Baby Food Allergy And What I Wished Pediatricians Should Explain
I’m currently getting a second degree in the field of nursing, a complete 180 from my software/IT background. One of the classes I’m currently taking is Physiology and it’s from this class that I’ve learned so much. Most of the interesting knowledge are tidbits that my highly eccentric and lively professor adds as an aside to the course topic. One of the most interesting to me is the subject of how allergies to food come about.
See, pediatricians and even baby books often give an action and a consequence of that action. Like, “if you feed your child solid foods before 6 mos. your child will be more likely to develop food allergies.” The parents are supposed to just take that advice at face value. A lot of parents don’t put much stock in what doctors have to say, and think that they know best. Or that since their parents fed them solid foods at 3 mos., and they’re fine, the doctor’s advice is full of baloney. Or they may think giving solids or eggs or strawberries to their 3 mos. old “this one time” shouldn’t hurt. I think giving a very simple and valid reason for the advice behind delaying solids to avoid allergies can be an effective tactic in getting parents to listen.
It all starts with antibodies
So what is the mechanism to developing an allergy? Think back to your high school biology class, when you learned that bacteria has antigens on them, telling our bodies that they are foreign to us and need to be killed. We form antibodies designed to kill them, engulf them, and get rid of them. Usually, this is accompanied by symptoms such as fever, inflammation at the site of infection, and many more. Seasonal allergies develop similarly, and when our bodies attack the antigens that are present on the invading molecule, we get anything from hives, to runny nose, wheezing, etc.
So how does foods, which theoretically goes down our digestive tract to our stomach, and should get nuked (so to speak) by our highly acidic gastric juices, produce this same response of triggering antibodies and allergic reactions? In adults, it shouldn’t. By then, our bodies have matured. Our cells are all grown up, and we can take in almost any type of food we like, without this allergic trigger. That is not the case for babies. Babies digestive system are still immature. At six months and younger, the body still expects them to be breastfeeding, and antibodies in mom’s breast milk cross what’s called the tight junctions of their cells to get into the baby’s blood stream for immunity. To simplify, proteins from foods (even wheat!, causing gluten allergy) can cross this unbound tight junctions as well. Since they are considered foreign, they trigger the formation of antibodies. The antibodies lie and wait, with the memory of the allergen. The next time they are encountered, the body treats them as something to be fought, and an allergy has just been born. This is why even a one time exposure to a certain food can cause allergies for a lifetime.
The part genes play
Genes can certainly play a part in allergies. But the most important messsage that pediatricians often try to drive home without explanation is, the longer you delay the introduction of food, the less likely your child will develop allergies. We’ve already disccused one reason why: proteins from food cross into the blood stream to be treated as foreign invaders by our body. If your family is susceptible to food allergies, it’s wise to hold off on introducing solid foods period, and not just delaying the food allergy that runs in the family. People from families with a strong case of asthma, eczema, hay fever, can also predispose a child to food allergies. In people with these type of predisposition, they may have overly sensitive immune system that triggers the formation of antibodies against what most people would tolerate well.
Still, there’s hope that they can be overcome, by delaying the introduction of food and waiting for the baby’s digestive system to mature.
Interesting tidbits: the top 8 allergy-causing foods:
Milk, eggs, fish, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans and crustaceans like shrimp and crabs, are the most common food allergens. Proteins in these eight major foods are estimated to cause 90 percent of the allergic reactions in the United States.
I’d love to have the above explanation explained routinely by pediatricians to moms. I was never told, and I didn’t come across this information while reading my baby books. I’m the type that loves having a logical explanation for anything I’m being asked to do and a lot of moms would only certainly benefit from such information.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2001/401_food.html and my Physiology textbooks and professor .:)
(Note: The author of this article is not a medical expert. Please consult your doctor when making important decisions regarding your health or the health of your family.)
Read More
dawn says...
I wish I’d gotten this explanation for months ago. thank you for a great post.
Teresa says...
Thank you for this excellent explanation! I have food allergies and had heard it’s best to hold off on giving my baby solids til after 6 months but, like you, hadn’t been able to uncover the how and why of allergies.
Juliets last blog post..Savory lemon and herb marinade
Lara says...
Childhood immunizations are vital for the complete protection of your children from probable diseases. It will help them combat the possible sickness that can be taken from the surroundings.