Food Allergy Living Blog

We often get questions from parents about flavoring elemental formulas, such as Neocate Junior, Unflavored. Before I dive into this, I want to be clear; when I refer to flavoring a formula I am referring to formulas for children ages 1 and over. We do not recommend flavoring Infant formulas. If you are considering adding flavor to your infant’s elemental formula, speak with your doctor or dietitian to ensure it is allowed.

As you may know, an elemental formula can have a distinct and unique taste that some children may not care for. What makes it harder is that the children are often so restricted in their diets that the families have a hard time finding something that they can use to enhance the flavor of the formula.

Here at Nutricia North America, we are always striving to offer children and families living with food allergies a wide variety of flavor options to help with formula intake. We have a Neocate Recipe Book that uses Neocate and other flavorings to make tasty treats.  We also provide Flavor Packets that are safe for children with food allergies. Our flavors include: Cherry Vanilla, Lemon Lime, and Grapefruit**.

 Additionally, we have 7 different Neocate flavors available, including new Neocate Jr with Prebioticsthat is Vanilla flavored and Neocate Jr Chocolate (no milk of course!), Tropical, Orange-Pineapple, Grape, Tropical Fruit flavors.

Another option as discussed in a 2009 Today’s Dietitian Journal article, suggests vanilla extract or strawberry syrup to flavor hypoallergenic formulas*. 

Adding flavoring components to the Neocate products will not affect the formula negatively. Just be aware what you are adding and speak to your healthcare team to ensure it will be appropriate for your little one.

What do you use to flavor your elemental formulas? Have you had success?

Christine

*Always contact the manufacturer to ensure it is appropriate for your child.

**Note the Lemon Lime and Grapefruit flavors contain citric acid.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve provided you with tips for recycling or reusing your metal Neocate cans. But what about the accessories: the lids and the scoops?

In our recent recycling blog, we mentioned that the lids from Neocate (and Duocal!) cans can be recycled. This might vary, though, based on where you live. To be sure you can recycle the lids, check with your local municipality or curbside recycling pickup company. The key thing to look for is whether they accept number 4 plastics – the lids we use on our cans are number 4. As more localities continue to accept a bigger variety of plastics, we hope many of our customers can recycle their Neocate lids! You may also be able to find a nearby drop-off location by using the search feature on Earth911 with the term “#4 Rigid Plastic” and your city or zip code.

But what about the scoops that come with our products? Great news: if your municipality or recycling pickup company takes number 5 plastics, you can recycle the scoops as well! Number 5 plastics are also used in yogurt cups, other food tubs, plastic flower pots, and disposable razors. Even better news: for those customers who live in an area where number 5 products are not collected from the community, you have another option with Preserve®’s Gimme 5 program. You may be able to locate a local drop-off site where number 5 plastics are collected for Preserve. If that doesn’t work, Preserve will even accept number 5 plastics by mail and turn them into consumer products. Now THAT’S recycling!

Do you have any crafty ideas for reusing or repurposing the lids or scoops from your Nutricia products?

- Rob

As we enter the new year, which just so happens to be a leap year, it’s a great time to take a “leap” (pun intended) and resolve to add new foods to your little one’s diet.

When your child has multiple food allergies, you have to work within the range of safe foods so as always, if you are unsure if a certain food is safe or not, always consult with your child’s healthcare professional first.

Be persistent!

One important thing to remember is that if you don’t succeed with a certain food, don’t give up on it or assume that your child doesn’t like it. A certain degree of “neophobia”, or fear of new foods, is normal for toddlers and young children. According to Angela Haas, a speech language pathologist and feeding therapist with over 18 years of experience, children may need up to 20 exposures to a new food before they will accept it. So, if the first try fails, continue to present the food occasionally in a non-forceful manner and eventually, you might be surprised to find that your child accepts and even enjoys it.

Give choices!

Another tip for introducing new foods is to always provide choices so your child feels in control of what they are eating. Instead of saying “You are going to try sweet potatoes today!” ask “Would you like to try sweet potatoes or squash today?”

