Hypoallergenic diet for children: menu and recipes. What are food allergens, why are they dangerous for children Allergens for children after one year

The introduction of complementary foods is associated with the risk of an allergic reaction to the new product. To avoid the development of food allergies, you must follow simple rules for creating a diet.

When should complementary foods be introduced to children with food allergies?

The best prevention of food allergies is long-term breastfeeding. In this case, you need to follow a strict hypoallergenic diet. Complementary feeding for children at risk is introduced at a later date than their healthy peers - from 5-6 months of life.

Complementary feeding products for children at risk

  • Pediatricians recommend starting complementary feeding with single-ingredient purees or cereals in order to be able to monitor the baby’s body’s reaction.
  • If a child often has loose or unstable stools, or if the child is not gaining weight well, give him porridge as the first complementary food. Children with excess body weight and constipation are given vegetable puree first.
  • For children with food allergies in the first year of life, 1 type of cereal, 1 type of meat, 1-2 types of vegetables and fruits are enough.
  • Beef has an antigenic affinity for cow's milk proteins and may also cause allergies. It is better to give pig or turkey meat. Among meat purees, choose those that do not contain broth, spices, or salt.
  • Introduce whole cow's milk after 1 year of life, whole eggs after 2 years, fish and nuts after 3 years.

Introducing complementary foods to children with food allergies

  • Introduce a new product only when the baby is healthy, starting with 1/4-1/2 tsp. and gradually increasing the volume. In case of poor tolerance, temporarily exclude the product and try to give it again in a few days.
  • Give each new product for 5-7 days in a row before introducing another in order to track the baby’s body’s reaction.
  • Replenish your children's diet only with single-ingredient products: the reaction to a particular ingredient is difficult to track when consuming multi-ingredient products.
  • Give complementary foods from a spoon in the morning and afternoon to monitor the reaction to the product throughout the day.
  • ! If, for example, a pear is depicted on the front of a jar of puree, this does not mean that the puree does not contain salt, sugar, starch, oils, flavorings, food colorings, and preservatives. Their contents are indicated on the back of the packaging.
  • If you don’t know what your child’s body periodically “reacts” to, keep a food diary in which you write down everything your baby eats during the day. This will help identify a dangerous product.

Low allergenic products: zucchini, cauliflower, green apple, plum, pear, rice porridge, suckling pig, turkey.

Medium allergenic products: broccoli, potatoes, green peas, pumpkin, peach, banana, lamb, chicken.

The most common food allergens: whole cow's milk, eggs, fish, nuts, soy, wheat, citrus fruits, honey, chocolate, strawberries, tomatoes.

Will my child outgrow the allergy?

Food allergies are most common in children under 2 years of age. For most of them, unwanted reactions to allergenic foods decrease as their immunity strengthens. However, allergies to nuts, fish and seafood can last a lifetime. Give your child this food no earlier than the dates indicated above.

The Gerber brand assortment includes a large number of one-component fruit, vegetable and meat purees, juices and cereals, on the basis of which you can create an individual hypoallergenic diet for your baby.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Head of the Department of Adolescents at the Morozov Children's City Clinical Hospital Tatyana Nikolaevna Sorvacheva: “The growth of atopic diseases throughout the world in recent years indicates the need to develop effective preventive measures, starting from a very early age of the child. The main areas of prevention are currently considered:

  • long-term natural feeding (at least 6 months) provided that the mother follows a hypoallergenic diet or, if necessary, uses hypoallergenic formulas;
  • adequate timing of complementary feeding, in particular somewhat later than for healthy children;
  • the use of specialized hypoallergenic complementary feeding products, in particular monocomponent gluten-free and dairy-free cereals, monocomponent meat, vegetable and fruit purees.”

Discussion

And you can be allergic to zucchini! for anything! and by the way, up to a year it’s not an allergy, it’s a deficiency of enzymes, after a year there may not be any reaction! We gave him pumpkin at 5 months, but then we couldn’t cure him for three months. By the way, the allergist advised me to drink melt water - it will remove all the nastiness from the body and allergens too! life hack for you. Just buy any baby water, DO NOT BOIL! We just froze the baby water, then defrosted it and then give it to him.

