Rice Allergy - Is Rice Allergy Becoming A More Commonly Seen Allergy?

Both my son and daughter have food allergies and my son also has FPIES (food protein-induced entercolitis syndrome). One allergy of his that we became aware of this past week is rice. It is not usually a common food for people to be allergic to, but according to this link it is on the rise:

Rice Allergy - Is Rice Allergy Becoming A More Commonly Seen Allergy?

Although I am glad to have figured out which food was the culprit, it is not an easy allergy to deal with when he already can't consume dairy, eggs, peanuts, almonds, and soy. It is a good thing he mostly drinks hemp milk! So many of the products for people with dairy, gluten, and soy allergies have rice flour as the substitute.

If you have some favorite products for people who suffer from these same food allergies, I would love to hear about it!

Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome - FAAN

My kids have food allergies to dairy, eggs, nuts, and some food additives (dyes, nitrates) in addition to having reactions to soy products due to food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome. This may result in diarrhea or vomiting. The "allergy" test which looks at IgE levels will show up negative for an entercolitis problem. This type of entercolitis is seen when the person can't handle soy and dairy products. Entercolitis also differs from lactose intolerance because it is not due to lacking the enzyme lactase that breaks down milk sugar; it goes beyond having bloating and gas.

I am often surprised at how many pediatric GI doctors do not even look at this diagnosis as a possibility. Sometimes the parents of the kids I work with are told to give the child soy or dairy after the IgE test shows no positive sign of allergy. I think if the parent is seeing the child in GI discomfort, then the food shouldn't be added back into the diet. The allergist doctor that my children go to is the one that educated me on food protein induced entercolitis syndrome, yet my experience is that even some allergists don't look into this possibility. I realize though that every doctor has different trainings and experiences...wish more of them new about this possibility!


Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome - FAAN

If you've not went to a doctor for your child's digestive or allergy problems, then please do. You may want to visit an allergist if your child hasn't got better and has already seen a GI doctor. Some of my clients have even needed to go to the neurologist to rule out other problems such as metabolic or mitochondrial disorders which can have an impact on the GI system. One thing that is important to do before the doctor's visit is to keep a food diary. List out what the child ate, what time, and if there were any behaviors or digestive problems (e.g. burping, vomiting, refluxing, diarrhea, constipation, gas). If you've done this for over a week, you might be able to see a pattern and figure out the culprit. Sometimes not, but then you are able to rule out which food is not the offender!

Additives in Food Aren't Good For Us

My children not only have food allergies, but they are also sensitive to so many foods including additives and dyes. Their symptoms include irritability, over-emotional reactions, fatigue, and diarrhea. The foods they are sensitive to do not show up as an allergy on an IgE test. Many of the kids that I work with also have the same problem, but because they have developmental delays it is harder for them to tell us they have a tummy ache or we just blow off their tantrums as part of the developmental delay. The truth is that many of the processed foods, additives, and chemicals that are a part of our diet aren't good for any of us. I try my best to buy organic foods as well as natural products without trans-fats, dyes, yeast, and other additives; but to say that it is easy to do this would be a lie. It does mean that I spend a lot of time reading labels and investigating products on the internet before I go shopping. One website that has provided me with some great information is Feingold:

Feingold

Since 75% of our immune system is in our gastro-intestinal tract it makes since to treat it right and eat natural products without all of those additives!

Alternative Dairy Beverages

I have blogged before on my two children's food allergies. I could probably write a handbook and cook book on the subject. I remember when my daughter was a small baby and would have allergic reactions such as hives and rashes. Her reactions were from various foods she was allergic to that I had eaten, that were then passed on through my breast milk. Initially, I found it very difficult to alter my diet since I could only eat foods she was not allergic to. Stressed out doesn't even begin to describe how I felt at the time!

Since then, I have learned to cook and buy products that do not have the foods my kids can't have (dairy, eggs, red food dye, nuts; was also soy, oats, citrus). Here are some alternative dairy beverages and reasons they may be used over the other choices:

-soy beverage: good alternative especially for cooking, but many kids are also allergic to soy.

-rice beverage: tastes like skin milk, but low in fat; not the best alternative for a toddler needing to gain weight.

-almond beverage: great taste, but many kids are also allergic to nuts, and those who aren't are likely to grow into the allergy with continual exposure to almond milk. Unfortunately, this was the case with my son- after 10 days, he became allergic to it.

-oat beverage: good taste, not the best to cook with. More protein and fat than rice milk. Not good for kids on a gluten-free diet, because although oats don't have gluten there is cross-contamination with other grains during storage.

-hemp beverage: good taste, similar to pine nuts. High in omega 3 and 6, good levels of fat and protein. Not as easy to find in the stores as some other beverages. It is processed in Canada since it is illegal to grow cabannis (AKA marijuana) in the USA; hemp comes from the plant's seed and doesn't contain THC!

-hazelnut beverage: tastes distinctly sweet and nutty. Not good for kids with nut allergies or those at risk for it.

-Dairy-Free (R) beverage: made with potato flour, no fat, cholestorol or protein. Good if you are trying to lose weight, not good for toddlers who need higher fat levels.

Remember to buy these products that have been enriched with calcium and vitamin D. If you can't get your kids to drink these beverages, then try a dairy-free calcium liquid supplement or chewable vitamin. Also, there are many other foods out there that have calcium either added or naturally in them. Even carrots and broccoli have a small amount of calcium. However, it is a lot harder to get the necessary amount.
Don't forget that when purchasing vitamins or probiotics to buy products for vegans or those that distinctly state they don't contain any dairy or it's derivatives, and for the highly allergenic kids, they shouldn't even consume products that are processed on the same machinery as other products that may contain dairy.