You may choose to present a small amount of several different foods (only those which are allergy-safe of course). Include a few familiar, preferred foods and a few new ones that they can choose from. Again, this makes them feel in control of what they are eating and less resistant to try new things. You may think that children would be overwhelmed by multiple foods at one time but a recent article reports that on average, children prefer a plate with 7 different items and six different colors (while adults prefer a plate with 3 different items and 3 different colors)[1].

Baby steps!

With toddlers and young children, its important not to pressure them to eat a certain food. Give them the option to say “no, thank you” (but not, “eww gross”) if they aren’t ready to try it. Depending on how resistant the child is to new foods, there are different levels for gradually getting them to accept them. You can start by presenting a new food, along with other familiar foods. They don’t have to eat it but they have to allow it to remain on the plate throughout the meal. Continue to present a new food along with familiar foods and allow your child to get acquainted with it. This might mean smelling it, touching it, playing with it and once they are ready, tasting it. We’ve always heard “don’t play with your food!” but for very young children at this stage, the goal is get them comfortable and familiar with a new food, however that may be.

For more tips on expanding your child’s diet, here are some resources which might be helpful:

• Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
• How to Get Your Kid to Eat…But Not Too Much
• Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family: How to Eat, How to Raise Good Eaters, How to Cook
• Just Take a Bite
• http://www.ellynsatter.com/

Please remember that these are general guidelines for expanding your child’s diet. Always ensure that you only introduce foods that are safe for your child’s specific food allergies and when unsure, consult with a healthcare professional.
 

What challenges do you have with expanding your child’s diet? Any tips for other parents?

-Mallory

This weekend, January 21^st– 24^th, we will be exhibiting at the 35^thannual Clinical Nutrition Week 2012 (CNW 12) in Orlando, Florida.

CNW, hosted by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), is a three-and-a-half day conference with educational workshops for physicians, dietitians, nurses, pharmacists, educators and researchers who practice in the area of clinical nutrition.

Every year we look forward to coming face-to-face with the physicians, dietitians, nurses, pharmacists and researchers and helping them improve patient care.  This is our time to demonstrate how we are advancing the science and practice of nutrition support therapy through our Neocateproducts and services. 

This year we are especially excited to promote our newest product — Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla!  As we’ve mentioned before on the blog Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla is the first and only flavored amino acid-based medical food with soluble prebiotic fiber for children with GI conditions.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted on all of the fun and exciting things we hope to learn this weekend!  And, if you’re interested in learning more about A.S.P.E.N. and the CNW conference, check out their website and for the latest news updates, announcements and events Like them on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nutritioncare.org) and follow them on Twitter (@ASPENWEB). 

As most of you know, we redesigned our Neocate.com website in May of 2011.  In case you haven’t paid us a visit, come on by.  We added a few new online tools to help provide support and guidance to you and your family.  Our new Parent’s Toolbox and Reference Library includes a symptoms guide, glossary and a symptom checker which have all gotten great reviews – thank you for the feedback! 

Our website is always a work in progress and we will continue to work on providing new tools and resources.  Our newest online tool that we are excited to share with you is the online diary!

The online diary is a perfect tool to use when you are trying to determine the right formula for your child, starting on solids or reintroducing foods into your little ones diet.

It is tough to remember or keep track of all the small (or big) symptoms or behaviors that may occur throughout the day and even more difficult trying to relate those symptoms back to a food if you’re not recording it somewhere.  Keeping a daily diary of what your child eats and drinks – and any symptoms you see afterward – gives your child’s doctors vital information. It can help them identify what might be triggering any symptoms. This online diary makes keeping track of everything a snap.

Over the past few weeks, under the guidance of my little ones physician, I have started adding solids into my 6 month olds diet.  Since starting, I've noticed a little rash around his mouth and chin.  With the dry winter weather just starting and the drool from new teeth coming in I couldn't figure out if the new foods I was introducing was causing the rash or not.