You cannot accept any article as a 100% recommendation. Working with infants, I observe different opinions on the introduction of complementary foods. Depends on the literacy of the pediatrician and his medical intuition. The maturity of the gastrointestinal tract matters. If there are still functional problems, then careful complementary feeding is necessary to create favorable conditions for ripening.

In my opinion there is too much contrived here. Of the simple and unpretentious words of truth - only about long-term breastfeeding. And then it started - something that always touched me in this general pediatric line of the party: on the one hand, in my opinion, the introduction of complementary feeding is too early (and they didn’t even mention pedagogical feeding here), 5-6 months is already a late introduction for them . Well, well... My son was practically on full breastfeeding until he was 9 months old, but since he was a year old he has been eating with us at the same table and doing fine. And so I’m wondering if this special diet for children up to 3 years of age is the flip side of introducing early complementary feeding: we tore the digestive tract ahead of time, now we’re blowing water. It used to be even cooler - Spock! This is something! “The Child and How to Deal with Him” is the code name. They tried feeding my husband porridge for months, almost from the age of 3 months, and as a result, at 4 months he developed acute dyspepsia, which was barely cured in the hospital. Can this be called a hereditary predisposition, which they are afraid of here, because of which I now have to keep my son on a strict diet? Or, on the contrary, it speaks of endurance :) And another unpleasant moment: often children are discharged from the maternity hospital with an infection - all sorts of stuff, for which they are then treated for a long time. I think this also affects their digestive tract in the future. This is how our medicine works: first we cripple, and then we treat, we treat... :(

People with a family member who has allergies are also at risk. Prevention for them is one of the keys to health. Controlling your diet and being attentive to the body’s reaction to this product will help you avoid the unpleasant consequences of allergies. Who is at risk? And is it possible to do without those foods that cause you allergies?

Allergies: general information

There is an opinion among experts that any product can cause allergies. However, nowadays there is a long list of foods that most often cause allergic reactions in people. Allergens can be divided into groups. There are food, chemical, plant and household allergies.

List of the most common food allergens

1. Cow's milk.

Since nowadays there are a large number of products containing lactose, this means that all these products are prohibited for a large number of adults and children. This allergy is the most common in the modern world, and it is caused by genetic predisposition. This type of allergy can manifest itself differently for everyone. But if you follow the doctor’s recommendations, you can, if not cure, then reduce the harm of this product on the body.

2. Peanuts.

Peanuts are tasty, healthy and available in every corner of the Earth. This is a nut that is one of the most powerful allergens. It can cause a severe reaction in the body that can be fatal. People with this type of allergy are required to carefully read food labels and carefully order and buy food in mass establishments.

3.Seafood.

What is incredibly tasty for some is poison for others. Seafood is also an allergen that must be constantly limited, as the consequences can be disastrous.

All of these products listed above are the most common allergens known to man.

List of allergenic products

When people go grocery shopping, everyone has food preferences. These are mainly flour products, dairy products, meat and fish, vegetables and fruits. The list of allergens in the food industry is as follows.

Below is a table by which you can compare the harm of these products for a person who has allergies. List of food allergens:

Products Strong allergens Medium allergens Mild allergens
Flour products

Wheat and rye products

Buckwheat, rice, oatsMillet, pearl barley
Dairy

Cow's milk

Cottage cheese, cheese, cream, butterYogurt, kefir
MeatMeat brothChicken, beefRabbit meat, turkey, horse meat
SeafoodSea fish, caviar, shrimp, lobster, musselsWhite river fish
VegetablesCarrots, tomatoes, red bell peppersPotatoes, beetsCucumbers, broccoli, zucchini
FruitsCitrus fruits, kiwi, pineapples, pomegranate, persimmonBananas, apricots, peachesGreen apples and pears

Children's allergies

Let's look at children. Is there a difference between allergies that occur in adults and children?

