Should My Daughter Be Careful Introducing Gluteny Cereals To Her Son

[calgaryjill]

I am celiac with the standard genetic markers but my daughter has none of the markers. Should she be careful introducing wheat and barley cereal to her 6 month old son? Unless his Dad is a carrier, I think the baby should be OK but better to nip it in the bud while we can if there is any possibility that baby could develop celiac disease later in life. He has really bad excema since he was 8 weeks old.

Thanks

[lynnelise]

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the early gluten is introduced the more likely a person is to develop a tolerance. Given the excema I would probably hold off if I were your daughter. It's not necessary for good health to eat gluten so I see no problem with waiting longer.

[AKcollegestudent]

In our family, we stick fairly close to introducing foods at recommended times--and for wheat, most recommend introducing at about year or so old. And more than that, with wheat, it's recommended that you don't introduce it until all other grains have been introduced slowly so that you can if there are any reactions. Otherwise, it's more likely that the child may develop allergies or intolerances even without family histories.

Also, on a semi-related note, the genetic markers aren't the end-all-be-all. For better or for worse, the US only tests two out of the recognized celiac markers, and it could be that in addition to your standard markers you have some of the other ones--and your daughter does as well. (This is speculation, but my point remains: just because she didn't register on the genetic test doesn't mean that a) she doesn't have it and that she can't pass it to her children.)

[tictax707]

My grandmother had dermatitis hepatoformitis, my dad is negative for everything (except the gene), and I have celiac sprue. So unfortunately I wouldn't say that your grandson in in the clear...