This is a guest blog post by Jessica Northrup for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

My daughter was three years old when I was told by her doctor she was allergic to dairy.    A simple blood test confirmed what I knew was true.  She was experiencing severe and constant itching on her neck, arms and behind her legs.  She also had eczema, general grogginess and a runny nose. 

The news was devastating for our family.  Not only are milk and milk products a staple in our home, but working as a consultant to Dairy Council of California I knew about the  value of the unique package of nutrients milk provides.

Naturally I removed all dairy products from her diet, but this was not a decision I took lightly.  How would she get the nutrients milk products provide?  This was a tough question, particularly because her quality of life improved once she was no longer consuming dairy.

Her allergy did not make any sense to me.  I allowed her to have dairy on special occasions and she suffered no consequences.  I took her to another doctor and I still did not find any real guidance.  Even though I was very confused, her diet remained a dairy-free. 

Seeking another professional opinion, I finally got the answers I was looking for.  After her new doctor discovered that before my daughter was diagnosed with a dairy allergy she was drinking multiple glasses of milk a day and enjoying yogurt and cheese, he suggested we limit her dairy intake and see how it goes.  Maybe just one glass of milk a day and go from there.  I know what you are thinking: “Duh!”  This makes perfect sense – why didn’t I think of that!
 
This entire time I was responding to her symptoms emotionally rather than logically and completely eliminated an important food source from my daughter’s diet.  When we started practicing moderate dairy intake she remained comfortable and symptom free.  It was like taking a breath of fresh air.  I was so relieved to finally have clarity on this issue.  If others are facing food allergy issues, this is my advice to you (with the exception of life threatening allergies, obviously use extreme caution there):

      ~Seek multiple opinions.  Do not rest on just one doctor’s point of view.  His or her values may not match yours or they simply may not have the expertise. He or she might even take what seems like the easiest path without considering the immediate and long-term health consequences.

      ~Try moderate exposure to the suspected food. Work toward at least two servings provided in smaller amounts throughout the day.  It has been my experience with just about everything that moderation is always best – instead of having five tacos, stick with two.  You see what I mean.

      ~Throw aside the emotion and try to look at it logically.  As parents we are so emotionally invested in our kids that it becomes difficult to really see the situation.

My daughter is now seven years old and tests show she has officially grown out of her dairy allergy (as the doctors suspected would happen).  She is a happy little girl, enjoying her milk products and I could not be more pleased.

Jessica Northrup