In my house, I tend to stock up on hemp and rice beverages. Well, I'm off to go drink a large glass of rice milk....yummy!

Shopping for Groceries When Dealing With Food Allergies

Today, I drove 30 minutes away to go to Whole Foods (R). Now, that doesn't seem that far to some people, but there are at least ten grocery stores within 15 minutes from my house...the luxury of living in a large city. I travel so far to the health store because that is where I can find many products that my children are not allergic to. My daughter has progressed to only having dairy, egg, and red food dye allergies (along with many environmental and outdoor allergies) in food. My son's list keeps growing and is now at: dairy, soy, peanuts, almonds, oats, eggs, & pineapples. Poor guy, 2 weeks ago my husband gave our son pineapples for the second time ever. Since my son is 14 months old, it was okay to at least try the tropical and citrus fruits. Well, he broke out in hives, and his "boy parts" swelled, and skin is just now growing back on his bottom. The skin bled and tore off...ouch! As you may know, you do not have an allergic reaction to a food, medicine, or other allergen when exposed to it the first time, but will on the second time or with repeated exposure. It takes the body time to detect that a food is considered dangerous to the immune system.



Shopping is not always fun, but I have figured out what they can and can't eat. Something as simple as commercial chicken nuggets may have dairy and/or soy within the ingredients. I am constantly reading the ingredients list on boxes to new items, or in my case, potential new items that I may add to foods my kids can eat. I was glad to see that Betty Crocker (R) even has gluten free cake mix now. At the regular grocery store, I can find some items that are fine, but just not as large of a quantity as I do at Whole Foods (R). There is also a small "whole in the wall" store I go to near my house for vitamins, cookies, and a few other small items. Good thing that my children love fruits and vegetables, because for the most part those are safe for them to eat (except pineapples for my son). The grocery bill is usually quite large! I have tried coupons, but it isn't so easy finding coupons for the exact items that my kids eat, but sometimes you can get lucky. Earlier this year I was watching Dr. Phil (rare occasion that I would even watch TV at all!) and he had this lady as a guest that said she can spend only $800 annually on groceries. Of course, I'm saying "What?!?!?!?" because that is about what I spend in just 2 to 2.5 months. God bless her for the ability to find coupons for what she can eat, but I don't think it is possible for my family to do! If it is, I would love some advice on staying within such a budget!

Food Allergies & Vacation

I just returned from vacation. We had lots of fun! Since both of my sweet children have extensive food allergies, I must really plan ahead for food during our vacations. It would be a lot simpler to pack for a trip if I didn't have to think about every meal and snack for each outing, but by now I have come quite used to this. It is a serious problem if my children eat a food they are allergic to. This is why I always have the jr. epi-pen and lots of benadryl in my purse. They both have had anaphylatic reactions (hives, dropped blood pressure, throat closing up) since being small babies.

I first knew my daughter had food allergies around 4 months of age...she is now 5 1/2 years old. What gave it away for sure that she had food allergies was that I looked down at her chest when changing her clothes about 20 minutes after I breastfed her, and saw at least 100 little hives on her neck and chest. Since I am a healthcare worker, I was probably alot calmer than most moms. I made her vomit, washed her off, and gave her benadryl. She got worse, so I drove her to the doctor's office. They gave her epinephrine, because by this time she looked white as a ghost yet flushed at the same time. I remember this day like it was yesterday! After thorough testing it was revealed that she was allergic to egg, dairy, nuts, soy and wheat. So, since I breastfed her I had to avoid these foods for then on. The only other choice was to feed her an elemental formula, but those are bitter tasting and expensive. So, I chose to continue breastfeeding her. She has now outgrown all of her food allergies except for dairy, eggs, and red food dye....3 biggies.

In terms of my son, I was absolutely for sure he had food allergies by 2 months of age. But I had my suspicions at 7 days of age when he had projectile vomitting after being breastfed. I know the difference between infant reflux and vomitting, and this was definately vomitting. The other clues were redness around his bottom, a runny nose, mucous in the stool, and a significant amount of gas. He was too young to test for food allergies, so the doctor suggested that I avoid eating dairy, nut and egg products. At 5 months of age he was old enough to be tested and the results revealed: soy, dairy, peanuts, almonds, eggs, and oats. He is now 13 months old. I just recently weaned him and he drinks hemp or rice milk for calcium. On a good note, I was finally able to eat anything I wanted as of last week when weaning was over with....so vacation food was more fun for me!

While packing for the trip I thought of every little outing we would be on and planned accordingly. Most restaurants even add butter for flavor to vegetable dishes, so I brought lots of produce. I got us a room at the hotel that had a small refrigerator for all of my kids' special foods.
It seems like I had to explain many times on our trip why I was bringing in food to an amusement park or other facilities that do not allow outside food. After many minutes of explaining, I was let in with the food each time. The sad thing is that these places sell alot of junk food (nachos, candy bars, slushies with food dyes, etc). My children eat lots of fruit, veggies, and foods with little or no additives. Because of this my kids are probably much healthier than the kids who don't have food allergies!

Most importantly, we had so much fun on our trip. Seeing the smiles on my two children's faces and looking back at the souvenirs and photos makes all of the extra planning worth it!