In childhood, when the body is not yet strong, many external factors affect the baby’s health. And gradually moving into adulthood, it is necessary to monitor what the child eats. After all, the health of children often depends on the lifestyle of their parents.

In childhood, allergies are more painful. However, if you recognize this disease in time and follow your doctor’s recommendations, you can alleviate the symptoms of allergies or get rid of them altogether.

Eggs, chocolate, honey, smoked meats are some of the most common food allergens in children, and are far from the end of the list of allergens in the food industry according to the CU TR.

Other types of allergens

Protein is the most common food allergen for the body. Many people have them. They are poorly tolerated by the body, but egg whites are even worse digested than yolks.

The long list of foods that can cause allergy symptoms includes children's favorite vegetables, fruits and berries. Some foods, such as raspberries, are consumed with pits, while peaches are eaten without them. In this case, an allergy to peaches occurs relatively less often than to raspberries, since the seeds are poorly tolerated by our body.

Another main cause of allergies and intolerance to certain foods is fungi, which can be used to prepare them. Kefir, yogurt, cheeses, kvass are examples of such products that may contain this list of food allergens according to the CU TR. Limiting these foods and others containing the same allergens will help eliminate the development of this disease.
Antibiotics of fungal origin are also strong pathogens with which you need to be especially careful. After the first symptoms of an allergy, you should stop using the medicine and seek advice from your doctor. He will prescribe another drug that will not cause such a reaction in the body.

Not only the above products can cause allergies. All chemical additives that are used during its preparation can also cause an allergic reaction. It is recommended to always read the product label to see if there are any elements that are not suitable for you.

Notes from an allergy sufferer

One of the components of food intolerance is the manifestation of allergies to specific foods. The processes of the body's immune system contribute to this. Allergic reactions can cause emergency conditions, such as acute bronchial obstruction, anaphylactic shock, allergic vasculitis and other situations. They can also be a relapse for diseases of other human organs.

Appropriate Diet

Diet is a necessity if you have a food intolerance to any component. It involves limiting the consumption of foods that contain histamine. Because of this, small children under 1.5 years old are prohibited from giving eggs, fish, beans, nuts, and cow's milk.

At the same time, adults must also understand the dangers of eating foods that are hazardous to their health. It is necessary to avoid foods that contain histamine and food additives. In addition, it is recommended for adults to stop drinking alcohol.

The anti-allergy diet must be followed from 3 weeks to 2 months. People who do not know exactly what food they are allergic to should keep a diary of their eating behavior. After such an experiment, it is necessary to conduct an analysis that will most likely help determine the main causes of allergies.

Within 10 days after starting this diet, the first visible changes should occur. Paying attention to your diet and health is the key to a long and happy life.

Doctors record negative reactions to food in patients of different ages. Most adults suffering from intolerance to certain foods noted the onset of the disease in childhood. It is at an early age, while the baby’s body is still weak, that the first signs of negative reactions appear.

It is important to know which names doctors define as food allergens. A list of foods that are dangerous for patients with hypersensitivity will help parents create the right menu for their child’s diet. Adults will also find the list of names that increase the risk of negative reactions useful.

Causes

Intolerance to certain components is often determined at the genetic level, for example. In severe cases of the disease, the child’s body reacts violently not only to eating oatmeal or cookies, but also to foods that contain only traces of gluten. Even breaded cutlets or waffle bars are dangerous for allergy sufferers with this form of the disease.

If children are intolerant to cow's milk, they need lactose-free milk. Allergy sufferers should not consume not only whole milk, but also cream, sour cream, and any products containing lactose.

Factors that increase the risk of allergic reactions to food:

  • dysbacteriosis;
  • decreased immunity after a serious illness, frequent stress, or taking antibiotics;
  • poor nutrition, excess of highly allergenic foods in the diet;
  • introducing complementary foods ahead of schedule;
  • during pregnancy, the expectant mother consumed highly allergenic foods;
  • disruption of the digestive tract.

