Food for thought

January 10, 2008 | Print

Breastfeeding and Kids’ Allergies

A recent study finds that breastfeeding the first three months helps prevent children from developing food allergies.

The study also recommends that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers of children at risk for allergies (usually determined by the parents’ allergies) avoid allergens during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Common allergens: dairy, soy, wheat, corn, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and citrus (citrus is a common allergen for infants though not on the usual allergen lists).

Tree nuts: Almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, macadamias, filberts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, beechnuts, chestnuts, and Brazil nuts.

We don’t have allergies, but we do change our diets during breastfeeding as we notice a strong connection between our diets and our newborns’ gassiness and sleeping patterns.

The challenge is that when we’re breastfeeding a newborn we’re tired, often cranky, and we want comfort foods, or at least to eat what we want. We’ve created an organic alternative diet that makes us feel good while building our strength and milk supply.

Our favorite breastfeeding foods:

Lots of Protein: Red meat (once or twice a week for blood building and to maintain blood sugar levels when we’re sleep deprived), turkey, rotisserie chicken, Applegate Farms beef and chicken hot dogs.

Root vegetables: Sweet potatoes and yams (Chinese herbalists recommend both to increase milk supply), rutabagas, parsnips.

Greens: Spinach, chard or kale cooked in olive oil with a little salt.

Dairy (in small amounts): Meyenberg goat milk butter, goat milk cheddar cheese, the occasional Laloo’s goat milk vanilla ice cream.

Our dairy alternatives: Rice milk and oat milk.

Wheat alternatives: Quinoa with vegetable broth, brown rice, oatmeal with ground flax seeds, Nature’s Path Millet Rice Flakes.

Snacks: Spelt pretzels, Organic Kettle Chips (lightly salted), Barbara’s Wheat-Free Snackanimal Oatmeal Cookies, organic fruit popsicles.

More on Breastfeeding Diets:

Allergens and gassy foods to avoid with newborns

Getting help for uncomfortable or gassy newborns

If you have concerns about allergies, be sure to talk to your pediatrician.

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