Some Facts on Food Allergies and Food Intolerence for Kids Which All Mothers Should Know
True food allergies affect a relatively small percentage of the population.
It may be hereditary as it is found to occur most frequently in children with family histories of allergies.
The term 'food allergy' is sometimes confused for 'food intolerance', but they are in fact different.
The difference is in the way the body handles the offending food.
Here are some facts on food allergies and food intolerance for kids which all mothers should know.
Food allergy, or hypersensitivity, is an abnormal response to a food that is triggered by the immune response.
The most commonly affected organ systems and their symptoms include: oSkin: hives, rashes, eczema oMouth: swelling of mouth, tongue oDigestive tract: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps oRespiratory tract: wheezing, asthma In contrast, food intolerance is more common and the immune system is not responsible for the symptoms even though the symptoms resemble those of a food allergy.
The problem lies with the body's ability to digest the food, usually due to a chemical deficiency.
For example, difficulty digesting milk (lactose intolerance) due to lactase deficiency.
Lactase is the enzyme required to digest milk sugar (lactose), hence deficiency causes abdominal discomfort and diarrhea after taking milk.
However, people with food intolerance often can still tolerate some amounts of the offending food without experiencing symptoms.
To reduce the risk of your child developing food allergies, do not introduce solid foods till four months of age unless medically indicated, eg; if your baby has failure to thrive or has iron deficiency anemia.
Some may even encourage introducing solids to baby at 6 months.
It is prudent that a limited variety and quantity of the least allergenic foods are introduced first in the following progression.
1.
Rice based cereal, 2.
Pureed root vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin, carrots) 3.
Pureed fruits (apple, pear, banana), 4.
Other vegetables (spinach, broccoli), 5.
Meat (pork, beef, lamb).
Only one new food should be introduced at a time and wait a few days before introducing another food.
This is to enable identification of the offending food should there be any adverse reactions.
It may be hereditary as it is found to occur most frequently in children with family histories of allergies.
The term 'food allergy' is sometimes confused for 'food intolerance', but they are in fact different.
The difference is in the way the body handles the offending food.
Here are some facts on food allergies and food intolerance for kids which all mothers should know.
Food allergy, or hypersensitivity, is an abnormal response to a food that is triggered by the immune response.
The most commonly affected organ systems and their symptoms include: oSkin: hives, rashes, eczema oMouth: swelling of mouth, tongue oDigestive tract: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps oRespiratory tract: wheezing, asthma In contrast, food intolerance is more common and the immune system is not responsible for the symptoms even though the symptoms resemble those of a food allergy.
The problem lies with the body's ability to digest the food, usually due to a chemical deficiency.
For example, difficulty digesting milk (lactose intolerance) due to lactase deficiency.
Lactase is the enzyme required to digest milk sugar (lactose), hence deficiency causes abdominal discomfort and diarrhea after taking milk.
However, people with food intolerance often can still tolerate some amounts of the offending food without experiencing symptoms.
To reduce the risk of your child developing food allergies, do not introduce solid foods till four months of age unless medically indicated, eg; if your baby has failure to thrive or has iron deficiency anemia.
Some may even encourage introducing solids to baby at 6 months.
It is prudent that a limited variety and quantity of the least allergenic foods are introduced first in the following progression.
1.
Rice based cereal, 2.
Pureed root vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin, carrots) 3.
Pureed fruits (apple, pear, banana), 4.
Other vegetables (spinach, broccoli), 5.
Meat (pork, beef, lamb).
Only one new food should be introduced at a time and wait a few days before introducing another food.
This is to enable identification of the offending food should there be any adverse reactions.
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