Main allergens

Each person reacts in his own way to the consumption of certain products: even highly allergenic items in the absence of hypersensitivity of the body do not cause negative reactions. In patients with a hereditary predisposition to food allergies under the influence of provoking factors, on the contrary, the body’s response to even a couple of orange slices or one egg is acute, with pronounced symptoms.

Potential allergens:

  • Nuts (especially peanuts, hazelnuts).
  • Dairy products: whole milk.
  • Honey and bee products: propolis, pollen.
  • Cocoa, chocolate, candies, cakes, pastries containing cocoa butter.
  • Citrus fruits: orange, grapefruit, tangerine, clementine, lemon.
  • Cereals with gluten: oats, rye, wheat.
  • Cheeses. Hard and semi-hard varieties are not suitable for allergy sufferers; processed cheese also causes a negative reaction in the body.
  • Meat. Fatty pork, strong meat broth, beef is less dangerous for allergy sufferers.
  • Seafood: clams, mussels, lobsters, lobsters, squids.
  • Products in original packaging: concentrates, semi-finished products, canned food, ready-made mayonnaise, packaged sauces.
  • Items with synthetic components: products with artificial flavors, dyes, harmful emulsifiers, sweeteners.
  • Caviar of sea and river fish.
  • Vegetables: tomatoes, beets, carrots, red salad peppers.
  • Fruits: red apples, less often apricots.
  • Exotic fruits: kiwi, persimmon, banana, pomegranate.
  • Berries: raspberries, strawberries, strawberries, black currants.
  • Eggs. The components of chicken eggs exhibit the greatest allergenicity. Goose, quail and duck eggs are less likely to provoke a negative reaction.
  • Melons: melons.
  • Other names: mushrooms of all types, mustard.

Note! Doctors identify two groups of highly allergenic foods. The classification is based on nutritional value and the possibility of replacement by other names.

First group

Products that are easy to avoid without harming your health. The absence of melon, nuts, mushrooms, chocolate, and seafood in children’s diets does not cause dangerous complications or developmental delays. The beneficial components contained in highly allergenic products can be easily obtained by using safe brands.

Second

High nutritional value, a rich set of useful vitamins and microelements does not allow removing the product from the diet. Eggs and milk fall into this group.

If you are intolerant to cow's milk protein, you will have to completely stop using all products containing a dangerous component. For mild to moderate reactions, doctors allow the consumption of a minimum amount of milk, but before drinking it must be boiled for 10-15 minutes.

The same situation with eggs:

  • Cooking for half an hour is required;
  • replacing chicken eggs with a quail product, with a lower risk of allergic reactions;
  • eating only the yolk: the protein containing albumin, after entering the body, causes increased production of immunoglobulin, which leads to a negative response, acute skin reactions.

Diagnostics

Identifying a food allergen is quite difficult. With a proper diet, including dozens of items, it is not always easy to understand which products caused skin rashes, swelling and itching.

On a note:

  • in some cases, with high sensitization of the body, the reaction is acute, negative signs appear half an hour to an hour after eating chocolate, citrus fruits, honey or other types of food;
  • in other cases, the allergen accumulates over two to three days, a delayed-type reaction puzzles patients who do not understand why blisters appear on the skin, the tissues are slightly swollen, and the body itches.

To identify unsuitable products, you will need the help of an allergist. The doctor will conduct skin tests and, based on the reaction to small doses of the irritant, will find out which types of food cause a negative response in the body. It is not advisable to take it before skin tests, so as not to blur the picture. Skin tests are not performed on children under 3 years of age. To accurately diagnose the type of irritant, another, more progressive and safer method is used. It will be discussed in the next section.

Food allergen panel

To determine unsuitable food, a method is used in which the patient does not come into contact with irritants and there is no microdamage to the skin. Doctors take blood from a vein and compare the presence of antibodies with a special panel (list) of allergens.

