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Got a Milk Allergy? Drink More Milk
October 29, 2008 at 4:55 PM by Cafe Cynthia - Comments (5)
Moms of kids who are allergic to milk know how hard it is to keep them away from it. It's in pizza, and milkshakes, and birthday cupcakes and just about everything else little kids love to eat.
Now some scientists are saying milk-allergic children might be better off if they were allowed to have those cupcakes and milkshakes. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers found that giving milk to kids who are allergic to it gradually retrains their immune systems to either disregard or accept the allergens in milk that used to cause the bad reactions. This is good news, since we recently heard that food allergies in kids are on the rise.
Here's how they found this out:
They selected 19 severely allergic kids ages 6 to 17 and gave half of them a milk powder and the other half a placebo powder--but none of the children nor their parents knew whether they were eating/drinking milk or not. At the start of the experiment, all of the children could digest only about a quarter teaspoon of milk without getting hives, stomach aches, or eczema (check out Cafe Suzanne's solutions to eczema in Baby Buzz). The milk eaters got progressively higher doses of the powder over the four-month study.
At the end of the four months, all 19 kids ate or drank the milk powder as a challenge to see what dose would cause a reaction. And whaddaya know--the group that was eating or drinking the milk powder all along could suddenly tolerate about 5 ounces of milk without any problem. Those on the placebo could still only manage a quarter of a teaspoon.
Right now, allergic kids are taught to avoid all foods that cause reactions--and you should continue to follow that advice. Please, do not try this at home. This is a brand new study involving only 19 kids, so there's a lot more work that needs to be done before doctors really prove the theory out.
But for now, at least it gives moms of allergic kids hope. To talk to and commiserate with some of those moms, go to one of the groups on this site, like Moms of Kids With Severe Food Allergy and Anaphlaxis or Babies or Toddlers With Food Allergies or Eczema.
Comments:
I'm not too surprised by this study because I know it works with other foods you are allergic too. My brother was allergic to strawberries but after continuously eating them he eventually overcame it. I personally was allergic to citric acid, but I had a hard time staying away from oranges and oj, and grapefruits. Now I can tolerate a good amount. Too much in one day and I still have problems but at least I can have some now without any problems.
Wow! That's exciting news! I have two year old twins. One is allergic to milk/dairy and the other is not. They both eat a dairy free diet because it's easier that way for us. I'm really hoping my son will grow out of it and that we don't have any other food allergies.
BTW, the pedi told us to hold off on peanutbutter as well until age 3. The boys have been eating soybutter and since they don't know the difference, they don't seem to mind at all.
I don't hold out too much hope. All they're seeing is a decrease in obvious reactions. What they aren't taking into account, or at least what isn't noted in this, is if there is any unseen issues coming up. Are these kids getting colds more often, or worse colds (as milk is congesting)? Are they getting more ear infections, or feeling more fatigued? I definitely like that it says at the end NOT to try this at home, as this is based on only 19 kids.
Oh yeah that's awesome! Let me give my extremely allergic 1 year old milk on a constant basis so i can kill him! I am sorry, but that isn't going to work for some of these kids. We have to have our epipen handy at all times, and my 1 year old has to wear a medic alert bracelet because he is THAT allergic to milk! That study is in NO way large enough to advocate going out and trying this with more children.
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Sure they may digest it that way but they will still have problems. Ear infections, eczema, sinus infections and so on. Here is a great book that will help people understand No More Antibiotics: Preventing and Treating Ear and Respiratory Infections the Natural Way by Mary Ann Ann Block
Lynette Oct. 29, 2008 at 5:11 PM