Food

What Happens When Food Allergies Attack?

All of us have heard of Food Allergies, but when kids are very small it’s hard to tell if their having a reaction to a certain food, don’t like it, or are just being kids.

If a person has a food allergy, antibodies within the human body actually think the food is something very harmful. Once the body detects the ‘unwanted’ food, it releases chemicals into the bloodstream to ward off these perceived threats.

A child with a food allergy will likely exhibit signs of a runny nose or some itchy skin (like a rash or hives). More extreme symptoms include coughing, nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain and difficulty breathing. While most food allergies are minor, some are extremely dangerous as they combine all symptoms into one massive problem as blood pressure drops, the tongue will swell and in many cases the breathing tube actually narrows.

Many food allergies can be detected at home, but oftentimes it’s tough to diagnose what the problem food actually is. Specialists in this area are equipped to determine what the real problems might be. These doctors usually do a skin test, in which a liquid extract of the suspected problem food is applied to the skin of the patient. If a reaction is found, then an allergy to that food is present. In more difficult cases, doctors often send blood samples to other labs for additional testing.

The good news about food allergies for kids is that with time, many of the allergies are overcome as the body simply grows out of them. Life-long food allergies are usually associated with peanuts and some types of fish.

The Best Blogs for Parents of Allergy Kids

gluten free and dairy free ranch dressing

Image by elana’s pantry via Flickr

Whether the allergy is cow’s milk or peanuts, it isn’t always easy to deal with cooking around food allergies. But, what if you didn’t have to? What if the recipes you put together didn’t feel as if you were missing anything? What if they were actually—good? What if you actually discovered an easy way to deal with food allergies away from home?

The cream of the crop, without the cream, is here. Take a look at the best blogs on cooking for allergy kids, on the planet.

“Cooking for Aussie Kids who have Food Allergies” is a great blog for parents of children with allergies to dairy, egg, wheat, and peanuts; many meal ideas provided that kids will actually eat, from snacks to fish!
Get the best “Lunch Box” ideas for kids taking their meal to school. General food allergy links are provided along with lunchbox ideas and products that you can’t help but want to bag up.
This fantastic “Gluten Free Cooking Blog” gives endless advice on eating gluten free at home and away from it. Learn how to best travel, what to do if you or a member of your family has been recently diagnosed; find out how to use herbs and spices in your cooking, even how to make a treat or two gluten free.

Having allergy kids doesn’t have to be a headache with all of the avenues of choice on the Internet. Take a few moments to peruse these great sites, and feel to do some shopping of your own.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Allergy, Cooking, Food, Food allergy

What to Eat When you’re nursing a Baby

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Since what you eat while nursing affects your baby, it’s always a good idea to know what you should and should not eat for your baby’s best health. Certain foods not only produce an upset stomach, like colic, but some foods don’t provide the nutrients you need and want for your baby.

What you should eat:

Good fats like olive oil and canola oil. Salmon is also good as is avocado and nuts.
Drink at least 16 cups of water a day.
Well-balanced meals that include all of the food groups–dairy, fruits and vegetables, grains, and meats is your best bet in keeping yourself as well as your baby healthy.

What you should limit or avoid:

Alcohol and caffeine. If you choose to drink alchohol, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding.
Spicy food may work for you and your baby, and it may not. If your baby is colicky after a spicy meal, it may be due to the spicy dinner you both ate. A colicky baby is also attributed to a mother drinking cow’s milk.
Broccoli, chocolate, garlic, any food that makes your baby gassy or irritable later on may need to be avoided. Watch what you eat and monitor what you are eating by writing it down.

What you should eat while nursing your baby can best be determined by how you feel and how your baby feels after the meal is over. Make the end result worth the trip by following the guidelines above.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Baby food, EAT, Food, Milk

Nutrition and Wellness

Talking of living well, having vitality and free of illness, various factors and components must be considered. One of the most important of these has to do with nutrition. There is no way you can feel well by not feeding properly. The body will always give you back what you have put into it and that is why it is important that you do not fill your stomach with junk or trash. You have to feed well for various reasons.

One of the most pertinent reasons in favor of good nutrition has to do with the implications it has on one’s health. When you eat what you are supposed to eat, the body grows normally and is able to fight off diseases better than with poor nutrition. In addition to this, when you eat adequate meals, you will not fall a victim of the many diseases caused by deficiency of nutrients.

