Archive for February, 2010
Lactose Intolerance and Milk Allergy
Posted by: | CommentsThere has been a lot of media interest in the existence of food intolerances recently.
I have noticed that most of the information relating to lactose intolerance and milk allergies comes from studies that have been sponsored by The Dairy Council. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about the implications this has on the validity of the studies.
Here is some information about lactose intolerance and milk allergy
Lactose intolerance
Lactose is a sugar found naturally in milk. It’s important to distinguish between lactose intolerance and milk allergy, because milk allergy can cause severe reactions.
Lactose intolerance is caused by a shortage of the enzyme lactase, which is needed to break down lactose so it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
When someone doesn’t have enough of this enzyme, lactose isn’t absorbed properly from the gut, which can cause symptoms such as bloating and diarrhoea.
Milk Allergy
Allergy to cows’ milk is the most common food allergy in childhood, and affects 2-7% of babies under one year old. It’s more common in babies with atopic dermatitis.
A reaction can be triggered by small amounts of milk, either passed to the baby through the mother’s breast milk from dairy products she has eaten, or from feeding cows’ milk to the baby.
Children usually grow out of milk allergy by the age of three, but about a fifth of children who have an allergy to cows’ milk will still be allergic to it as adults. The symptoms of milk allergy are often mild and can affect any part of the body.
They can include rashes, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and difficulty in breathing. In a very few cases, milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis.
Cows’ milk allergy is caused by a reaction to a number of allergens in cows’ milk, such as casein and whey. Casein is the curd that forms when milk sours, and whey is the watery part that is left when the curd is removed.
People can be allergic to either whey or casein, or both, and an allergic reaction can be triggered by very small amounts of these allergens in people who are sensitive.
Heat treatment, such as pasteurisation, changes whey, so people who are sensitive to whey might not react to pasteurised milk.
But heat treatment doesn’t affect casein, so someone who is allergic to casein will probably react to all types of milk and milk products.
Milk from other mammals (such as goats and sheep), and hydrolysed milk and soya formulas, are sometimes used as a substitute for babies who are at risk of developing cows’ milk allergy.
However, the allergens in milk from goats and sheep are very similar to those in cows’ milk.
This means that someone with a cows’ milk allergy might react to these other types of milk as well, so goats and sheep milk aren’t suitable alternatives for people who are sensitive to cows’ milk.
Some highly hydrolysed milk formulas are suitable for babies with cows’ milk allergy, but other types of formula, such as partially hydrolysed milk and soya formulas, aren’t suitable, because many babies with cows’ milk allergy might react to them as well.
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Lunch Box Ideas
Posted by: | CommentsLunch time is a great opportunity to sneak in some fruit and vegetables to your child’s diets.
- Include a portion of fruit every day but be adventurous and make it quick and easy to eat. Instead of setting your child the task of peeling an orange, why not pack them a bunch of grapes, a portion of fresh pineapple or fruit segments.
- There’s nothing more warming than a mug of homemade soup on a cold day. Invest in a small flask for those winter months. Equally, on a warm day a fresh, cold smoothie may be just as welcome.
- Make a salad box in the morning with fresh salad and vegetables and alternate toppings throughout the week, like grilled chicken, tuna, pulses or asparagus. This is also handy for the grown-ups who take lunches to work.
- Rice is a great base for salad, so try mixing in fruit, nuts, beans and vegetables for a tasty lunch alternative.
- If they have a sweet tooth, don’t automatically head for the sweets and chocolate. There are healthier alternatives that are just as tasty, such as dried fruit and nut mixes.
- If you’re looking for a slightly sweeter drink there’s nothing nicer than a 100 per cent fresh fruit juice to accompany their lunch.
It is important to be careful about the “healthy” snacks that you buy for the lunch boxes as all are not as healthy as they seem.
- Cereal bars: many cereal bars contain more than 40 per cent sugar and 30 per cent fat.
- Flavoured yoghurt: the once-healthy yoghurt now often comes attached to a pack of confectionery to stir in. Some of these contain more than five teaspoons of sugar in each pot.
- Savoury snacks: cheese strings and similar foods tend to be highly processed and may contain high levels of saturated fat and salt. One single snack can contain almost as much salt as a young child should have in an entire day.
- Fruit juice drinks: pure fruit juice contains 100 per cent fruit juice as you would expect. However a ‘fruit juice drink’ can contain as little as 6 per cent juice. Many so-called ‘juice drinks’ are really only juice-flavoured sugary water and contain more water and sugar than actual fruit juice. They many also include artificial flavourings, sweeteners and colourings.
With a little imagination and preparation, it may be easier than you think to give your children a healthy lunch.
Healthy Lunchboxes
Posted by: | CommentsIs it possible to get your child to take a healthy lunch to school and actually eat it?
Some five million children’s lunchboxes are prepared in British homes every weekday, yet a Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey revealed that three quarters of these were less than healthy.
They tended to contain foods that were too high in saturated fat, salt or sugar.
The same survey indicated that 45% of these lunches failed to include any fruit. Unsurprisingly, most included crisps, chocolate, biscuits and sugary drinks.
Making the same lunches day in and day out for your children can be torturous for all of you.
With a little creativity and collaboration you can make lunches that your children will enjoy and that can be considered healthy.
I do recommend you involve them in the process of changing their lunches though – you can always rely on children to be honest about their opinions.
If you are introducing something new to children, they will be suspicious and it may take three or four attempts to get them to try it. It is important thing that you try and you keep trying.
A sandwich is still the quickest and easiest thing to put in a lunch box.
However, there is nothing worse than a soggy sandwich or having the same one over and over again. According to the FSA survey, 85% of children had a sandwich in their lunch box – the most common being 2 slices of white bread with ham.
Here are some ideas to make sandwiches a bit more interesting.
- Vary the breads: whole grain whole wheat sliced bread, pittas, mini bagels, tortillas, small dinner rolls, English muffins, flat breads or naan. Check the label for 2 grams or more of fibre per serving.
- Vary the spreads: light mayonnaise, mustard, salsa, hummus, tzaziki, peanut butter, chutney or teriyaki sauce. Imagine the tasty combinations!
- Vary the fillings: peanut butter and sliced apples, peanut butter and banana egg salad with tomato, salmon with teriyaki sauce and baby spinach, tuna salad, turkey, ham, roast beef, hummus with grated carrots, refried beans with salsa and grated cheese or leftover stir fry in a wrap.
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