Food allergy in children: results of a standardized protocol for oral desensitization. Oral Specific Desensitization in Food-Allergic Children Maternal dietary folate, folic acid and vitamin D intakes during pregnancy and lactation and the risk of cows' milk allergy in the offspring. Peanut, milk, and wheat intake during pregnancy is associated with reduced allergy and asthma in children. Evaluation of diet and growth in children with and without atopic eczema: follow-up study from birth to 4 years. The effects of dieting on food and nutrient intake of lactating women. Associations between Maternal Antioxidant Intakes in Pregnancy and Infant Allergic Outcomes
BACKGROUND / AIMS Food allergy in children is still an unresolved problem that merits investigation , particularly when the food is fundamental for the child 's growth . Reports in the literature that deal with the possibility of a desensitizing treatment are sporadic and often inconsistent , and no st and ardized protocol s are yet available . In this paper we propose a st and ardized oral desensitization program for food allergy in children . METHODOLOGY The treatment was carried out in 14 cases with allergy to food ( milk in 6 cases , egg in 5 , fish in 2 and apple in 1 case ) . The control group consisted of 10 age and sex matched allergic subjects ( 5 to milk , 4 to egg and 1 to fish ) , who underwent a strict elimination diet regimen .  RESULTS Compliance to treatment was satisfactory , since 12 out of the 14 treated cases ( 85.7 % ) completed the program . Treatment was successful in 100 % of the cases that completed the program : all the treated patients are now able to tolerate any food with no untoward effects or need for preventive drugs . CONCLUSIONS The proposed st and ardized oral desensitization treatment may represent a safe and convenient alternative in the management of food-allergic subjects The possibility of obtaining oral desensitization in patients with food allergy is still a matter of debate . We decided to evaluate the safety and efficacy of st and ardized protocol s for oral desensitization with the most common food allergens . Forty-two children ( ages up to 16 years ) diagnosed as affected by food allergy ( on the basis of clinical history , skin prick tests , measurement of specific IgE , and double-blind , placebo-controlled food challenge ) underwent a sublingual-oral desensitizing treatment according to new st and ardized protocol s. The control group consisted of 10 patients who followed an elimination diet .  The treatment was successfully completed by 85.7 % of the patients . Specific IgE showed a significant decrease , while specific IgG4 showed a significant increase , in all treated patients . The immunological modifications observed in our patients lead us to hypothesize that oral tolerance may be mediated by the same mechanisms as those involved in traditional desensitizing treatments for respiratory and insect sting allergy Maternal nutrient intake during pregnancy and lactation potentially influences the development of allergic diseases . Cows ' milk allergy ( CMA ) is often the first manifestation of atopic diseases , but the impact of early nutritional influences on CMA has not been explored . The associations between maternal intakes of folate , folic acid and vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation were addressed in a prospect i ve , population -based birth cohort within the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study . Mothers of 4921 children during pregnancy and 2940 children during lactation provided information on maternal dietary intake during the 8th month of pregnancy and the 3rd month of lactation using a detailed , vali date d FFQ . Information on diagnosed CMA in the offspring was obtained from a medical registry as well as queried from the parents . The Finnish food composition data base was used to calculate nutrient intake . Logistic regression was applied for statistical analyses .  Folate intake and folic acid and vitamin D supplement  use were associated with an increased risk of CMA in the offspring , whereas vitamin D intake from foods during pregnancy was associated with a decreased risk of CMA . Thus , maternal nutrient intake during pregnancy and lactation may affect the development of CMA in offspring . Supplementation with folic acid may not be beneficial in terms of CMA development , especially in children of allergic mothers . The association between dietary supplement use and CMA risk can at least partly be explained by increased health-seeking behaviour among more educated mothers who also use more dietary supplements BACKGROUND  Maternal diet during pregnancy may affect childhood allergy and asthma . OBJECTIVE We sought to examine the associations between maternal intake of common childhood food allergens during early pregnancy and childhood allergy and asthma . METHODS We studied 1277 mother-child pairs from a US prebirth cohort unselected for any disease . Using food frequency question naires administered during the first and second trimesters , we assessed maternal intake of common childhood food allergens during pregnancy . In mid-childhood ( mean age , 7.9 years ) , we assessed food allergy , asthma , allergic rhinitis , and atopic dermatitis by question naire and serum-specific IgE levels . We examined the associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and childhood allergy and asthma . We also examined the cross-sectional associations between specific food allergies , asthma , and atopic conditions in mid-childhood . RESULTS Food allergy was common ( 5.6 % ) in mid-childhood , as was sensitization to at least 1 food allergen ( 28.0 % ) . Higher maternal peanut intake ( each additional z score ) during the first trimester was associated with 47 % reduced odds of peanut allergic reaction ( odds ratio [ OR ] , 0.53 ; 95 % CI , 0.30 - 0.94 ) . Higher milk intake during the first trimester was associated with reduced asthma ( OR , 0.83 ; 95 % CI , 0.69 - 0.99 ) and allergic rhinitis ( OR , 0.85 ; 95 % CI , 0.74 - 0.97 ) . Higher maternal wheat intake during the second trimester was associated with reduced atopic dermatitis ( OR , 0.64 ; 95 % CI , 0.46 - 0.90 ) . Peanut , wheat , and soy allergy were each cross-sectionally associated with increased childhood asthma , atopic dermatitis , and allergic rhinitis ( ORs , 3.6 to 8.1 ) . CONCLUSION Higher maternal intake of peanut , milk , and wheat during early pregnancy was associated with reduced odds of mid-childhood allergy and asthma Current research into dietary factors contributing to the development of allergic diseases is directed towards new active approaches instead of passive elimination diets . The present study aim ed to investigate the explanatory role of the diet in a probiotic intervention study on the appearance of atopic eczema ( AE ) in childhood and the safety of perinatal supplementation with probiotics ( Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG ; ATCC 53 103 ) . A prospect i ve follow-up study from birth to 48 months of children ( n 159 ) with a family history of allergic disease was carried out . Outcome measures included growth , dietary intake assessed with 4 d food diaries and their association with AE by logistic regression models . Increased intakes of retinol , Ca and Zn , with perinatal administration of probiotics , reduced the risk of AE , whilst an increase in intake of ascorbic acid increased the likelihood of AE . Perinatal administration of probiotics was safe , as it did not influence the height ( mean difference 0.04 ( 95 % CI -0.33 , 0.40 ) sd scores , P=0.852 ) or the weight-for-height ( mean difference -3.35 ( 95 % CI -7.07 , 0.37)% , P=0.077 ) of the children at 48 months with and without perinatal administration of probiotics . Up to 48 months , AE did not affect height ( mean difference -0.05 ( 95 % CI -0.42 , 0.33 ) sd scores , P=0.815 ) , but mean weight-for-height in children with AE was -5.1 % ( 95 % CI -8.9 , -1.2 % ) lower compared with children without ( P=0.010 ) . The joint effects of nutrients and probiotics need to be considered in active prevention and management schemes for allergic diseases The purpose of this report was to identify and evaluate dietary changes in women who were participating in a study on the effects of weight loss in overweight lactating women on the growth of their infants . Women were r and omly assigned at 4 weeks postpartum to either restrict energy intake by 500 kcal/day ( diet and exercise group ) or to maintain usual dietary intake ( control group ) for 10 weeks . The diet and exercise group significantly decreased fats , sweetened drinks , sweets and desserts , snack foods , and energy intake . Micronutrient intake decreased in the diet and exercise group ; however , mean intakes were not significantly different from those of the control group except for calcium and vitamin D. Both groups consumed less than 76 % of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamins E and C at the end of the study . Mean intake of all other nutrients was adequate in both groups . These results suggest that overweight lactating women can restrict their energy intake by 500 kcal per day by decreasing consumption of foods high in fat and simple sugars . However , they must be advised to increase their intakes of foods high in calcium and vitamin D. Increased intake of fruits and vegetables should also be recommended to all lactating women , as well as multivitamin and calcium supplements to those who do not consume adequate amounts of these foods Antioxidant intakes in pregnancy may influence fetal immune programming and the risk of allergic disease . We investigated associations between maternal intakes of β-carotene , vitamin C , vitamin E , copper and zinc , and infant allergic outcomes .  Antioxidant intakes of pregnant women ( n = 420 ) assessed prospect ively by a food frequency question naire , were examined in relation to allergic outcomes at 1 year of age ( n = 300 ) . The main relationships with allergic outcomes were seen with dietary vitamin C and copper . Specifically , higher maternal dietary vitamin C intake was associated with a reduced risk of any diagnosed infant allergic disease and wheeze . After adjustment for potential confounders the relationship with wheeze remained statistically significant . There was also an inverse linear relationship between vitamin C and food allergy . Higher dietary copper intake was associated with reduced risk of eczema , wheeze and any allergic disease . The relationship with wheeze and any allergic disease remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis , and there was also an inverse linear relationship between copper and food allergy . However , these relationships were only seen for nutrients present in food . There were no relationships between β-carotene , vitamin E or zinc and any allergic outcomes . In summary , this study suggests that maternal diet of fresh foods rich in vitamin C is associated with reduced risk of infant wheeze , and that copper intake is associated with reduced risk of several allergic outcomes
One study found that children with food allergies who did not receive nutrition counseling were more likely to have inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D.  CONCLUSION Children with multiple food allergies have a higher risk of impaired growth and may have a higher risk of inadequate nutrient intake than children without food allergies .
BACKGROUND Food allergies affect up to 8 % of American children .
The current recommended treatment for food allergies is strict elimination of the allergens from the diet .
Dietary elimination of nutrient-dense foods may result in inadequate nutrient intake and impaired growth .
The purpose of this review was to critically analyze available research on the effect of an elimination diet on nutrient intake and growth in children with multiple food allergies .