Having talked about some of the benefits of feeding properly, it is also important to point out an erroneous but widespread assumption or belief. Many individuals believe that for you to feed properly, you need to be stupendously wealthy. However, the reality on ground is quite far from that. In fact, to get a balanced diet, you do not have to burn a hole in your pocket, especially when you know where to go to. For an average individual, you can purchase foods, fruits and vegetables at a local store or grocery near you at affordable prices. The important thing is to choose different food products. If you still feel this measure is just too expensive, then the next step that you may have to take is to have a garden of your own.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Eating, Food, Health, Nutrition

Introducing Solid Foods Into a Babies Diet

Many new parents wonder when it is safe to give their baby his or her first taste of solid foods. This should always be discussed with the babies pediatrician first, but there are some general rules of thumb that most physicians go by to know if the baby is ready to try solid foods. Up until about the age of four months, a baby usually only needs breast milk or formula. This of course, can vary with each infant. If an infant is underweight or advanced for its age, the pediatrician may advise the parents that it is okay to try solid foods slightly earlier. Again, this decision should be thoroughly discussed with the infants doctor before making any changes in the child’s diet.

At about four to six months of age, a baby may begin to have more control over its reflexes, which allows it to be able to swallow easier. This in turn makes introducing solid foods safer. Up until then, choking can be a hazard with foods that are thick in consistency. Giving a baby solids before it is ready can be dangerous. Not only is choking a hazard, but allergies to foods can develop if they are introduced at too young of an age. Thirdly, a babies digestive system is sensitive, so the right foods have to be given at the appropriate times, in order to ward off negative tummy issues.

What solid foods should be given first? The general rule of thumb is to start only one solid at a time, waiting at least a week before adding another, to make sure the baby isn’t showing any signs of a food allergy. Very bland foods should be given first, such as infant cereals. Rice cereal is usually the first type recommended by pediatricians, because it is the easiest to digest. Keep in mind that the first spoon of a new solid food may cause the baby to make a face like it is being fed the most horrible tasting concoction ever! This is just because it is a brand new experience for the babies taste buds.

Filed Under: Diets Tagged With: Food, Infant, Solid

Children and Food Allergies

Food allergies in children can occur at any age. Some may develop suddenly and cause serious health concerns that require immediate medical attention, while others may only cause slight symptoms. Children can be allergic to a wide variety of foods, but there are a few that tend to cause more allergic reactions then others.

Eggs and milk are two food items that children are often allergic to, but luckily most will outgrow these allergies. Eggs tend to cause allergic reactions in children that are sensitive to the protein that the egg naturally contains. Although children that show allergies to eggs normally outgrow the condition, research has shown that these children may be more prone to developing asthma as they get older. The protein in milk is also often times the culprit when a child displays allergic reactions to the dairy product. Milk also contains whey, which can cause an allergic reaction in some children.

One of the more severe types of food allergies in children comes from a peanut allergy. This allergy can be quite serious and needs to be monitored closely. The protein in peanuts can cause the body’s immune system to backfire. The allergic child may have severe symptoms such as being very short of breath due to swelling of the throat or tongue. Peanut allergies are not usually outgrown. A child with a severe peanut allergy must be closely monitored to be sure they don’t consume not only whole peanuts, but any products that contain peanuts or peanut oil. Many foods use ground peanuts as an ingredient, so labels will need to be read in their entirety before giving the child a new food.

Another serious food allergy in children is one to seafood. This allergy can cause very dangerous symptoms, similar to those of peanut allergies. Most children that have a seafood allergy are allergic to all types of seafood, including shellfish and other salt water fish, but some may be able to tolerate one or the other with no negative side effects.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Allergy, Child, Food

Adding Probiotics to Your Diet for Better Health

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Probiotics are stated to be very healthy for nearly everyone. This natural bacteria helps with digestive issues and can keep the flora in the intestines at a good level, which is especially important if you are taking antibiotics. Antibiotics not only kill off the bad bacteria that is causing the illness, but also the good, which is why many patients complain of stomach problems while taking certain medications.

Although probiotics are available in a pill form, the best way to utilize them is to eat foods that contain live active cultures. The most popular food that contains this ingredient is yogurt. Read the label carefully to make sure the yogurt states that it contains live active probiotic cultures.

Other foods that contain this natural antibiotic are foods that have been fermented, such as sauerkraut or pickles. With pickles, you need to buy the kind that state that they are naturally fermented in order to get the benefits of the probiotics.This is also true for sauerkraut. Being fermented in a natural way keeps the probiotics alive and active in the foods.

If you like cheese, then you will be happy to know that probiotics are found in many types of cheeses also. Aged cheese and Gouda are excellent sources, along with some other dairy products such as soy milk and sometimes cottage cheese.

Other food sources that naturally contain probiotics are found in many Oriental style foods such as the popular soup called Miso. Kimchi, which is a Korean style of cabbage dish contains a healthy supply of probiotics also.

Introducing foods that naturally contain probiotics can be fun, tasty and healthy. Many of the foods are types that are well liked by most, while some may take a while to get accustomed to. All in all, most everyone can benefit from eating this great, natural antibiotic, but be sure to always check with your physician before radically changing your diet.