Advantages of the method:

  • The study is suitable for young children and pregnant women;
  • the integrity of the skin is preserved, there are not even the smallest scratches;
  • before the analysis, it is enough not to eat for a certain period (no more than 7-8 hours), do not take allergy pills for 8-10 hours before taking blood (it is not necessary to stop taking medications for a long time);
  • the allergen panel contains the main types of irritants that often cause negative reactions in adults and children;
  • At the request of the patient, the doctor will conduct additional studies of the reaction to specific food irritants not included in the main list.

Food allergen panel: list of dangerous products:

  • Berries. Strawberry, black currant, raspberry, blackberry. Allergic reactions after eating aromatic gifts of nature often occur in children: it is difficult to resist eating just a couple of strawberries. Many children and preschoolers eat handfuls of berries, which often causes dangerous types of food allergies: or giant.
  • Nuts. Peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts often provoke negative reactions. When confirmed, parents should carefully study the composition of bars, cakes, and sweets: even a minimal amount of nuts causes redness, blisters, rashes, and itchy skin.
  • Dairy products. If this type of allergy is confirmed, you will have to exclude or significantly limit the consumption of not only whole milk, but also kefir, cottage cheese, and sour cream. It is important to know that lactose intolerance is one of the common types of allergies.
  • Chocolate. All types of chocolate products, desserts, bars, cakes, drinks containing cocoa bean powder are prohibited. Parents should know that pediatricians and allergists do not recommend giving chocolate to children under three years of age: violating the rule increases the sensitization of the body, creates an excess load on the liver, and provokes. Often it is the parents themselves who are to blame for the fact that the baby developed after excessive consumption of sweets, chocolates, bars and candies.
  • Citrus. Juicy fruits often provoke a negative response from the body not only in children, but also in adults. In most cases, a pseudo-allergy develops - a reaction to a large number of “sun fruits” eaten by the patient in one day. Dangerous for pregnant women: negative consequences for the fetus are possible.
  • Eggs. Protein exhibits a higher allergenicity: this part contains albumin, under the influence of which the level of immunoglobulins sharply increases, followed by an active negative reaction to the irritant. The yolk is less dangerous for allergy sufferers, but there are also cases of negative reactions to this part of the egg. TO
    If the chicken product is used, you will have to replace it with quail eggs in a minimal quantity.
  • Legumes. Severe swelling or blisters with intolerance to peas, beans, soy appears less frequently, the main symptom is indigestion, diarrhea, bloating, increased gas production. Some patients experience redness on the body and develop.
  • Nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, many ready-made items on supermarket shelves contain several types of flavors, emulsifiers, dyes, stabilizers, and other synthetic components. Confirmation of a reaction to food additives imposes a ban on ready-made mayonnaise, sauces, concentrates, sweet soda, candy bars, ice cream, canned food, packaged juices, and other similar items in original packaging.

If you have a negative reaction to food due to a genetic predisposition, it is important to remember the severe consequences of advanced forms of the disease. The list of allergens is useful not only for patients with hypersensitivity, but also for healthy people: for the prevention of negative symptoms.

Do not forget that excessive consumption of products from the “black list” often provokes a violent negative reaction: swelling, rashes and blisters on the skin, hyperemia, disorders of the digestive tract, problems with blood pressure. If an immune response or a false reaction is suspected, tests using a food allergen panel are needed.

How to recognize a food allergen and determine the cause of the allergy? Useful recommendations from a specialist in the following video:

Every third person, from children to the elderly, complains about the abundance of allergenic foods.

The question of how to help a child under one year old who suffers from intolerance to certain foods worries parents. Sometimes a disease manifests itself as a genetic program implemented under the influence of life circumstances.

What foods cause allergies in young children? The child suffers from skin manifestations of the disease that appear after consuming the following products:

  • whole milk;
  • chicken egg yolk;
  • grapes;
  • strawberries

Allergenic products for children are divided into strong, medium, and weak pathogens.

The degree of their influence on the patient’s body varies. For example, chicken included in dishes does not cause an individual reaction in every child.

