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#21
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
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#22
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
In article , Phoebe & Allyson wrote:
Yes! That's exactly my problem. I could have a darn good shot at guaranteeing hypothetical Baby#2 a food allergy-free existence by starting it on elemental formula from birth, and never ever introducing solids. Actually, I don't know that's true. Alimentum contains tapioca starch, which I react to. Nutramigen has corn syrup, which lots of people are ending up allergic to now, along with corn starch. I react to both of those. Pregestimil has the same problems as Nutramigen. Neocate, for those who can't handly protein hydrolysates *also* has corn in it, although the lack of dairy/soy proteins makes it a better choice than some of the others. You'd just end up with a baby that was allergic to your elemental formula. It does happen, which is why adult TPN is almost always a custom blend. Not to say that PB&J and chocolate milk are good first foods for 2-week olds, but there must be some happy medium. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what will turn out to have been the right decision. I've been doing the research for more than a year now. Even with having read it all - it's impossible to create a reasonable plan that has a good chance of being "right". For example, extended breastfeeding has been found to increase atopy. Apparently some kids have IgE reactions to human milk. About the only thing that the studies agree on is that introducing foods before 4 months is probably a really bad idea. 6 months is encouraged, but no one really seems to know if it's better than 4 months. Introducing foods too late causes problems too. For example, waiting until after 2 to introduce gluten containing foods (wheat, rye, oats(controversial), barley) is supposed to increase your risk of celiac disease. CD is significantly more stringent than your average allergy. In addition, if you are exposed to gluten after 2, it makes you nearly impossible to diagnose. You'll just get sick, and no one will know why. As much as I would like my kids not to have any allergies - I don't know that I really belive that any of the food introduction schedules have much science behind them. They seem to have about as much science as studies on how to get your kids to sleep through the night. Genes, unfortunately, tend to win out. Elaine |
#23
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
Elaine wrote in message ...
As much as I would like my kids not to have any allergies - I don't know that I really belive that any of the food introduction schedules have much science behind them. They seem to have about as much science as studies on how to get your kids to sleep through the night. Genes, unfortunately, tend to win out. I agree with your assessment of the research. I *did* follow one of the special schedules, but I freely admit that it was more so that if my son did turn out to have a serious allergy, I'd at least felt like I'd done what I could. The research is so contradictory and hard to rely on that it's all a shot in the dark, so I picked the bits that made some sort of intuitive sense and did what I could. I'll never know if it made any difference, either good or bad, but at least I can feel like I tried. Are the increases in food allergy incidence in kids real, or is it better diagnosis, etc.? It really does seem like more children have allergies than had them when I was a kid, and if so, there must be some environmental factor interacting with the genetics. I'm an allergies-eczema-asthma person myself, with a strong genetic history for it, and my mom did all the 'wrong' things - and I still don't have any food allergies. I would think that if any of these precautions made any difference, the situation would be getting better, not worse. Beth |
#24
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
Elizabeth Reid wrote:
Are the increases in food allergy incidence in kids real, or is it better diagnosis, etc.? I vote for better diagnosis and better understanding of the reasons behind other atopy (eczema is what I'm thinking of). 100 years ago, someone with anaphylactic allergies wouldn't survive to reproduce, FTT (due to allergy / intolerance) babies died, anyone with severe eczema was at risk of death from untreatable infection. Allergies that were minor and eventually outgrown were just another baby rash. Now, not only can you diagnose and treat (or at least manage) atopic disease, the odds of dying are smaller. So there are more live allergic people, more allergic genes being passed on, and more minor allergies being recognized as allergies. Phoebe -- yahoo address is unread - substitute mailbolt |
#25
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
In ,
Akuvikate wrote: *I know people post questions like this all the time, but... * *The plan is to start Bug on solids at 6 months, which will happen in 3 *and a half weeks. However I'm really beginning to wonder if it may *not make sense to start a bit sooner. Why I wonder: * *1. I gave her a index card to gum and drool on while I was filing *yesterday, and she actually ate bits of it (proof was in her diaper *this morning). So, what you're saying is, you have already started solids - just not the recommended variety. Right? Sounds to me like the kid is pretty much ready, but I'm no expert on this. -- hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est." not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large |
#26
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
In ,