Filed Under: Diets Tagged With: Food, Probiotic

Coping with Picky Eaters

Many parents face the difficult task of feeding their family when each child has different allergies or foods they simply will not eat. This can cause stress on the family’s budget as well as on the person who is responsible for getting a meal on the table. Parents do not want to prepare four separate meals for their family, but they do want everyone to have a good, well-rounded meal that they can enjoy.
One way to tackle this dilemma is by preparing food in advance and freezing individual portions. If you have one child that can’t eat (for example) wheat and gluten you may want to prepare 2 or 3 portions of a couple of different meals they can eat on Sunday and then throughout the week you can thaw and serve this to them with the side dishes you serve that they can eat.
If your problem is just fussy eaters, you have a little more leeway. In our household, we serve one meal and you can either eat that or prepare yourself a peanut butter sandwich and an apple. On occasion, I serve something one of the children simply detests, and they will choose the sandwich and apple, but most meals they would rather just eat what I serve.
If your children are older, they can help in the kitchen. This is one of the best ways to combat pickiness. When children help prepare their meals, they are more likely to try new or less-desirable foods. They may enjoy experimenting with herbs and flavorings that can make a food they do not enjoy into a new favorite.
Your family is no more picky than any other, children go through stages where they are afraid to try new things. Make the effort to be open-minded yourself and let your children see you willingly trying new and exotic foods. This will make them more willing to try new things themselves.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Eating, Food

The Exposure Necessity

A battle of portions, a campaign without end: you and your child stare at each other from across the table, hands clenched and expressions grim. A plate sits between you, heavy still with broccoli (the grand terror of the dining room, the proclaimed nemesis of a toddler). He refuses to finish a meal; you refuse to allow him to escape. It’s an all too familiar standstill, neither willing to submit, both stubborn in their demands. Your son is… finicky with his food. If it isn’t drenched in sugar he deems it unworthy. Vegetables therefore are old enemies, all denied and tossed away. He won’t eat them; and you won’t give in. It’s a struggle of egos — and you think it’s absurd.

It is.

It is also, however, common.

Few children are blessed with a tolerance for foods, a desire to sample all tastes. Most instead are wary creatures, suspicious of what they don’t understand and uncertain of any flavors they can’t name. The picky eater syndrome is all too recognized among households; and there seems to be no way to combat it.

This is not true, though. There are ways to defend against this concern and the best method should be implemented as soon as solid foods can be accepted: exposure.

The easy mistake made by parents is to limit flavors when they’re first being introduced. The desire is to make a toddler eat, and so sweet foods and simple textures are considered — and nothing else. The necessary meats, grains, vegetables and fruits are ignored (thought to be too complicated or simply too much trouble). It’s vital that all children are offered these items, however. Begin immediately. Create a regimen of balanced meals, teaching the importance of nutrition. When offered certain foods before they can shriek out tantrums, children will be more willing to simply… eat.

Meals don’t have to be difficult. They must instead simply be planned in advanced. Exposure is essential.

Filed Under: Good Mental Health Tagged With: Child, Food

The Toddler Concerns: Feeding

It’s a panic that can’t be denied, experienced as a plate is burdened by slivers of food, the crumbs that refuse to be eaten. Your toddler is fickle. Meals are often rushed affairs, with only tiny portions consumed (shoveled in quickly so he can return to his playing). He spares no seconds for taste. He offers no concern for nutrition. Instead he merely samples tiny bites from his servings and then hurries away. And you fear he’s not receiving the vitamins he needs, the bone-strengthening calcium.

You must give him more, you think. Dinner must be stretched among multiple occasions, with snacks bolstering every hour. This is the only way to ensure good health.

It’s also the only way to ensure eating difficulties.

Toddlers are not shaped by the standards of adults (or even adolescents). Their bodies don’t require the same amounts of food. Their metabolisms don’t need sugar to offer the bursts of energy. Instead they’re defined to small appetites and fewer caloric needs. All nutrients are absorbed directly, offered to growing bones and slowly forming muscles.

And, because of this, they don’t demand the massive servings of their parents.

An all too easy mistake for individuals to make is to force their toddlers to eat as they do — with large portions and hefty calories. Many assume that this is needed to support development. It succeeds only, however, in teaching children to eat more than they need. And this can spark obesity, with no moderation learned.

It’s important therefore that parents understand that their toddlers require far less food than is generally anticipated. Portions should be small (typically one fourth of what product labels call for) and should offer only the necessary tastes. Don’t force a child to eat; and don’t assume they’ll suffer from poor growth if they don’t consume as much as you.

They’ll succeed with less. They’ll develop as needed. Remember this to encourage good health and better habits later.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Food, Toddler