Understanding Food Allergies in Babies & Children
Our microbiome – gut flora – began to flourish and grow during our birth. When our mother’s water broke and we descended down through her pelvic bones and into the birth canal, we came in contact with bacteria, yeast and other microbes which went to our intestines and began to flourish. After being born, our mother took us to her breast and we began to nurse, taking in the colostrum which was waiting for us. Her colostrum contained immune components which would jumpstart our brand-new immune system and seed our gut with beneficial bacteria. Afterwards, the growth factors in the colostrum would begin to close up the holes and prevent anything from crossing over into the bloodstream as the gut is hyper-permeable at the time of birth.
The gut will always remain permeable in order to allow nutrients to be absorbed into the body but should be tightly knitted together in order to keep out larger particles which could compromise the immune system. In fact, only two or three out of every one hundred babies who are exclusively breastfed demonstrate an allergic reaction -- and that’s most often to the cow’s milk in their mother’s diet. In these cases, the infant may show signs of colic, abdominal distress or a skin rash such as eczema or hives. In more severe cases, there may be vomiting, severe diarrhea or difficulty breathing that lasts up to several hours after breastfeeding. Breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life has been shown to significantly lessen the risk and severity of food allergies in families with a strong history of them.
I’m sure you can already begin to see that if a child is delivered through a C-section and then introduced to formula and/or foods in their early life, it cannot only compromise the newly developing immune system, but it can also allow material to pass into the body through the hyper-permeable gut which should not be there. When this happens, inflammation can set in, a leaky (hyper-permeable) gut remains unsealed and food particles which would not have been allowed to pass through are now able to get through the gut and into the body. When this foreign material enters the body, an immune response is launched which can then allow the body to become ‘allergic’ to that particular food or substance. Disease, discomfort, allergies and intolerances often arise from problems in the digestive tract.
Around 80 percent of our immune cells reside in the intestinal tract. It is known as the gatekeeper of the body because it is responsible for letting the good things in – like nutrients from our food – while keeping out the bad things like toxins and undigested food particles. In a 2013 study published in the journal Pediatric Allergy Immunology, researchers concluded that intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut) may be an intrinsic trait in certain children with food allergies. In a 2009 study, Dutch scientists suggested a link between leaky gut and coeliac disease.
This is why doctors recommend introducing one food at a time when your baby begins to eat solids as food allergy symptoms will usually appear soon after the food is eaten – within a few minutes to a couple of hours.
These are the type of symptoms you should watch for:
Hives or welts
Flushed skin or rash
Face, tongue or lip swelling
Vomiting and/or diarrhea
Coughing or wheezing
Cramps
Itching or tightness in the throat
Lowered blood pressure
Difficulty breathing
Loss of consciousness
Severe allergic reactions can be fatal very quickly, so if your baby is having trouble breathing/wheezing, has swelling on their face/lips, or develops severe vomiting or diarrhea after eating, immediately call 911 and then inform your pediatrician at a later time.
Approximately 90 percent of all food allergies are caused by the following eight foods:
Milk
Eggs
Wheat
Soy
Tree nuts
Peanuts
Fish
Shellfish
Allergies to milk and soy are usually seen in infants and young children. Often, these symptoms are unlike the symptoms of other allergies, but, rather may include the following:
Colic
Blood in your child’s stool
Poor growth
This can be why a baby which is on formula may be changed to a soy formula or an easily digested hypoallergenic formula. To help avoid these reactions and problems, it Is recommended that a baby be breastfed for the first six months and then start introducing fruit and vegetables one food at a time. Avoid cow’s milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, honey and fish during your child’s first year of life.
Leaky Gut in Children
When a leaky gut in suspected in an older child or adult, the suspects for causing the problem can include:
Antibiotic use
Intestinal candida or other fungal species infections
Undiagnosed food allergy or food sensitivity
Intestinal flu or virus
Food poisoning
Non celiac gluten sensitivity
Vaccinations
Chronic stress
Traumatic brain injury or concussion
C- section birth
Mom was treated with antibiotics in pregnancy, during birth or while breast-feeding
Radiation therapy
Being underweight as a baby, child or teen
Many children have had at least one of the things on this list happen at one time or another, but the one that is most key is being underweight. This can often be a sign that there is not enough raw material and energy in their body for the tissue to repair itself while the child is also trying to grow.
Signs of a leaky gut can include constipation, gas, abdominal cramping, acid reflux, loose stools, or bloating. Systemic inflammation symptoms such as swelling, irritability, fatigue, eczema, allergies and brain fog are also signs of a leaky intestinal wall.
How to Heal Leaky Gut
Adjust the diet. A leaky gut and most food allergies can be healed, but there must be a change in lifestyle. One of the first recommendations which is usually given is to remove gluten and dairy casein from your diet. These are the most common irritant food triggers for leaky gut. Dairy casein is commonly found in yogurt, kefir, cheese, ice cream and other milk-based products.
Add in supplements and get tested. Along with using a gluten-free/dairy-free diet, adding pre- and probiotic supplements can help to rebuild and balance the microflora. If in doubt, as to what supplements to use, it is possible to have a stool sample tested which can help you and your health care provider to determine which flora needs to be replenished. A couple of assessments for determining this are known as ‘GI MAP’ and ‘Doctors Data Stool Microbiology’.
If your child is underweight, some doctors recommend supplementing with amino acid mixes which give all eight essential amino acids (not just glutamine). There are formulas and powders available which can be added to juice or smoothies. These can give the gut direct access to building blocks for new tissue growth and repair. Depending on the child’s need, you can give 5 to 15 grams daily and up to 30 grams daily for severe cases. This will help to provide the proteins needed for repair, but the diet still needs to be nutritious enough to take care of the child’s energy needs. A healthy diet would include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables along with non-sugary carbohydrates. Their diet should also include healthy fats and oils.
Focus on fiber. Making sure your child’s diet contains lots of fiber will greatly add to their overall health and wellbeing. Indigestible plant fiber is known to help the digestive process because it is not broken down by stomach acids, it travels all the way to the gut where bacteria can feed on it. Fiber acts as fuel for your gut bacteria, allowing it to thrive and help maintain diversity in their microbiome.
Avoid inflammatory foods such as processed foods, fast foods and high sugar foods/drinks. Along with being unhealthy, they will increase the damage in the gut and take up space which should be filled with healthy, nutrient-dense foods.
Consider doing a parasite cleanse. This is something the whole family can do together and will help eliminate other culprits which might be contributing to gut issues. In my family, I always look for a formula which contains Black Walnut Hull tincture in its green state, Cloves and Wormwood. By using all three of these herbs, you can eliminate the parasites in all of their different stages of growth from larvae to adult.
Make sure they are resting well. Sleeping is when the body is able to heal and repair itself, so it is important to establish a good routine for your child’s bedtime. Children who are underfed or undernourished tend to sleep poorly and wake more often, so it is important to make sure your child is receiving good nutrition throughout the day.
Minimize the stress in your child’s world as much as possible. Making them feel like there is a problem in their body or that something is wrong with them can be scary and stressful, so it is better to focus on what we are all doing as a family to become stronger and healthier together.
Healing a leaky gut and/or food allergies is not going to happen overnight, so be patient and remember that the body is a miraculous thing which is always trying to maintain homeostasis (balance). As soon as it has the tools it needs, it will do everything in its power to heal and mend. In as little as 7 to 10 days, there can be major changes taking place in the microbiome. As the gut is allowed to heal, the immune system will be strengthened, the body will be nourished, mood swings will diminish, and health can be restored. Don’t ever forget how amazing the human body is – especially when we go back to the foods and medicines God left here for our use!