So I started using the online diary to record everything that we did.  When he took a bottle, when he ate solids, what he ate, when he was out in the cold, when the rash appeared, the severity of the rash, etc.  With the help of the online diary I was then able to begin to see a pattern of when the rash was appearing - right after we fed him, every night.  Could he really be allergic to peas?  I still had my doubts but relieved to have a record of what was occurring to share with my doctor.  Now we both had a clear understanding of what was going on and therefore were able to best determine the root of the problem.

I hope all of you find the online diary to be as resourceful as I do.  Do you have any other ideas of useful tools you'd like to see on Neocate.com?

-Sarah

Based on feedback and ideas that we hear from you, we try to find ways to provide options for those little ones using our Neocate products.  We've developed a collection of delicious and delightful recipes using our Neocate products that are now available to view online!  We hope your little ones find these recipes enjoyable and allows for a little variety in their diets.  Here is a favorite included in the book:

Apple Delight

Ingredients

• 1/2 apple, peeled, diced and cooked until soft
• 2 pitted-prunes diced and cooked (boiled in water) until soft
• 2 fl oz water
• 4 scoops Neocate Infant DHA/ARA powder
• A pinch of cinnamon

Directions

• Add water to apple and prunes and blend to desired consistency
• Add the Neocate Infant DHA/ARA powder and stir
• Sprinkle with cinnamon (optional)
• Serve immediately or store in a refrigerator for up to 24 hours

Makes 1 serving

Calories          Protein          Fat          Carbohydrate

156                   3 g                 4 g           30 g

Do you have any of your own recipes using Neocate - we'd love to hear about them!

-Sarah

Consult your healthcare professional to determine if these recipes, ingredients and consistencies are appropriate for your child.  Nutritional values are approximate and will vary based on brands, quantities and substitutions.

As you know at Nutricia we love to hear from our customers and we’ve made it easy to contact us via e-mail or phone. But today we’re excited to announce a new way for you connect with us – live online chat!

Our chat allows you to speak with either our Nutrition Specialists or Customer Service representatives. We are here to help answer any questions you have about our products, your child’s nutrition, placing orders, managing your account, and product pricing. Our teams are available from 8:30am-5:00pm EST Monday through Friday to answer your questions.

To get started click the "Buy Neocate" link on the Neocate.com homepage. Once you’re there you’ll see our Live Chat option on the lower left corner of the screen. Once you click on it, we’ll ask for some basic contact information and which department you’d like to speak to and in a few moments you’ll be connected with one of our representatives.

Our goal is to be here for you so that purchasing Neocate for your little one is as easy as possible. If you’ve given our live chat a try, let us know what you think on our Facebook page or below in the comments section!

We look forward to speaking with you soon.

-Christine  

Three million children are affected by food allergies in the US. Studies have also suggested that food allergies persist longer in life than was once previously assumed.¹Food allergies can have a wide ranging negative effect on children and their families, affecting life at home as well as the social lives of the family.

Sending a food allergic child to school, camp or any child care can be a scary task for a parent. Doctors are helping families prepare for these situations by ensuring that:

• Each child has an epinephrine device
• The family and child (if age appropriate) know how and when to use the device
• The family can train others on how to use device
• The student has an emergency plan (such as a 504 plan) for the facility in case of a reaction

Reactions in schools

Reactions in schools are actually rare. However, it is important to know that reactions do occur in schools and can be severe in some circumstances.

There has been a growing trend of parents who home school their food allergic child due to fear of a reaction. It is important to know that the vast majority of food allergic children can and do attend school safely.^2-4

The highest risk of a reaction is from direct ingestion of the food. Studies have shown that reactions to environmental or airborne exposure to allergens are extremely low.  In summary, the greatest risk of a reaction is from direct ingestion of the allergen.

Management of reactions at school

Reaction to a food allergen should be treated in a universal fashion. Isolated skin or mild GI symptoms without signs of shock (ie. hypotension, respiratory symptoms) can be generally managed with short acting oral histamines such as Benadryl® or Vistaril®.

Epinephrine should be given as soon as possible for more severe reactions involving laryngeal, pharyngeal or respiratory symptoms, severe vomiting or shock, followed by antihistamines with additional epinephrine as necessary. These protocols should be clearly communicated to parents by the healthcare professional.

