New infant feeding advice (re: allergies) from ASCIA

[bon]

ok .. well dd has ezcema and potential" intolerances" so this article caught my eye ..
correct me if im wrong but , its saying to give the "highly allergic" foods ?? what about the potential of the "peanut allergy " wich can be fatal ... so if i give her food and her ezcema flares up , i should keep giving it to her ???


all formula tastes bad . the poor babies who have to taste it ( NOT implying negative comments on mums who FF i was one myslef.., rather commenting on the tastes of Formula)

I think what the article is saying is if you give potentially allergenic food and nothing happens, then you will be able to keep giving that food...but if you give something and it makes her excema flare up, then you should stop giving that food and seek medical advice. So basically, don't avoid giving any food and just use trial and error.

Re the formula - I actually read somewhere that even though adults find the taste of formula disgusting, babies like it because it is sweet, and they are genetically programmed to love sweet things because sweet = kilojoules = nourishment and putting on weight. That's why BM is naturally sweet as well. Babies have a lot more tastebuds than adults and so they taste things differently to the way that adults do. If babies really did find that taste off-putting they would refuse to drink it.

[rufalina]

I am still avoiding honey for DS till he is st least 1, cause that is not an allergy risk... that one is a "food poisoning" risk...

[Liz]

Just went on the hunt for a link I posted once before.

This document: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications..._files/n34.pdf admittedly is from 2003. But it's where I read that honey should be avoided until 2yrs old. (page 405) I'm pretty sure this is the document that listed some ingredients of breastmilk which was interesting too... will have a flick through. It's got a great section on breastfeeding management.. which isn't related to this thread I know

[rufalina]

Geez Liz, that is huge... but I will have a flick through it... Looks interesting... That bit on pgs 405-406 is a good summary of foods to avoid though. So 2 it is for Honey.

[MantaRay]

From what this allergist was saying, hydroylsed formula isn't sweet - it tastes very different to other formulas and is expensive as well. So that's why he suggests that if bfing is not possible, then to use soy formula. If there is a reaction to that then the hydrolysed.

Honey definitely is a different thing - it's not an allergy so you should still avoid that.

WRT to peanuts - it is very closely linked to allergies to other tree nuts so maybe that's why they call it a "nut" allergy. Dry roasted peanuts are the worst allergy trigger - and this is the type used in peanut butter. So when you are giving your child peanuts for the first time, it is best to avoid dry roasted peanuts and peanut butter. Boiled peanuts is good option as it is also soft for younger children.

Lea - as a pp said, I would think that ezcema would count as a reaction, so you would then want to avoid that food. An allergist would be able to give you more information.

Also, please bear in mind that the guidelines haven't actually changed wrt the timing of allergenic foods. It is the decision of each parent as to when to introduce things, based on all the information available.

[suse]

I think the thing to consider is that this advice and research refers to allergies only. Intolerance to a particular food is a different thing entirely, and has more to do with intestinal development and digestion. As an example, some babies (and adults too) may not process highly acidic foods such as tomatoes and oranges easily, which may cause stomach pain, so these may need to be avoided or given in minimal quantities until they can be processed without causing discomfort. So whilst the advice is certainly useful, I don't think it should be taken as a nutritional panacea, there are other reasons why some babies may benefit from a later introduction of certain foods. Given that this is strictly a study on allergies, the single-minded focus is not surprising.

It concerns me a little that the researchers did not make specific mention that foods like honey still need to be avoided due to toxicity concerns, whilst they do say to monitor reactions, toxicity from honey is generally cumulative.