensitive to from my diet as well? My eating the foods doesn't seem to trigger anything in her (she had one eraser sized patch of excema that cleared up while she was exclusively BF'd and then seemed to develope the problem about 3 months into her solid foods) but i just read the study that recommended breastfeeding moms with a history of allergies or excema not eat peanut butter while nursing. I don't have any allergies/sensitivities (that I know of) and I never had excema but it's not clear to me if I should be doing the elimination diet too. She's nursing 6 times a day and if I don't feed her any of the triggers there is no excema regardless of what I am eating.............If I have to give up ice cream and pancakes I think I'll cry, but if it needs be done, so be it.

Any ideas?

[cathe]

I moved this to allergies - I think you'll get more help there.

[my2girlz]

Yes you need to eliminate them from your diet as well.

[JaneS]

This is really uncharted territory with little information on how and why this is... from my learning I believe it depends on how leaky your gut is. That is, whether or not the whole proteins from these foods enter your bloodstream because they are not adequately broken down by your digestive system. Because breastmilk is not made up of food in your gut, it is comprised of what is in your blood.

This is why probiotics are so helpful to sufferers of eczema, they aid digestion so the food molecules which cause reaction inflammation to appear in the skin are digested more completely. Also digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid.

[Kashel]

Unfortunately the answer is YES. My 4 mth old is fully BF and I am on an elimination diet for him through a hospital in Australia. I can clearly see that if I eat the wrong thing that it affects him..... There is little doubt in my doctors minds that what the mother eats will come through the BM.

It's tough, but worth it! I have been eating ONLY green beans, leek, celery, quinoa, lamb and chicken for nearly 3 mths, which is very difficult, but the health benefits to my son make it worth it.

If you truly want to eliminate the offending foods from your daughter's diet, then you will have to as well :-( sorry! Good luck!

[violafemme]

Thanks for the responses mamas. I've just gone and done this on my own because the doctor didn't seem to think it was bad enough to do much beyond moisturize. I just figured if I could get rid of it instead of only masking symptoms it would be better.

Jane, do you think I should go ahead and eliminate or that if she's not showing symptoms from my diet, my gut is digesting enough for the two of us?

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good literature about elimination diets? I just started eliminating stuff starting with the big ones and it's working, but I'd like do do some more reading; get some ideas about how likely it is that these allergies/sensitivities are to go away as her gut matures and more things I can do to help it. Like I said it doesn't seem to be a very bad case but I figure why wait until it gets bad to do anything about it if I can fix it now. I'm worried about celiac showing up later.

How do you give a 17mo old probiotics? Can she get them through my breastmilk? Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks,
Heather

[Chanley]

Get a copy of "is this your child" by doris rapp.

it goes into elim diets.

[sarahariz]

Hi Heather,

You can buy baby probiotic powder at the health food store. I make a paste and put it on my finger and let baby suck it. You can also mix it in foods. There was a post a while back where many sources of elimination diets were mentioned. Here is one:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=253744

I tried raw dairy too... it anything, it caused more of a reaction. Check this out:

http://www.naturalchild.com/guest/li...den_palmer.htm

[Kashel]

Hi again

I as the BF mama am on a low natural chemicals elimination diet - it has rid my son of reflux, bloating, green poos etc etc.... and a friend in my support group has had great progress with her son who has terrible ezcema...

We are avoiding salicytates and amines primarily, which are naturally occuring chemicals in certain food... the rule of thumb is that the tastier the foods the more natural chemicals... although of course you need to be a little more careful than just that!!! We have also cut out soy, gluten, nuts, rice, fish, eggs and dairy....

You might consider thinking about going on something like this for 6-8 weeks to see if it makes a difference to your daughter? I am not going to say it is easy, because it isn't :-( BUT if it improves things for your daughter, then it is worth it - at least that is how I look at it.....

Here is some information - http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/ and look at food intolerances info....

If you want any further information pls PM me.... I would be happy to give you more info as I know just how difficult it is to deal with these issues in a baby - I have nearly lost it many times! There is also an online support group which might help you stay sane!

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by violafemme

Jane, do you think I should go ahead and eliminate or that if she's not showing symptoms from my diet, my gut is digesting enough for the two of us?

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good literature about elimination diets? I just started eliminating stuff starting with the big ones and it's working, but I'd like do do some more reading; get some ideas about how likely it is that these allergies/sensitivities are to go away as her gut matures and more things I can do to help it. Like I said it doesn't seem to be a very bad case but I figure why wait until it gets bad to do anything about it if I can fix it now. I'm worried about celiac showing up later.

How do you give a 17mo old probiotics? Can she get them through my breastmilk? Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks,
Heather

I think you have to go with your gut feeling (ha, ha, what a bad pun) re: elimination diet. Why are you worried about celiac? Does it run in your family?

Yes, if you have a strong gut flora and are regularly eating yogurt, kefir and/or fermented foods you will be passing your probiotics onto your babe. That is the way it is supposed to be... but so many things in our modern diet/lifestyle interferes with this natural transfer.

I think if it's not that bad you should read up on strengthening digestion with probiotics and homemade yogurt/kefir/fermented foods rather than elimination. But the most common allergens are: dairy, wheat, eggs, fish, nuts and soy.