Beth Kevles wrote: *It's your first parenting test: do you do what your child wants, or do *you do what's healthiest for their physical well-being? Well, I think everyone agrees you do what's best for your kid - the problem is (IMO) knowing exactly what that is. I do not think there is a magic timer going off in each baby's intestinal tract causing some kind of change in the gut at exactly six months old! I think some babies are likely to be ready sooner than six months and some probably a bit later. I HOPE that the other readiness cues are in some way temporally associated with the readiness of the gut to accept solids while minimizing risk of allergies, but I don't know. -h (started one baby on solids at 4 mos, inadvertently [he just kept stealing food off our plates!!], started other baby at 6 mos but she rejected them til 8 mos!) -- hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est." not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large |
#27
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
Hi - Hilary said: I HOPE that the other readiness cues are in some way temporally associated with the readiness of the gut to accept solids while minimizing risk of allergies, but I don't know. ------------------------- Based strictly on anecdotes from parents I know who are dealing with food allergies ... nope. If the baby is breastmilk allergic to foods, then yes, the babies tend to want to delay solids. BUt if they're not, the parents don't find out the bad news until the baby has a bad reaction. By the way, in looking at more recent research abstracts (at the NIH web site) it's looking less and less conclusive as to when solids are safe to introduce. There's a distinct disadvantage to starting solids earlier than 26 weeks, as far as I can tell, and a distinct disadvantage to starting milk (other than breastmilk) and wheat earlier than 10 months. Other than that, it's anyone's guess. BUT there's also nothing that indicates any problem with delaying solids in most babies. Just keep an eye on your baby's iron levels, which *can* drop in breastfed babies after the 6-month mark. In the short term, you may wish to discuss with your ped. what could happen, at different ages, if your child DOES develop an allergic reaction to a food. There are, for example, no epi-pens on the market for infants. (A properly used epe-pen can normally buy you abou 20 minutes in which to get to the hospital before your child stops breathing. An overdose can cause tachycardia or stroke ...) ANd a pre-verbal child can't tell you about the early-warning symptoms that aren't visible from the outside. SO, roulette it is, with the odds in favor of the child whose family has no history of allergy, or the child who spends its infancy around farm animals, and even the child who starts daycare in early infancy! Go figure. --Beth Kevles http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner. NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would like me to reply. |
#28
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
Are the increases in food allergy incidence in kids real, or is it better diagnosis, etc.? The increase in anaphylactic allergy is real, and visible even in just the last 25 years. I believe that part of the reason for the suggested introduction-of-solids schedule is that you want a child to be as mature as possible before introducing the more serious allergens. Pre-verbal children, for example, can't tell you if their throats tickle, nor can you see that, but if it happens the first time they are exposed to peanuts, there's a good chance that the second exposure will have a more serious consequence. ALso, there aren't great emergency response systems for infants who develop an allergic reaction, whereas there are for older children. (See my previous post w.r.t. epi-pens.) But I couldn't find much research on when and why to delay most solids. Milk and wheat, yes. Best delayed at least 10 months, with solid research behind it. All solids best delayed beyond 26 weeks. But it's still an interaction between genes and the environment. --Beth Kevles http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner. NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would like me to reply. |
#29
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
Beth Kevles wrote in message
... SO, roulette it is, with the odds in favor of the child whose family has no history of allergy, or the child who spends its infancy around farm animals, and even the child who starts daycare in early infancy! Go figure. The starting early in daycare seems to fit with the theory that today's kids develop more allergies because they are in too clean of an environment while their immune system is developing (due to so many antibacterial cleaning products, etc.). In the relative absence of real germs to fight off, the immune system goes haywire and reacts to food instead. Probably the same theory explains the farm animals effect too. Barns aren't the cleanest of places. :-) -- Cheryl S. Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 7 mo. And Jaden, 2 months Cleaning the house while your children are small is like shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing. |
#30
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Yet another "ready for solids?"
"Cheryl S." wrote in message ...
Beth Kevles wrote in message ... SO, roulette it is, with the odds in favor of the child whose family has no history of allergy, or the child who spends its infancy around farm animals, and even the child who starts daycare in early infancy! Go figure. The starting early in daycare seems to fit with the theory that today's kids develop more allergies because they are in too clean of an environment while their immune system is developing (due to so many antibacterial cleaning products, etc.). In the relative absence of real germs to fight off, the immune system goes haywire and reacts to food instead. Probably the same theory explains the farm animals effect too. Barns aren't the cleanest of places. :-) There was also some sort of study (recounted in 'Parasite Rex', and I don't know any more of it than that) that argued that it's not just bacteria, it's other intestinal parasites that we're missing in some autoimmune disorders at least. I don't know this absence has an effect on allergies but I wouldn't be surprised. Beth |
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