Passing Celiac On To Children

[gfp]

Hi, Jaimek, thanks for posting the info. I totally agree with the breastfeeding thing (though obviously it's not a guarantee)--but I do question his advice on starting gluten no later than 9 months. Other potential allergens like citrus and strawberries are held off until at least a year (and families with history of food allergies are told to wait even longer). Why start gluten at 9 months? Did he have a reason for that? (I'm not jumping down youyr throat, I'm trying to find out why he would start it at 9 months.)

I read the same study, its simply as they said the studied a whole load of kids and when they were introduced gluten in the diet and found a lower incidence at age 5 than those who were introduced it later.

However this is a very preliminary study, it doesn't say why it just shows the stats.

Now it might be (I'm speculating here) that mothers who breastfeed tend to introduce solids earlier and that there is a correlation with when they introduced solids containing gluten and indeed the reason why is due to the IgG being passed in mother's milk. It might equally be something else ...

For instance what if they did 4 groups instead of 2 ... breastfed with mother consuming gluten and non breastfed with mother not and did both of these with the 6-9 month introduction.... ?

[harrisonsmom]

This is definitely a touchy topic I see! But since everyone else is, lemme put in my two cents! I have gotten different answers on all this! I've been reading two VERY recent books out now. One called "Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic" By Dr Peter Green, a leading doc on celiac disease. And also "Gluten Free for Dummies' by Danna Korn I believe her name is, (sorry if I'm wrong, search the title, I'm beat and dont' feel like getting up to go look! Dont judge--you other mommies feel my pain!

Anyway, my pediatrician told me to wait til after one year to introduce gluten. She's pushed it back every appt so I'm guessing when I bring him in for his 9 month appt she'll push it back more! But that's fine with me bc there's really no need for him to eat gluten. I disagree however that u wait til 7-8 months to introduce solids. Just like everything else there are studies saying that waiting too long to introduce solids (and by solids I'm using jar baby food and rice cereal as my example, if u meant something else I apologize) actually makes it harder for baby tolearn to manipulate the spoon. Now this is all once again various studies and we can see that can be different one day to the next. I think the MOST important thing is to TRUST YOURSELF! Trust your own body for your choices! If gluten makes uf eel bad, dont eat it. If u can breast feed, do it. I tried for 5 months and my son fought me the entire way. I had to supplement from the beginning bc he lost too much weight. Everyone is different. Bfing may indeedh elp, it certainly can't hurt!

As for introducing, in my opinoin, u either have the capacity to get celiac disease or u don't. True, u can go years and years without getting it. So in theory, the longer u go without introducing it, the longer u go not getting celiac disease. (That point is brought up in Gluten Free for Dummies) If u dont eat it, u CANNOT get celiac disease. U MUST ingest gluten to activate the celiac disease, even if u have the gene. I know some ppl who are gettign genetic testing to avoid ever introducing gluten in their children since the test is simple and pretty accurate and it's much less of a pain than purposely introducing gluten and waiting to see if it affects the child. So there are LOTS of issues out there and LOTS of opinions, studies, stories. Everyone thinks there way is the best. Remember we need to help each other, not hurt. But I feel u need to trust yourself. If u wanna introduce gluten to your child, trust your instinct. U know your child and only YOU can make the decision, just be careful and keep track of their body and other changes!

Love this forum guys, Keep up the gluten-free work!

Amy

Sorry, Jaime, I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I apologize.

But really, it isn't even recommended to start a baby on solids before seven to eight months, why start with something that has been shown to cause a LOT of allergies, even if you don't consider celiac disease? Wheat must be one of the most allergenic foods in the world.

Unfortunately, many specialists aren't too knowledgable in their own fields. So, just because your doctor specializes in celiac disease doesn't necessarily mean he is right.

We weren't trying to attack you. But all of us have had terrible experiences with doctors, and as a result don't trust them a whole lot.

[eKatherine]

I disagree however that u wait til 7-8 months to introduce solids. Just like everything else there are studies saying that waiting too long to introduce solids (and by solids I'm using jar baby food and rice cereal as my example, if u meant something else I apologize) actually makes it harder for baby tolearn to manipulate the spoon. Now this is all once again various studies and we can see that can be different one day to the next.

Amy

Wait a minute. You say there are multiple studies that show that infants who are not introduced to solid foods before 7 months grow up to be adults who can't use spoons? Why don't I know any of these adults? And what about cultures who don't use spoons or pureed baby foods?

[aorona]

all three of my girls with celiac were nursed for 16 months-------sure wish it would have protected them!!!

I agree, both my children were breastfed & it hurt them more than it helped them. They unfortunately were born with celiac & it went undiagnosed for 20 months & 4 years, respectively. Once my babies were on formula only they did well. I first gave them solids at 6 months, but both refused to eat solids until 12 months. Now I know why, the gluten hurt thier tummy's.