Potentially allergic dairy products, citrus fruits, fish, canned food, food additives must be excluded from the diet. If seasonal fruits or vegetables cause persistent intolerance, they are completely removed from the children's menu for several months.

The most allergenic foods in children cause the development of an immunological phase or a pseudo-allergic reaction. Serotonin is found in peanuts, and tyramine is found in chocolates.

Food allergies develop after eating food containing dyes, preservatives, stabilizers, salicylates, and antioxidants.

Allergy to blueberries in children aged 1 to 3 years is manifested by skin rashes, and only in some cases respiratory manifestations occur:

  • runny nose;
  • dry cough;
  • sneezing.

Allergy to dried apricots develops in patients with a hereditary predisposition to the disease. In young children with a family history, peach also causes a nonspecific reaction.

Lifelong sensitization associated with severe health consequences is provoked by raisins. Products containing 2 antigens Arah I and Arah II, for example halva with peanuts or dried apricots with pine nuts, contribute to the appearance of rashes and itching in the child. Fruits are a common cause of the disease. It is after their consumption that tingling in the mouth appears in children after one year.

Weak food irritants

The only effective remedy for treating the disease is to break contact with the nonspecific protein.

The development of allergies can be stopped by consuming less dangerous foods. The molecular weight of provocateurs of a nonspecific reaction in rye flour is small.

The table provided by the physician to the patient for review indicates rare cross-reactions between grains and pollen.

The allergenic relationship between soy-containing products and non-protein substances used in the production of chocolate is low. Prunes contain substances that are unstable to high temperatures, but tomatoes, celery, and carrots are heat stable.

Allergies to apricots are very common, because preservatives are used to give dried apricot products a lasting color. Non-allergenic, but safe products have been studied sufficiently and make it possible to predict the likelihood of a risk situation and prescribe an optimal diet. An allergy to apricots can manifest itself as symptoms of atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and suffocation.

Allergy to apricots is one of the most common.

Research indicates that food intolerances in children under one year of age appear after consuming milk, eggs, fish and grains. Peach often causes sensitization. Regular use of the product provokes allergies. The level of intolerance is high in young children.

Nutrition for a nursing mother

If a woman has allergies after giving birth, she should follow the rules of a healthy diet. It is necessary to pay attention to the quality of the products. Fish, some fresh vegetables and fruits can cause allergies, which will negatively affect the child’s health.

It is necessary to eat vegetables in small quantities to find out whether the product can cause a nonspecific reaction in a small child.

A woman may be allergic to cottage cheese, fermented baked milk and other fermented milk products. They are replaced with other protein dishes. Choose products that do not cause a negative reaction from the gastrointestinal tract or skin. To prepare salads, canned corn, soy cheese, parsley or dill are used.

If you don’t want to have lunch, it’s enough to eat 1 apple or just drink any drink you want.

For children under one year of age, mother's milk is priceless, so it is necessary to monitor the quality of nutrition of the nursing mother. If you wish, you can eat an apple, plum, or peach to replenish your body with carbohydrates. It is necessary to monitor the child’s reaction to their use.

The danger of sorrel and blueberries

Parents enrich the spring diet with fresh herbs. Allergy to sorrel occurs in 65% of children. The finished product contains aggressive oxalic acid, which is involved in salt metabolism, and even a small amount of sorrel is extremely undesirable for the patient - the allergen can provoke a strong immune response from the body.

You should not offer green cabbage soup with sorrel to a small child very often, since soup is not a dietary dish. If a child is sick, then nutrition should be adapted to his condition.

Allergies to blueberries are very common in young children, because they contain salicylic acid. The child complains of abdominal pain, diarrhea, itching, cough, and runny nose. In severe cases, blood pressure rises, and a small child begins to regurgitate. In children under 3 years of age, intestinal disorders, colic, and malabsorption of food predominate. An allergy to blueberries can be treated not only with medication; methods from the arsenal of traditional medicine, recommended by a doctor, will be useful.

