Food allergies and intolerances in children

by Sarah Harris, FGHG Naturopath

Allergy and immune diseases are among the fastest growing chronic diseases in Australia. In fact, 1 in 10 babies are born with an immediate allergy to food. The impact allergy can have on a child as they grow becomes even more apparent at school age. It can be a major reason for school absenteeism, whilst allergy symptoms and some medications used to treat those symptoms can lead to poor learning at school and may also be a risk factor for ADHD.

What are the symptoms of allergies or intolerances?

Symptoms of allergies and intolerances may be quite different to what you would expect. There may be the common and more obvious symptom of mucous congestion or there may be something less specific like restlessness. Here are some key signs to look out for:

  • Instead of feeling more energetic after a meal, a child may feel tired or out of balance in some way
  • Mucous congestion, often caused by difficulty digesting lactose, can lead to a constant runny nose, chronic cough, or even asthma
  • Children experiencing restlessness, ear tugging, hyperactivity, mood changes, unusually quiet, or bed wetting may be signs of reactivity
  • Symptoms can be worse at night, with mouth breathing and snoring, which interferes with sleep and leads to irritability
  • A child will often crave the very food that is worst for them…seen as a child showing a ‘love’ they show for nothing else!

Allergy and reactivity symptoms can vary significantly from person to person and even vary at different times of our lives depending on our state of health. Intolerance or sensitivity is different to, but can lead to allergy. Allergy reactivity can vary from a serious anaphylactic response to allergic conditions such as hay fever, allergic asthma, eczema (atopic dermatitis) or food allergies; extending to a diverse range of physical symptoms including respiratory symptoms (red itchy nose, sneezing, sinus pain), gut symptoms (cramping, bloating, flatulence) and/ or skin symptoms (red/ itchy skin or hives).

If you suspect that symptoms are related to a food – then you are most likely right!

Intolerance to certain foods can be a result of poor digestion caused by enzymes imbalances (such as in reactions to milk products) and reactivity to chemicals in foods (natural: histamine, salicylates; or food additives, often synthetic). These can lead to additional, less specific systemic symptoms such as headaches, poor concentration, mood changes and energy slumps. Food allergy is also a key factor for atopic conditions such as eczema, hay fever, asthma; whilst other causes may be early exposure to solid foods or formula and heavy exposure to environmental allergens.

Digestive health is the key.
Allergy and reactivity has multiple causes and contributing factors, including genetics and environment but often gut health is at the centre of the problem.

Poor digestive health plays a crucial role in the development of allergies and intolerances. With approximately 70 per cent of the immune system residing within the gastrointestinal tract there is a close connection between the immune system and integrity of the gut. Healthy gut flora (microbiome) plays an important role in enhancing immune tolerance; the resulting appropriate processing of proteins is fundamental to the prevention of allergy in children, whilst poor digestion can lead to intolerance and allergy over a lifetime. Use of antibiotics, although essential at times, can negatively affect digestive function and immunity.

What can be done about allergy and reactivity?
Essentially, get help to assist you to identify the real cause and navigate the maze of testing, elimination diets and improving gut health. Immune processes can be modified to help you or your family to become less reactive. Dietary changes can be helpful; such as eliminating wheat or dairy, although sometimes it feels like “where do I begin?” Short-term symptomatic relief is important in order to relieve physical and emotional consequences of allergy symptoms and can be gained by avoiding the allergen (trigger). However, nutritional deficiencies, especially in children, can result from highly restrictive diets that eliminate entire food groups. Focus on correcting the underlying processes that perpetuate symptoms, combined with therapeutic elimination and gradual re-introduction of appropriate foods, creates the potential to decrease the frequency and intensity of the symptoms experienced. Increasing tolerance to food and environmental factors can enable improved quality of life, both short and long-term, which is preferable to a long-term restrictive diet.

By understanding yours or your child’s aggravating food groups according to the symptoms you experience alongside optional testing of potential allergens, an individualised program can be recommended by your Naturopath. Resting from foods that you are sensitive to reduces the immune system load. Herbal medicine and nutritional supplementation improves immune tolerance, reducing allergic symptoms, and works at a deeper level, to support a more normal immune system function.

 

sarahharris_edited_colourSarah Harris is a qualified and experienced naturopath, herbalist and nutritionist with more than a decade of knowledge and practice in complementary medicine. As a mother of three children and highly skilled in providing  naturopathic care, Sarah has a special interest in treating children of all ages. Her empathetic and kind nature instills comfort and confidence when providing advice to parents about their child’s health and she works well with families and individuals to find solutions for health concerns.

