How to do a Food Elimination Diet for Breast Milk Allergy
Does your baby have reflux? How about severe gas pains? Or maybe your baby suffers from colic? If any of these are true then an elimination diet may help decrease your baby’s symptoms. After reading this blog post you will understand exactly what a breast milk allergy is and how an elimination diet can help eliminate your baby’s symptoms and get back to being a happy and healthy breast milk drinker.
Breast Milk Allergy Explained
1) What is a breast milk allergy?
A breast milk allergy is an infant reaction to traces of food proteins from a mother’s diet that enter the breast milk. To better understand this, let’s first look at how components of what you eat get into your milk. Inside of your body:
Food swallowed
Enters stomach
Digestive enzymes break down the food
Molecule sized components enter bloodstream (think sugars and proteins)
Blood travels through your body
Blood reaches capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in your breast
Molecule sized components enter alveoli (milk-making tissue)
Molecule sized components are now in the breast milk
Inside of your baby’s body:
Baby swallows milk
Milk enters stomach
Digestive enzymes break down the milk
Digestive system reacts to molecule sized components
Molecule sized components cause an inflammatory response in infant
Milk proteins are causing a reaction in your babies digestive tract
Symptoms appear
A breast milk allergy is NOT lactose intolerance.
2) What are the symptoms of a breast milk allergy?
Symptoms most commonly appear between 2 to 6 weeks of age and can include one or more from this list:
excessive fussiness
excessive spitting or vomiting
colic
rash or hives
severe eczema
nasal congestion (not associated with a cold)
getting little sleep
waking suddenly due to discomfort
persistent diaper rash
frequent ear infections
diarrhea or constipation
green, mucousy, or blood stools
trouble breathing (in severe cases, not common)
swelling of mouth or throat (in severe cases, not common)
3) What foods are common causes of a breastmilk allergy?
The common foods or food proteins that cause allergies in breastfed babies align with the top eight food allergens in the United States, outlined by the Food and Drug Administration. (these are listed in no particular order)
Dairy Products: This food group is the most common cause of breastmilk sensitivities, accounting for about 60% of cases. When you think of dairy, the main items in this food group come to mind: Milk, cheese, and yogurt. But dairy is ‘hidden’ under many other names. Avoiding dairy can be more challenging than you think! Even McDonald’s French fires have dairy in them!! And you thought fries were safe because it’s a potato…NOPE! Here is a list of all of the other names dairy can have.
Soy: This is a derivative of the soybean. This is a very popular Asian legume that is high in protein. Common soy products include edamame, soy protein powder, soy oils used for cooking, soy sauce, and soy milk. Soy lecithin is a thickening agent that is added to many processed foods.
Eggs: Eggs are easy to identify when they’re in the basic forms, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, etc, but eggs are added to many baked goods, salad dressings, and condiments too so be on the lookout.
Tree nuts: Some common tree nuts are almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. For a complete list visit https://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/tree-nut-allergy.aspx
Peanuts: peanuts get their own category because biologically speaking they are not a tree nut, they are actually a legume.
Wheat: Sources of wheat that are easy to identify include bread, cereals, and baked goods. But wheat can be sneaky and is added to many other products and processed foods.
Fish: Freshwater or saltwater, farmed or fresh…a fish is a fish.
Crustacean shellfish: Shellfish include Barnacle, Crab, Crawfish, Krill, Lobster Prawns, and Shrimp
4) What do I do if I think my baby has a breast milk allergy?
If you think your baby has a breast milk allergy there are several steps to take to help reduce your baby symptoms.
Talk to your baby’s pediatrician: Be sure to share the symptoms your baby is having with her doctor if you havn’t already.
Talk to one of our lactation consultants
Start a food elimination diet (see below on how to do this)
Keep breastfeeding or feeding your baby breast milk in a bottle (as long as the pediatrician agrees): It is almost always safe to continue breastfeeding your baby while you and your doctor are working together to identify which food(s) are causing your baby’s symptoms. Breastfeeding during an elimination diet can actually help you identify which food is the culprit because you will be able to see if symptoms are improving as you make changes to the foods you eat.
Contact a dietician
Contact a pediatric allergist
Elimination Diet
1) What is an elimination diet?
The goal of an elimination diet is to improve your baby’s symptoms while also identifying which food is causing the symptoms. Pur team of lactation consultants are available to help you identify possible food causes and develop and individualized elimination diet plan that works for you and your life style. Most major insurance plans cover these virtual consults at no cost to you.
We have developed a specialized method for identifying foods that cause your baby discomfort. Talk to a consultant today!
Read more about breast milk allergy and food elimination diet
I am a registered nurse in the State of Florida and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). The content on this blog page is for informational and educational use only. I have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information shared is accurate, but I cannot guarantee that it is free from errors. The information shared here does not take the place of a medical provider, nor establishes any kind of client relationship with myself as a registered nurse or a lactation consultant. I am not your IBCLC or RN unless you book a consult with me directly and we establish a patient/caregiver relationship.