Manifestations of the disease in children

In a child, a neglected condition worsens the quality of life. Parents need to know the main external symptoms of the disease. From the first days of feeding, the skin of an infant develops redness and itching. The reason is simple: a nursing mother's diet includes foods containing gluten.

Often, food intolerance is detected in a 7-8 month old child when complementary foods (semolina porridge, cookies) are introduced. Main signs of allergies:

  • change in stool;
  • bloating;
  • regurgitation or vomiting;
  • low body weight;
  • rickets;
  • caries;
  • poor appetite;
  • irritability;
  • cow's milk protein intolerance.

Blueberries are a very dangerous berry, causing a runny nose, cough, skin rashes, and itching. Peach provokes dizziness, discomfort in the abdomen, swelling of the lips and tongue. Abuse of figs (figs) leads to the development of conjunctivitis, decreased blood pressure, and in severe cases, Quincke's edema.

Radishes can cause swelling of the face, eyelids, and neck, but this reaction is individual for each child. Frequent consumption of allergenic foods significantly worsens the patient's health.

It is necessary to regularly keep a food diary to find out which foods do not cause the development of a specific reaction.

Dietary nutrition as disease prevention

Having found out which foods the child has a special reaction to, they are excluded from the diet. The diet of a nursing mother should be hypoallergenic. In case of a mild form of the disease, it is often enough to include therapeutic and prophylactic mixtures in the diet: Nutrilak GA, Hipp Combiotic GA. If lactose deficiency develops, the child is prescribed medicinal products that do not cause allergies: Nutrilac soy, Friesland Nutrition, Holland.

To prevent the condition from worsening, concomitant causes such as viral or bacterial infections are excluded. Cereals such as barley, which have low allergenic activity, are included in the individual diet.

It is very important to determine which product your child is allergic to.

If the food irritant has not been identified, it is unacceptable to give the child a peach. Smoked and dried meat products are excluded from the preschooler's menu. Sausages and frankfurters contain large amounts of nitrates and other harmful substances.

In case of individual intolerance, the menu should consist of gluten-free products - allergens for children: products made from oats, rye, pasta, cookies. It is dangerous to give desserts to your child if they contain figs.

Reaction to fish and processed foods

Among the products that cause allergies in adults and children, the leading place belongs to sea and river fish, caviar, and seafood. The main culprit in the development of an acute reaction is the protein contained in the soft parts of herring or sturgeon. Among the most allergenic foods for children are:

  • sturgeon caviar;
  • fish oil;
  • seafood;
  • tuna;
  • anchovies;
  • acne;
  • sushi.

A severe nonspecific reaction often develops in a weakened child’s body. Relieving an attack of fish allergy is not an easy task; treatment in a hospital is most effective. The immediate form appears immediately upon contact with the product. As a rule, the child is worried about:

  • vomit;
  • blisters on the body.

Even the smell can trigger the appearance of Quincke's edema. The lumen of the larynx narrows; if emergency measures are not taken, death from suffocation may occur. Therapeutic measures include the administration of calcium chloride, hormones, and tracheotomy.

Diets must be followed throughout life. Treatment should be carried out under the strict supervision of a physician.

Hello, dear readers. Today we are looking at a question that interests many mothers: which foods are the most allergenic for children.

Which allergenic foods should be completely excluded from the diet of children under one year of age, and which – for children two to three years old.

And at what age can allergenic foods be introduced into a child’s diet?

Allergenic foods for children

Environmental pollution, low-quality products, oversaturation of our everyday life with chemicals (household, cosmetic, agricultural) - the body responds to all these “stresses” with immune failures.

Plants, animals, household items - all this can cause allergic reactions. But most often (up to 80%) it is fixed.

How to protect the most precious thing we have - our children - from food allergies? What foods are called allergenic?

Products - allergens

All the foods we eat can be divided into three groups: hypoallergenic, moderately allergenic and high-risk allergenic foods.

