Hypoallergenic Diets For Kids

Food allergies affect about 6 percent of children, according to the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Many children outgrow food allergies, but some go on to develop even more, some of which can trigger asthma attacks. Studies have shown that a hypoallergenic diet for infants can delay the development of allergic sensitivities with potentially beneficial but uncertain long-term results.

Common Allergens

The most common food allergens are milk, wheat, peanuts, eggs, shellfish, tree nuts, fish, and soy. A sensitive child will react to ingesting the food, sometimes instantaneously and typically within two hours. The immune system responds to prevent or eject the allergen; responses can range from gastrointestinal discomfort or a slight rash to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Any diet that removes the allergen may qualify as a hypoallergenic diet, but a broad hypoallergenic diet will avoid any of the common allergy triggers.

Allergy-Free First Diet

The Children's Hospital of Boston, the teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School, recommends breast feeding a child for at least the first six months of its life. Breast-feeding mothers should consume an allergy-free diet to prevent passing along allergens in breast milk. If breast feeding is not an option, don't give formula that is milk or soy based. Ask your pediatrician about hypoallergenic formulas. Infants younger than 6 months should not have solid foods. When it is time for solids, skip peanuts, wheat, cow's milk and fish before a child is 12 months old.

Avoiding Allergens

Delaying tactics can equal prevention, according to Dr. Alan Greene, a pediatrician at Stanford University School of Medicine. After evaluating tests of low-allergy diets, Greene concluded that an allergen-free environment and diet significantly protects babies from developing food allergies as they grow. Children with food allergies should not only avoid the offending foods but learn to manage their food selections. Teach kids with food allergies to read labels and scrutinize menus. Genetically modified foods might be cross-cultivated with plants that are allergens to create a more marketable, profitable crop. Familiar "safe" food products could change their formulas and suddenly contain traces of allergy-triggering foods. Fried foods may be cooked in the same oil used for an allergen---fish-and-chips is one example.

Snack Strategies

You have the allergies under control at home, but what about snacks for school or after-school activities? It's impossible to know every child's diet but it's likely that at least one kid in a group has some food allergy. Prevent lunch box trade problems by packing carrots and apple slices, raisins, lightly salted sunflower or pumpkin seed kernels, fruit cups with applesauce or pears, rice cakes and other gluten-free, allergen-free munchies. Provide those when it's your turn for class snacks as well. You can bake with gluten-free flours found in your local market. Keep a nut-free kitchen so your child and his friends can eat safely in your house.