Milk protein allergy food avoidance

Prioritize and strictly avoid all foods containing milk protein, and at the same time match the corresponding nutritional replacement plan. Review and evaluate tolerance every 3 to 6 months. There is no need to blindly avoid lifelong foods. As for how to avoid it, to what extent, and whether there are any exceptions, in fact, different situations vary greatly. I have been exposed to the dietary adjustment needs of more than a hundred allergy patients, and there are many more mistakes that are made than correct ones.

I just received a consultation from a mother a while ago. Her baby has been suffering from eczema repeatedly since she was 6 months old. She tested positive for the allergen milk protein IgE. She even gave up all the milk tea and bread she drank during lactation. She even dared not touch the baby's complementary food that even contained a little bit of milk. As a result, the baby's face was still red from scratching from time to time. Later, she looked through the food supplement she bought for her baby and found that "sodium caseinate" was added to several ingredient lists. This is a typical example of invisible milk protein. Don’t underestimate the additives in the ingredient list that you can’t name. Whey powder, casein, margarine, creamer, margarine, and even some children’s calcium tablets and flavorings all contain milk protein. If you don’t pay attention, you might be surprised. Nowadays, regular prepackaged foods will have allergen warnings under the ingredient list. Scan them before buying, which can save a lot of trouble.

Many people ask if they can switch to goat milk powder or camel milk. Here’s an important point: the protein homology between cow’s milk and goat’s milk exceeds 90%. More than 80% of patients with cow’s milk protein allergy are also allergic to goat’s milk. The homology of camel milk is not that low. There is really no need to spend that wasted money. For mild to moderate allergies, it is preferred to choose deeply hydrolyzed protein milk powder, and for severe allergies, use amino acid milk powder. This is a clinically proven safe alternative.

Regarding the strictness of avoidance, there are actually two different ideas in the academic community. One group advocates absolute and strict avoidance, especially for severe allergy patients who have experienced laryngeal edema, anaphylactic shock, and severe asthma attacks. Not to mention eating foods containing milk directly, even cross-contaminated foods that share the production line with dairy products must be avoided. Breastfeeding mothers must also completely avoid all foods containing milk. After all, just a few micrograms of milk protein may induce fatal allergic reactions. In this case, safety is always the first priority.

However, in the past two years, more and more experts have suggested that one size does not fit all. When I attended a pediatric allergy academic conference last year, a professor from Beijing shared a tolerance induction plan: If it is only a mild to moderate allergy, such as only local mild eczema, occasional diarrhea, and no serious systemic reactions, you can consult a doctor Under supervision, gradually come into contact with dairy products that have been baked at high temperatures - heating at temperatures above 180 degrees for more than 30 minutes will change the conformation of milk protein and reduce allergenicity by more than 80%. Starting from a small dose and slowly increasing it can speed up the induction of immune tolerance and achieve desensitization half a year to a year earlier than children who are completely taboo. Of course, it is definitely not recommended to try this at home. The dosage and progress must be controlled by professionals. I have seen parents feed cakes to their children to induce urticaria, but the gain outweighs the gain.

Another very common misunderstanding is that once an allergy is diagnosed, one will avoid food for several years, or even plan to keep the child from breast milk for life. In fact, more than 60% of infants and young children with cow's milk protein allergy will naturally tolerate it around the age of 3. Even if it persists until school age, half will gradually tolerate it before puberty. I met a 4-year-old boy two years ago. He had not touched a mouthful of milk since he was diagnosed with allergies at 6 months old. His height was almost 5 centimeters shorter than other children of the same age. His parents thought it was hereditary. When he came for a follow-up examination, he did an oral provocation test and found that he had tolerated it for a long time. After three months of supplementing milk and vitamin D, his height immediately caught up to 2 centimeters. To be honest, malnutrition caused by blind taboos is sometimes more harmful than allergies themselves.

Not only children, there are also many adults who regard milk protein allergy as lactose intolerance. A while ago, a young man came to me and said that he got hives and diarrhea every time he drank milk. He tried to switch to lactose-free milk, but it still didn't work. After checking, he found out that it was an IgE-mediated allergy to milk protein. In this case, you have to avoid milk protein just like children. However, the probability of adults' natural tolerance is lower than that of children. Don't be too anxious. There are many choices of plant milk and hypoallergenic milk. As long as you match it with a good diet, you will not be lacking in nutrients.

In fact, there is no unified standard answer for food avoidance of milk protein allergy. Some people can't even eat food that has been touched by chopsticks stained with milk. Some people are completely fine eating cakes and breads, but only get rashes when drinking cold milk. The safest way is to find an allergist for a complete evaluation and customize a plan that suits you. Don't make blind guesses on your own, which is both painful and unnecessary.