Caring for an infant with food allergies or intolerances can be rough. They have visible symptoms of discomfort such as gas, colic, eczema, and more. You want fast results but don’t know where to start.
You end up searching on Dr. Google for answers since you aren’t getting ones from the medical field. This is when you find out there are many diets out there for infant allergies or intolerances.
So you’ve started the search, but now you’re overwhelmed with the results. You start asking yourself questions like:
What diet works the fastest?
What diet has strong scientific evidence?
What diet can I still actually eat on while breastfeeding?
It’s important to keep the top 12 infant food allergies and intolerances in mind when reviewing each of these diets.
The top 12 infant food allergies include:
Cow’s Milk Protein
Soy
Egg
Wheat
Corn
Legumes
Peanuts
Beef
Oats
Rice
Tree Nuts
Chicken
We’re going to take a look at a few of the major diets targeted at families with infants that have allergies or intolerances. We’ll give you the basics of each diet and why they don't work.
Dr. Sears Diet
Dr. Sears is a pediatrician who has contributed to the pediatric world for over 50 years. You’ll find an elimination diet in his recommendations for babies who are thought to have food sensitivities while a parent is breastfeeding.
His elimination diet recommends at least two weeks free of offending foods to “clear out of your system.” You should know our thoughts on this and if you don’t read our blog What Is The Truth About How Long Proteins Last In Your Breastmilk?
Foods allowed in Dr. Sears diet:
Range fed turkey and lamb
Potatoes and sweet potatoes
Rice and millet
Cooked green and yellow squash
Pears and pear juice
It’s recommended to drink a rice-based beverage and avoid all drinks containing caffeine. After the two weeks are over you would start to gradually add other foods to your diet, one at a time.
While this diet does eliminate a lot of infant allergies, it includes eating rice – and often. Rice is one of the top 12 infant food allergies and therefore doesn’t make the cut in finding your baby's trigger food.
Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet
You may see the word autoimmune and be scared that your baby could have an autoimmune disease. When it comes to food allergies and intolerances with your baby this isn't the case.
The thought is to reduce inflammation (caused by the immune system) in the body and this could help your baby’s symptoms. Research has shown the AIP diet helps inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients who have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, but not specifically breastfeeding individuals [1].
Foods to avoid on AIP Diet:
Grains
Legumes
Nuts and seeds
Nightshade vegetables