Avoiding Food Allergy Challenges for Your Baby or Toddler

As we mentioned a couple days ago, there are some new recommendations for parents on how to avoid food allergies.

In this time of change, what can you do for your baby or toddler to avoid problems?

• Eat an antioxidant-rich diet while pregnant and breastfeeding
• At least 5 fruits and vegetables a day but preferably 9. (Babies will eat a lot less – that’s okay, just keep offering
• At least ½ of grains from whole grain sources
• Include nuts and seeds at least a few times a week
• Choose most of your fat sources from MUFA (olives, olive oil, nuts, nut oils, avocado) or n-3 (fish, flax)
• Get adequate milk with added vitamin D
• Breastfeed for at least 6 months; breastfeeding through the introduction of foods might help reduce developing allergies to those foods.
• If infant formula is needed before 6 months of age,
• Use standard cow’s milk formula for children without any parent/sibling history of allergies
• For children with a family history of allergies, use a partially hydrolyzed cow’s milk formula
• For children with a known cow’s milk allergy, use elemental formulas.
• Delay introducing any foods until 4-6 month
• No need to delay introducing any specific foods, even in high-risk infants
• Offer a new food every 2-3 days
• Feed your children the same anti-oxidant rich diet for pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and milk
• Limit “snack food” that comes in bags, desserts, sweetened drinks

To learn what to do to try to avoid a food allergies visit our website.


This article is part one of a three-part series this week to highligh Food Allergy Awareness Week 2010.

About our expert Rachel Riddiford, MS, RD, LD.
Rachel has been an employee of Dayton Children's since 2004. She is currently the Manager of Clinical Dietetics and works as an eating disorder specialist in the Nutrition Clinic. Rachel completed her BS in Dietetics at Western Michigan University, Master's degree at University of Dayton, and dietetic internship at Indiana University/Purdue University. She has also completed an American Dietetic Association Pediatric and Adolescent Weight Management Certificate.

New Recommendations for Avoiding Food Allergies

Big changes are happening with the recommendations on how to avoid food allergies in babies and children! Here’s what is new:

• Avoiding certain foods during the first 1-3 years doesn’t seem to help avoid food allergies – and might actually make them worse.
• Plus, while food allergies are on the rise, so are other (“autoimmune”) disorders where the body mistakenly attacks healthy parts.
• The list of the foods thought to be most likely to cause allergies is changing.
• That means allergies and autoimmune disorders probably are caused by things in our environment.
• Instead of limiting a baby or toddler’s diet, focus on giving antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts to build a healthy immune system.
• Breastfeeding decreases food allergy risk.
• Food intolerances occur far more often than food allergies and food allergy tests are very complicated to interpret. Work only with a physician and dietitian very familiar with food allergies.
• You can’t predict who will develop a food allergy.

To learn what to do to try to avoid a food allergies visit our website.

This article is part one of a three-part series this week to highligh Food Allergy Awareness Week 2010.

About our expert Rachel Riddiford, MS, RD, LD.

Rachel has been an employee of Dayton Children's since 2004. She is currently the Manager of Clinical Dietetics and works as an eating disorder specialist in the Nutrition Clinic. Rachel completed her BS in Dietetics at Western Michigan University, Master's degree at University of Dayton, and dietetic internship at Indiana University/Purdue University. She has also completed an American Dietetic Association Pediatric and Adolescent Weight Management Certificate.

Green Cleaning: Avoiding Asthma and Allergy Triggers

When you have a child with asthma, spring cleaning is taken to a whole new level. You want to eliminate asthma triggers such as pollen, dust mites, mold and pet dander, but you need to be aware of how the cleaning itself can also be a trigger.

Belinda Huffman, pulmonary health and diagnostic coordinator at Dayton Children’s, has a lot of experience helping children with asthma and their families minimize exposure to triggers in the environment. Because asthma is the number-one diagnosis at Dayton Children’s, Huffman and other members of the pulmonary care team offer unparalleled expertise in caring for children with asthma and other respiratory disorders.

Belinda gives these four "green" cleaning tips to reduce asthma triggers:

1. Use your nose. Select cleaning products without strong or harsh scents. See guidelines below for choosing "healthier" cleaning products. Always follow instructions on cleaning products and keep lids and caps tightly sealed when not in use. Ingredients from solids and liquids give off vapors that we inhale and may enter our body tissues. Try to use as few cleaning products as possible. It’s not always necessary to have different products for the kitchen and bathroom.
2. Read labels. Avoid products marked "Danger" or "Poison." Reduce your use of products marked "Caution" or "Warning." Reduce your use of products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These include aerosol sprays, cleaners, disinfectants, moth repellents and air fresheners.
3. Look for "green" products. Some have been certified by an independent institution such as GreenSeal. Just because something as a "natural-sounding" name doesn’t mean it is free of chemicals you want to avoid.
4. Make your own. You can make your own cleaning products from simple and inexpensive ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, salt, soap and water. There are many books and online resources to help you make your own cleaning products.

For more infomation about green cleaning and living with asthma visit our Kohl's a Minute for Kids microsite!