Food reaction scenarios are where an Emergency Plan or 504 plan for your child must be available and easy to follow for all appropriate personnel at the school. Full time nursing availability in schools is becoming uncommon, which has placed the burden on the teachers and administrations. Studies have shown that emergency plans are not always followed as written, especially in schools without full time nurses.  This is why the healthcare community and parents must seize the opportunity to better educate all involved.

Do you have any tips for managing your child’s food allergies at school?

*This article was adapted from a Medscape Special Report, Oct 2011, written by Dr. Matthew J. Greenhawt, MD, MBA

1. Boyce JAS, Assa'ad A, Burks AW, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010; 126(6 Suppl):S1-S58
2. Young MC, Munoz-Furlong A, Sicherer SH. Management of food allergies in schools: a perspective for allergists. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124:175-182.
3. Greenhawt MJ, McMorris MS, Furlong TJ. Self-reported allergic reactions to peanuts and tree nuts occurring in schools and child care facilities (Abstract). J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;121(S1):S95.
4. Sicherer SH, Furlong TJ, DeSimone J, Sampson HA. The US peanut and tree nut allergy registry: characteristics of reactions in schools and day care. J Pediatr. 2001;138:560-565.

At eight months, Mendel was a healthy, happy baby and began eating solid foods without a problem. Surprisingly, at twelve months, Mendel developed a severe stomach virus causing his parents to admit him to the hospital.  From this point forward, Mendel was unable to consume solid foods.     

“It was very strenuous for the family not knowing what was wrong with him,” said Mendel’s mother Yitty.

After staying in the hospital and being put on IV fluids for a few days, Mendel returned home.  However, over the next few weeks, he lost a significant amount of weight as he refused to eat solid foods.  

Yitty spent months going from doctor to doctor to try to get a proper diagnosis for Mendel.  All the while he was slowly falling off of the growth chart. 

Mendel was showing signs of a milk allergy, eczema and overall gastrointestinal (GI) issues, but no one could give him a definite diagnosis.

Finally, Mendel’s doctor recommended E028 Splash, a nutritionally complete amino acid-based drink for children with GI issues. Mendel began drinking E028 Splash as his sole source of nutrition.

“Once Mendel was able to consume the amount of the E028 Splash he needed to fulfill his calorie intake, he started to gain weight,” explained Yitty.  “A year and a half later, Mendel still relies on E028 Splash as his primary source nutrition and is continuing to gain a healthy amount of weight.” 

Mendel has been on E028 Splash for the last year and a half.  He recently started school and is able to carry his E028 Splash drink box easily in his lunch bag.

“Mendel feels great on E028 Splash.  Not only has he gained weight, but he is now behaving better too!” said Yitty.  

This winter try out our allergy-friendly French toast and pancakes. 

 French Toast 

•  2 Pieces of spelt bread
• 1/4 cup of soy milk
• Dash of cinnamon

Combine milk and cinnamon.  Dip and coat the bread lightly in the soy milk mixture.  Place on preheated skillet on low-med heat.  You will have to cook it longer to ensure the soy milk dries and the toast isn’t mushy.

Per 2 pieces

Calories: 250

Protein: 10g

Carbohydrates: 44g

Fat: 5g

Submitted by: Katherine Kennedy

Pancakes

• 2/3 cup of rice flour
• 1/4 cup of water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp of sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp of baking soda

Mix all ingredients together.  Heat oil in a skillet on stovetop.  Pour about 1/2 of mixture onto hot oil.  Cook a few minutes until firm then turn over. 

Makes up to 4 pancakes

Per 1 pancake

Calories: 120

Protein: 1g

Carbohydrates: 26g

Fat: 0g

Submitted by: Sophie Jakovich

Please check each recipe to be sure all ingredients are safe for your child.  If you have any questions, please consult with your physician.
Please note that spelt is a relative of wheat, so may not be appropriate for individuals with wheat allergy or gluten sensitivity.

Also, to get more food allergy recipes, download our Food Allergy Cookbook! 

FRENCH TOAST IMAGE SOURCE

PANCAKE IMAGE SOURCE