Yes, this week I'm going to talk about food allergies again. There's a lot of misinformation out there about the recent 'rise' in the number of children with severe food allergies, and parents are understandably concerned about their kids developing food allergies.
In talking to some of my non-food allergy friend Moms, I've realized that some recent studies that actually provide hope to FA sufferers may be dangerous. Multiple people have asked me if I'm going to try to tolerize the Spawn to peanuts. My answer, of course, is 'sure, when the protocol is approved for clinical use'. Although I give most FA-parents credit for being overly cautious and 'not trying this at home', relatives or caregivers may not be so cautious. Although I could ground a peanut up and dilute it 1:1000 or 1:10,000 per weight in flour, there's no way that I would even consider doing this without the type of balance that I used in lab. My kitchen scale just ain't gonna cut it.
Equally dangerous is the study that came out of Israel last year showing that when examining 'genetically similar' populations in Israel and England, there was a much higher prevalence of peanut allergy in England (recommendation: wait) vs Israel (recommendation: eat a lot of peanuts as soon as you can). The jury's definitely out on if the TIME you introduce a food influences allergy development (I tend to be in the 'It Doesn't' camp but the data's inconclusive at best). Why is this study dangerous? Because FA-reactionaries ('you're just a paranoid Mom') use it to justify their beliefs that parents are causing the damage to their kids.
All I know is that from my personal experience (n=1), withholding and preventing tolerance wasn't the problem. The Spawn broke out in hives after I had a peanut butter sandwich while I was nursing him. (Speaking of which, I've never actually seen any convincing evidence that nursing DOES prevent food allergy - who came up with that one?) His face became red and swollen after his FIRST milk formula bottle (primed by the cowsmilk antigen in the breastmilk). He developed his allergies before I even had a chance to withhold/tolerize. I feel confident that I, at least, didn't do this to him by being a 'paranoid mom' (although I played a large role due to my genetic contribution).
So what's the conclusion of my rant? Although these studies are good news for allergy sufferers, they certainly aren't a cure. By letting the general public feel more relaxed about the dangers of food allergies, the news hype surrounding the stories may actually do more harm than good.
Product recommendation: I have recently discovered Amy's organic soup (and other Amy's organic products). The Spawn can't eat milk or soy, and ricemilk isn't nearly as fatty (necessary for baby brain growth). Amy's has both normal (high fat and good for the Spawn) and fat-free (good for me) versions of nutritious soups that are high in protein and vitamins and minerals. The Spawn LOVES them (will even eat the dreaded GREEN BEAN in the context of Amy's vegetable soup). If you're looking for an easy, healthy, allergy friendly meal, this is the way to go (they should sponsor my blog).
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2 comments:
So far, I believe we've passed the "peanut butter via breastmilk" test. I really hope no one tries to condition their child with a 1/1000 peanut dust spec at home. It seems common sense and that a "do not try this at home" warning is unnecessary. Then again, people are dumb. :)
People are dumb is probably the biggest understatement that I've heard in a long time. Mostly, people just don't think about things. I always give the example of the Breadwinner's family (Catholics) when they found out I was a vegetarian. They assumed I ate fish, not because a lot of so-called 'vegetarians' (pescetarians) actually do eat fish, but because since they couldn't eat 'meat' on Friday during Lent, but they could each fish, that fish was obviously NOT meat. (Socrates would be proud of their logical consistency). My inlaws certainly aren't dumb, but this story demonstrates how the unexamined assumptions of people drive their actions - always dangerous. By the way - congrats on passing the peanut test! :)
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