Cooking for Kids with Food Allergies
According to Kids Health for Parents, 90% of food allergies in children are caused by only 8 substances:
milk
eggs
peanuts
tree nuts (such as walnuts and cashews)
fish
shellfish (such as shrimp)
soy
wheat
Allergic symptoms may be simply annoying (eg., tingling in the mouth) to life-threatening (eg., anaphylactic shock). Being allergic to some foods myself, I know that it may be difficult to predict what symptoms will appear at one episode or another. Thus, I’ve found that it’s best to simply avoid the offending food as much as possible.
When cooking for children with food allergies, vigilance in reading food labels is even more important, since they cannot watch their diets for themselves. Of course, the allergy must first be properly identified (contact your doctor if you suspect that you or a family member has food allergies). Next comes being informed about the various forms (and names) the allergen can take. For example, a person who is allergic to cow’s milk cannot consume foods containing whey.
Kids Health presents a list of ingredients that must be avoided by those who are allergic to milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.
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2 opinions for Cooking for Kids with Food Allergies
Rachel
Jul 22, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I hope you can help me. My daughter is 11 months and I am confused about what she can tolerate and what she can’t. I tried to talk to the doctor today and he suggested giving her soy milk when she turns one year. What I don’t really understand is does she have a milk allergy or intolerance? It started when she was two months old - she reacted very badly to the dairy I was eating (I was breastfeeding). Soon she had blood in her diapers and we were meeting with a specialist. I had to stop feeding her and she needed to take Nutramigen (instant fix). Now that she is older, I tried giving her that Yo-Baby organic yogurt and three times she developed a rash around her mouth. That was the only symptom. Should I be extremely worried? I know you’re not a doctor, but I was wondering if you had a similar situation.
Maricar
Jul 23, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Hi Rachel, you’re right I’m not a doctor. :) So my suggestion for you would be to go see one, specifically an allergist. I think it’s the only way to really know whether it’s a true allergy or intolerance. There are very specific tests that are done to identify these allergies. Meanwhile, you might stay away from dairy, since she’s already had what seems to be a reaction to it. But you should see an allergist to find out more.
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