Buddha Brekky Bowls

by Charmaine Dennis, FGHG Director and Naturopath

Variety is the spice of life – so good for getting a variety of micro, macro nutrients and phytochemicals, pre and probiotics for your microbiome, fibre for your digestive health, and keep you interested in breakfast! These Buddha Brekky bowls are super flexible. You can mix and match whatever little tasty bits you feel like on the day. Your kids will love it too!

What have I forgotten here? What else would you add?

1TBS of each… -ish… whatever you feel like on the day… all organic if you can. Soak the nuts and seeds overnight if you can… or buy already “ activated”.

  • Gluten Free muesli – buy a couple of varieties, or simply soak some oats if you need it as a base. You can get GF oats at the health food store if needed. Adding lots of other bits and pieces of wholefoods will reduce any sugar load in a commercial muesli – or delete the muesli altogether.
  • Walnuts
  • Almonds
  • Macadamias
  • Brazil nuts (try to get the ones grown in Brazil as they are much higher in selenium)
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Linseeds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Chia Seeds – you can soak them in coconut or almond milk overnight for a few spoons of a tasty pudding – or just sprinkle them on, but they do love to get stuck in your teeth!
  • Nut butter – peanut, ABC, cashew etc
  • Dried Coconut
  • Cacao nibs
  • Goji Berries
  • Natural cow, goat, sheep or coconut yoghurt
  • Kefir
  • Fresh almond milk
  • Berries/mango/banana
  • Bee Pollen (small sprinkle)

Come and join us for breakfast! We’re over on our FB page sharing ideas, recipes, pics and inspiration as a community of breakfast lovers HERE.

For more nutritious and delicious breakfast recipes check out Charmaine and Milly’s “The Breakfast Project” e-book.

Breakfast Project Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CharmaineDENNISC1

Charmaine Dennis is a naturopath, fertility and health expert, mentor, writer, mother, and businesswoman. She is the founding director of Fertile Ground Health Group, co-creator of the Be Fertile relaxation CD series and co-author of The Breakfast Project, among other health inspired projects. Her greatest gift and inspiration is making health, wellbeing, and passionate living accessible, inspiring and achievable for everyone. Charmaine’s naturopathic career has followed a special interest in working with couples with infertility requiring IVF support since 1999.  She has assisted many in realising their dreams to conceive healthy, beautiful babies in collaboration with GPs and fertility specialists, acupuncturists and other health modalities.

 

 

 

 

 

Although antibiotic use in pregnancy may increase the baby’s risk of infection, giving specific probiotics can work in the baby’s favour

Pregnancy

by Gina Fox, FGHG Naturopath

News coverage recently from Australian researchers suggested that if you take antibiotics while pregnant there is a 20 per cent increased risk that the baby or child will have a serious infection that they need to be hospitalised for. This was especially the case when the antibiotics were taken closer to delivery date and the findings suggested that the antibiotics upset the mother’s gut bacteria, the microbiome. A side-effect of taking antibiotics is to upset the gut flora by killing off some of the beneficial gut bacteria and allowing other bacteria to flourish. This altered microbiome is then passed on to the baby during a vaginal birth. The effects were seen in the study to affect newborns and continue throughout their childhood.

It doesn’t necessarily mean if you are pregnant that you should avoid antibiotics, and if they are necessary then the best health improvement you could give yourself and your baby would be probiotics after any course of antibiotics. This may mitigate the issue with the your own gut flora and subsequently your baby’s gut flora. This is certainly good news.

As an add on to the story it’s now known through research on specific strains of probiotic which are the best ones to take after a course of antibiotics. These are the one’s known to go through the placenta and also post birth through the breastmilk.  Increasing the bifido strains in the infant is thought to be the most protective of illness and it’s known that among other strains the L rhamnosus GG is one of the main ones that when given to the mother has bioavailability for the baby and increases the baby’s beneficial gut flora.  It can also be supportive to give probiotics directly to the baby post birth. If you are interested to hear more ask your naturopath.

To read more on this story http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2018-02-05/babies-infection-risk-higher-if-pregnant-mums-take-antibiotics/9393650

 

Gina-Fox3Gina Fox is a naturopath with over 15 years’ experience. She trained under Francesca Naish (author of Better Babies) and has a Masters in Reproductive Medicine. As well as being an experienced clinician she is a speaker, naturopathic lecturer and student clinic supervisor.

Gina loves to help couples achieve full-term pregnancies and give birth to beautiful healthy babies. Gina excels at addressing underlying stressors while couples achieve their optimal fertility. Her own meditation practice led her to become a meditation instructor and co-develop the Be Fertile series of guided relaxation CDs for women around conception, IVF and pregnancy support.