Hypoallergenic products are easily absorbed by the body; they contain virtually no substances that can cause allergies. This:

  • fermented milk products (kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yogurt, feta cheese),
  • cereal porridge (buckwheat, rice),
  • green and white vegetables and fruits (zucchini, squash, apples),
  • rabbit meat, veal.

Medium-risk allergenic products are those that, given a reasonable degree of safety, can cause undesirable reactions in some people under certain circumstances.

These are lean fish, offal, legumes, bananas, berries, herbal decoctions, etc.

High-risk allergenic foods include citrus fruits, red and orange vegetables, berries and fruits, honey, nuts, and seafood.

Let's take a closer look at the rules for consuming allergenic foods for children.

Allergenic foods for children under one year of age

Infants have a very high risk of developing allergies.

There are factors that increase the risk: genetic predisposition, non-compliance with the mother's diet during pregnancy and pregnancy, taking antibiotics during pregnancy, early weaning from breast milk, disruption of intestinal microflora.

But even if you managed to avoid these risks, you should know: up to six months, any new product for a child can become an allergen!

The baby’s gastrointestinal tract does not produce enough enzymes to “recognize” a new product.

The following allergenic foods are most dangerous for a child under one year of age:

  • Cow's milk. Allergies can also apply to formulas based on cow's milk. Therefore, if you have to switch to artificial feeding, be careful when choosing a formula. If you have allergies, switch to mixtures based on goat or soy milk, they are less allergenic.
  • Eggs. They are also known to contain protein. Therefore, only the yolk and preferably quail eggs can be very carefully introduced into the diet of a child under one year old - they are less allergenic.
  • Exotic fruits. Perhaps everyone knows that citrus fruits are allergenic foods for children under one year of age: oranges, tangerines, grapefruits. Our grandmothers knew about this. But citrus fruits are an allergenic product not because of some element, but because they grow in tropical countries and are alien, exotic for our body. Therefore, doctors recommend introducing fruits native to our region (for example, apples) into complementary foods for children under one year old and to be careful not only with citrus fruits, but also with bananas, mangoes, pineapples and other overseas guests.
  • Red and orange vegetables, berries and fruits. Products of these bright colors are allergenic, as they have a complex structure that is difficult for a child’s body to digest. Therefore, children under one year of age cannot be fed with these products.
  • Honey. Of course, everyone knows that honey is a very healthy and very tasty product. But bees collect pollen for honey from various plants, including those that cause allergies. This makes honey an allergenic product.
  • Chocolate. Too many allergenic products are included in chocolate: milk, protein, cocoa beans. The child's body is unable to process this explosive mixture.
  • Nuts, especially peanuts. The high protein content makes nuts a particularly dangerous allergenic product for children.
  • Seafood and sea fish. The protein contained in seafood and fish is no less dangerous for the baby. These products must be excluded for children under one year of age.
  • , jams, preserves. They contain a lot of sugar, and sugar consumption should be kept to a minimum for children.

If your baby shows signs of allergies, he needs it. Please discuss the introduction of new foods into your diet with your pediatrician.


With a healthy reaction to complementary feeding in children's second or third year of life, you can carefully experiment with more allergenic foods.

Remember the rule: you need to introduce only one new product gradually, starting with small doses, in the morning or afternoon for several days, carefully observing the child’s reaction.

You need to start with moderately allergenic foods (low-fat fish, legumes, offal, bananas, light berries, watermelon).

If the reaction is healthy, you can also carefully try to give your child some allergenic foods: milk, eggs, confectionery, nuts (walnuts or almonds), jams, honey.

By the age of three, you can try introducing citrus fruits into your child’s diet.

The most allergenic foods - chocolate, strawberries, seafood, peanuts - are best not given to children under five years of age.

Important to remember

  1. The best protection against allergies for a baby is mother's milk.
  2. In the first year of life, it is necessary to introduce only hypoallergenic products into the child’s diet; you cannot experiment with allergenic ones.
  3. New foods should be introduced gradually, carefully monitoring the child.

We wish you and your children health!