Foods that babies are allergic to and should not eat

There are currently 9 categories of highly allergenic foods recognized in the field of pediatric allergies, including milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts/cashews/almonds, etc.), soybeans, fish, shrimp and shellfish, mango/pineapple/kiwi and other highly allergenic fruits, and processed foods containing artificial additives. There is no uniform list of taboos that applies to all Minbao , whether to avoid foods and how long to avoid them must be judged based on the allergen test results + the baby's actual reaction after eating. Blindly avoiding all foods can easily lead to malnutrition and slow down the pace of growth and development.

Don’t believe it. My best friend’s Minbao, who has just turned 13 months old, heard from a maternal and infant group that “Minbao should avoid all eight categories until he is 3 years old.” He has not been given eggs or milk for half a year. Last week, he went to the childcare center to be weighed. He was more than 2 pounds lighter than the median for babies of the same age, and his gross motor development was half a beat slower. After reading the food record and allergen report she brought, the allergist directly said that only mango and raw egg white were strong positives for the child, and there was no need to avoid them at all: when drinking deeply hydrolyzed milk powder, start adding boiled egg yolks from 1/8, and slowly increase the amount as long as there is no reaction. Such blind taboos are like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelon.

Speaking of which, I have to mention the two mainstream food taboo ideas in the field of allergies. There is no absolute right or wrong, and they are suitable for children in different situations: the clinical thinking of the older generation is more biased towards "cautious avoidance". As long as a certain type of food allergy is detected, regardless of whether there is an actual reaction, it is recommended to completely avoid it for 3-6 months and then gradually try it, which can minimize the risk of acute allergies.； The 2022 version of the "Chinese Children's Food Allergy Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines" advocates "active tolerance". In addition to strictly avoiding foods that may cause acute allergic reactions such as rash, vomiting, laryngeal edema, and wheezing after eating, other weakly positive highly allergenic foods can be introduced starting from a very small dose after a doctor's evaluation. Continuous exposure to small doses of allergens can induce immune tolerance more quickly and reduce the probability of long-term allergies.

There is a particularly typical example around me. The 2-year-old Taotao in the community was weakly positive for shrimp before, and the elderly at home refused to touch it. As a result, during the Chinese New Year last year, a relative unknowingly fed him a mouthful of shrimp, which directly caused laryngeal edema and sent him to the emergency room.； On the contrary, my friend's baby, who is about the same age, also tested positive for shrimp ailment. Under the guidance of the doctor, he was fed 1 to 2 mouthfuls of shrimp paste every week. After eating for 3 months, he went for a follow-up examination. It has turned negative, and now he can eat braised prawns without any problem.

One pitfall that many people easily fall into is that they follow the online list of taboos but miss “hidden allergens.” I helped my cousin organize her baby's food diary, and after keeping it for three months, I discovered that the baby was not allergic to wheat at all, but to the trace amounts of insect repellent added to ordinary flour. Later, I switched to organic stone-ground flour to make noodles and steamed buns, and there was no problem at all. There are also many mothers who say that they have avoided all highly allergenic foods, but their children still suffer from eczema repeatedly. After going through their children's snack bags, they discovered that the so-called "additive-free" rice cakes they bought secretly added whey powder, egg yolk powder, and some added artificial flavors and preservatives. Allergies induced by these ingredients are really difficult to prevent.

By the way, there is another common misunderstanding to mention: don’t confuse peanuts with tree nuts. Peanuts belong to the leguminous family. Many babies are allergic to peanuts, but eating walnuts and cashews is fine. Don’t kill all nut foods at once, otherwise you will miss out on high-quality vegetable fat sources. Breastfeeding mothers don’t need to blindly avoid foods. Unless you know that your baby will develop rashes or diarrhea after eating certain foods, you should eat whatever you want. Blindly avoiding foods will lead to nutritional deficiencies in breast milk.

In fact, to put it bluntly, Minbao’s taboo list is never about copying other people’s homework. You have to slowly try and check it yourself. If you are really unsure, just keep a food diary, what you ate on that day, and whether you had any reactions. Keep a clear note in one note, which is more effective than doing ten allergen tests. If you really encounter a severe allergic reaction, don't take it hard. Go to the hospital to see a specialist for evaluation as soon as possible. Don't make random choices about what to eat for your baby. After all, your baby's golden period of growth is only a few years, and you can't make up for it if you delay it.