Making Sure Your Child Gets Enough Nutrients Despite Food Allergies

When a child has just one food allergy, it is not especially hard to make sure that the diet is adequately nutritious. In studies of children in Australia, 83% of those diagnosed with food-protein induced enterocolitis syndrome are sensitive to just one food. At least two studies conducted in Australia found that no child was sensitive to both cow's milk and soy.

International studies have found that rice is often a problem food when there is sensitivity to soy, cow's milk, sweet potato, or banana. Rice is the problem food most often overlooked in children's diets all over the world.

So what can parents do?

• Breastfeed as long as possible. Children typically do not develop an allergy to mother's milk, even when their mothers consume foods that are problematic for the child.
• Consult a pediatrician about choice of formula. Sometimes "extensively hydrolyzed" cow's milk formulas are suitable for infant nutrition. These formulas have the allergenic proteins in the milk broken down into forms that do not trigger a reaction by the baby's immune system. 
• Some children grow faster when they are given amino acid formulas.
• When children need to catch up in their development because they had digestive problems as infants, it may be a good idea to put formula in sippy cups, use formula in baked goods, or to add a few drops of vanilla to the formula to make it more palatable. A dietitian or nutrition should be able to give you guidance on exactly how much formula you should give your child.

Sometimes children can't tolerate certain foods in one form but can tolerate them in another.

Typically, baking or frying (not that we suggest you feed your child lots of fried foods) breaks down allergy-causing proteins so that allergy isn't the problem with the food. However, the standard of care for food-induced enterocolitis usually is complete avoidance of offending foods, so consult your physician before giving your child even small amounts of problem items. 

Sometimes babies don't show any signs of food allergies until they are weaned, about the age of six months. To be on the safe side, it is usually a good idea to start with:

• Corn cereal, instead of rice or wheat cereal, followed by barley, millet, and then, cautiously, rice.
• Broccoli, parsnip, and pumpkin first, then try sweet potato, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and string beans, one at a time, watching for reactions.
• Meat before fish, beef before lamb or chicken.
• Beans before peas and lentils.
• Any fruit except banana and oranges at first.

See Also: Food Allergies in Children - Causes and Allergens, Symptoms and Prevention

When baby is a fussy eater, take note. Your child may know when a food is a problem. Just introduce one new food at a time so you will have, we all hope, no more than one allergic reaction.