egg yolk as first food

[TushasAmi]

My dd is 7 mo and I recently read an exceprt from Nurishing Traditions about giving babies egg yolk for protein and fat. I'd love to do this and probably only every four days. Since my daughter has signs of food allergies (eczema and mucousy stool) is it crazy to give her one of the top eight at this age?

[Caden's Mom]

Heck, yeah! Please don't do it! Egg allergies are often displayed by eczema (as is dairy and other things). Avocado makes a great first food. Mash some bananas. Puree beans (but not too many) for protein. If you are bf though, she is getting plenty of protein and fat in that.

[elmh23]

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[wendy1221]

Just wanted to point out that since your dd has eczema, she is atopic, and it is recommended that atopic kids or kids from atopic families should not have solids until 8 mos of age and should avoid the top 8 until 12 mos, and avoid peanuts, nuts, and shellfish until age 4. THis is the current recommendations of most allergists.

Atopic means prone to allergies. The most common sign is eczema as an infant.

[elmh23]

Originally Posted by wendy1221

Just wanted to point out that since your dd has eczema, she is atopic, and it is recommended that atopic kids or kids from atopic families should not have solids until 8 mos of age and should avoid the top 8 until 12 mos, and avoid peanuts, nuts, and shellfish until age 4. THis is the current recommendations of most allergists.

Atopic means prone to allergies. The most common sign is eczema as an infant.

Thanks for this info! I didn't know that. Dd is atopic so I'll keep ds food free longer than I planned and peanut/nut free longer (I'd planned age 3.)

[pumpkinhead]

I wouldn't do it. The issue with eggs is that while the yolk is actually pretty non-allergenic, the albumin (the white) is insanely allergenic. It's pretty nigh impossible to insure that the yolk has not come into any contact with the white, so if you have a child who seems predisposed to allergies, I'd just avoid it altogether until she is older. You could try intro'ing just the yolk when she is over a year.

Both my boys started with sweet potatoes. They loved 'em .

[TushasAmi]

Thanks everybody! I really needed to hear your input. I knew in my gut that giving eggs to an allergic baby is unwise. I think I was lulled into a state of denial when her ped responded to my concerns by looking me in the eye and saying that it was highly unlikely for a baby this young to have ANY kind of allergies.

I'm all alone in dealing with this. My DH takes any MD's word as gospel and thinks I'm worrying about nothing. I am prone to worry, but in this case I think I'm justified, so I am very slowly starting to figure things out...

[elmh23]

Get an allergist! Ped's aren't experts in allergies adn that's what you need. Either demand a referal from your ped or self refer.

[AdoptChina]

no way Id try the egg that young.
At my allergy appt yesterday the Dr said around 70% of kids who have early onset eczema are egg allergic (didn't ask for details since we already know ds is egg allergic)

[Rikki Jean]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who finds this recommendation puzzling. There is nooooo way that I would ever give any child egg yolk as young as the Weston A. Price Foundation recommends (4 months, right?), let alone an allergic child.

I actually got into a bit of scuffle about this recently with a naturopath who spoke at my Holistic Moms Network meeting. She was basically just lecturing about traditional foods, (and it was one of those great lectures that was straight from the book [which in this case was all the materials that the foundation had sent her], and none of her own real reasearch, iykwim), and I questioned the egg yolk recommendation because of allergies. She said that it's egg white that's an allergen, not the yolk, so there's nothing to be worried about. When I nicely said the same thing that I basically said in the paragraph above, she said (in a very irritated manner), "Well, that's just your choice," and moved on. I was really disturbed by her total disregard for allergy concerns...

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Rikki Jean

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who finds this recommendation puzzling. There is nooooo way that I would ever give any child egg yolk as young as the Weston A. Price Foundation recommends (4 months, right?), let alone an allergic child.

It is recommended because of the nutritional powerhouse eggs yolks are (from pastured hens) ... containing loads of fat soluble vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for immune system, eye and brain development. The infant needs these in great amounts. Although breastmilk does contain them *if* the mama's diet does in sufficient amount. Chinese bf'ing mamas are said to eat an average of 12 yolks/day!

Many traditional societies made the connection between high amounts of these nutrients and proper development. And just one example from modern research: Vitamin A levels are directly related to serum IgA.

If a child is not atopic, it is one of the best foods to start with for this reason. Food exposure alone does not create allergies.

This is the catch-22 problem that possessing an allergic immune system entails: a diet that needs to be restricted is also restricted nutritionally. Which in turn effects the functioning of the immune system.

[Rikki Jean]

Originally Posted by JaneS

It is recommended because of the nutritional powerhouse eggs yolks are (from pastured hens) ... containing loads of fat soluble vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for immune system, eye and brain development. The infant needs these in great amounts. Although breastmilk does contain them *if* the mama's diet does in sufficient amount. Chinese bf'ing mamas are said to eat an average of 12 yolks/day!

Many traditional societies made the connection between high amounts of these nutrients and proper development. And just one example from modern research: Vitamin A levels are directly related to serum IgA.

If a child is not atopic, it is one of the best foods to start with for this reason. Food exposure alone does not create allergies.

This is the catch-22 problem that possessing an allergic immune system entails: a diet that needs to be restricted is also restricted nutritionally. Which in turn effects the functioning of the immune system.

I wasn't at all trying to say that none of that info was valid, or anything like that, so I hope that's not what it sounded like! I just meant that I'm uncomfortable with the idea of giving eggs to a child that young. We didn't even start solids until almost 12 months because he just wasn't into it, and I was okay with that.

I agree with everything else I've read that WAP says, the egg thing just didn't settle with me well. And, mostly, I was just unhappy that the ND treated me as some naive buffoon because I was questioning it (and, I didn't think she was all that into it herself, so I was questioning in my mind where she really stood anyway).

[JaneS]

Okay

I think you are right, that ND has a lot to learn about traditional diets and how to fit them into our current dilemma.

I think a lot is also still being understood about the impact of nutrition on allergies. I was just reading today about how Price's X Factor (in grass fed dairy, organ meats and egg yolks) might be a key influence on immune system function. It's fascinating for me, looking at traditional methods of preparing and eating certain foods as an agent of healing. Rather than just fearing certain foods as sole agents of creating allergies, enemies. And reading modern research proving why food allergies do not exist in a vacuum. (And we still have lots of enemies in this house unfortunately!)

I get really frustrated sometimes with the restrictions we have, and also how a non allergenic diet is commonly viewed. Sadly, the top 8 are some of our best foods in terms of nutrition and their replacements can be "safe" but not as nutritionally dense. (and sometimes even harmful ie. rice milk vs. cow milk; margarine vs. butter)

Finding substitutes that are equal in terms of nutrition can be impossible, and egg yolks are certainly easier to give to a babe rather than the other best source of vitamin A and fats: liver.

I hate allergies even more when I know that sometimes it prevents me from being able to heal my child with nutrition, quite possibly the only thing that will work in the long term.

The other issue that should be considered is Rotation. Many people who start solids do not do this, first foods are given almost to exclusion it seems. Perhaps that would be a good strategy from the beginning? I don't know, I haven't read the theory behind it. It works for us now, and is very complicated and leaves little time for reflection. I jumped in (uncharacteristically) and just did it first.