If preventing food allergies in babies is on your ever growing mom list, then this is for you. And because May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, this topic is so relevant right now. I recently spoke with pediatrician and best-selling author Dr. Tanya Altmann about preventing food allergies in babies.
Babies in the US are now 5x more at risk for developing allergies and asthma than other countries. The key change is that many American babies are now missing B. infantis – the good bacteria which protect baby’s gut from potentially harmful bacteria.
More children are now suffering from asthma and allergies than before. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), more than 6 million children under the age of 18 have asthma and more than 50 million Americans have environmental and/or food allergies. What’s even more surprising is that asthma and allergies are often impacted by the development of an infant’s gut during infancy.
New research shows that American babies’ gut microbiome has changed remarkably from our grandparents’ generation. This is due in part to modern medical practices such as antibiotics and C-sections, which interrupt the transfer of beneficial bacteria from mom to baby. Additionally, American babies now have gut microbiomes that are completely different from babies in other countries where that transfer still occurs, and where rates of metabolic and immune diseases remains lower. The key change is that American babies are now missing B. infantis – the good bacteria which protect baby’s gut from potentially harmful bacteria. Without this beneficial bacteria, potentially harmful bacteria can dominate baby’s gut. Many studies link these potentially harmful bacteria to higher risk of allergies and asthma
She has also written What To Feed Your Baby, Mommy Calls, a book for parents of toddlers and babies, and The Wonder Years, a guide for the first 5 years of a child’s life.
Photo by Trang Doan from Pexels
Top Advice:
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Probiotics are beneficial at all ages. Based on a UC Davis study, we no know how to go back in time and reset the gut bionome the way nature intended it and that B. infantis is that good, live bacterias that babies use to be born with.
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Introducing nut butters starting at 6 months of age, can actually decrease the chance of your little ones developing an allergy later on in life.
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Psoriasis and other other immune diseases are linked to gut bacteria. We can help feed that good gut bacteria with a diet high in fiber, legumes, fruit and vegetables.
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