Char’s Mouth-watering Chocolate Health Cake

by Charmaine Dennis, FGHG Director and Naturopath

Impress your friends and loved ones with health cake.

Super easy, quick to make AND pretty. It’s nutrient dense, high in fibre, good fats, antioxidants, protein and energy as well as gluten, dairy and soy free and fine for vegans too.  Small pieces are satisfying so it is a good idea for afternoon treat compared with a chocolate bar – but if you need something like to get though your afternoon or crave something sweet after dinner, you should probably come have an appointment with one of us to help you sort out your blood sugar balance!

My favourite part is how the thick layer of chocolate on the top cracks when you cut it. Such a satisfying sound.

Ingredients
·       2 cups walnut halves (soaked for 4 hours or overnight, rinsed and dried)
·       ½ cup shredded coconut
·       1/3 cup rolled oats
·       ¼ cup chia seeds (white or black)
·       2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
·       1 tablespoon raw cocao powder
·       pinch chilli
·       pinch sea salt flakes
·       18 medjool dates, fresh, pits removed
·       100g good quality dark chocolate, at least 75% and fair trade or organic
·       Raw cacao powder, sifted over to serve
(Organic ingredients where possible make it taste even better of course)
Instructions
1.     Process the walnuts, coconut, oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, cocoa, chilli and salt in a food processor until all the ingredients are chopped (not too finely) and mixed.
2.     With the blades spinning, add the dates a few pieces at a time, until all the dates are added and mixture is starting to come together. Stop the processer and spoon down the sides a couple of times to mix well.
3.     Press the mixture evenly into a 20cm cake tin, lined with baking paper (no need to grease) pressing and smoothing the surface down firmly with the back of a metal spoon.
4.     Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over boiling water and poor gently onto the top of the cake to cover completely to the sides
5.     Cover and refrigerate until required.
6.     To serve, dust with more cacao and cut into thin wedges

Notes
This recipe can also be turned into a slice or balls and rolled in cacao or coconut or dipped in the chocolate. If you are gifting the cake, it is nice to make a few balls to keep for yourself too.
Throw in what ever interesting ingredients you have – try other nuts like cashews or macadamias or seeds like sunflower or pipitas, nut butter, tahini, dry goji berries or other dry fruit, puffed quinoa or amaranth, matcha, bee pollen, maple syrup. You can experiment with different interesting tastes every time. Bit of this, bit of that, taste, taste, yum, yum.
It will keep in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Let us know if you make one – we would love to hear about your variations.

 

CharmaineDENNISC1Charmaine Dennis is a naturopath, fertility and health expert, mentor, writer, mother, and businesswoman. She is the founding director of Fertile Ground Health Group, co-creator of the Be Fertile relaxation CD series and co-author of The Breakfast Project, among other health inspired projects. Her greatest gift and inspiration is making health, wellbeing, and passionate living accessible, inspiring and achievable for everyone. Charmaine’s naturopathic career has followed a special interest in working with couples with infertility requiring IVF support since 1999.  She has assisted many in realising their dreams to conceive healthy, beautiful babies in collaboration with GPs and fertility specialists, acupuncturists and other health modalities.

Choosing Your Obstetrician

Gina Fox (FGHG Naturopath) talks with Dr Sushen Naidoo (Obstetrician)

Want some help with deciding which Obstetrician to choose and how to go about getting an appointment?

What qualities do you want in your Obstetrician? What does a good relationship with your Obstetrician look like?

Have a listen to this podcast for a short discussion and get some questions answered before you decide.

Listen to the podcast here: Choosing Your Obstetrician

Are all natal multivitamins created equal?

Natal Multivitamins By Gina Fox (FGHG naturopath) and Joanne Sharkey (FGHG acupuncturist)

Surely all preconception and pregnancy natal multivitamins are the same right? If not how do I choose the right one? Do I even need a natal multivitamin if I eat a healthy diet? You might be surprised at the answers to these and many more questions raised in this episode of the Finding Fertility Podcast by Fertile Ground Health Group, naturopath Gina Fox and acupuncturist Jo Sharkey.

You’ll learn how to navigate the world of natal multivitamins, why they are crucial for preconception care and pregnancy and exactly what needs to be considered when choosing one. Navigating the world of multvitamins can be a confusing and expensive exercise if you choose the wrong one.  The right advice from an experienced naturopath can ensure the effectiveness of your supplementation and ultimately save you time, money and peace of mind.

Listen to the podcast here Are all multivitamins created equal?