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COMMENTS HAVE BEEN DISABLED

Because of spam, I personally moderate all comments left on my blog. However, because of health issues, I will not be able to do so in the future.

If you have a personal question about LI or any related topic you can send me an email at stevecarper@cs.com. I will try to respond.

Otherwise, this blog is now a legacy site, meaning that I am not updating it any longer. The basic information about LI is still sound. However, product information and weblinks may be out of date.

In addition, my old website, Planet Lactose, has been taken down because of the age of the information. Unfortunately, that means links to the site on this blog will no longer work.

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Breastfeeding Baby With Dairy Allergy

I received an email today asking a delicate question.

I was wondering if you could help. If my baby has a milk protein allergy (she is breastfed) can I eat products that are non-dairy but with added lactose such as deli meat?

This is a question I had to tiptoe very carefully around. I answered:
Pure lactose will not affect someone who has a dairy allergy, which is to the dairy protein. Breastmilk itself is 7% lactose, so any additional lactose in the diet wouldn't be even noticed.

If the additive in the deli meat is some other milk product then you should check with a doctor first.

A few people are so sensitive to dairy proteins that the slight possibility that lactose may have a few molecules of protein in it is enough to make them avoid lactose entirely. These have always been people who take milk in directly. I've never heard of a case in which dairy protein reached a breastfeeding child via lactose in the mother's diet. But I also don't know how seriously allergic your daughter is.

I'd say it's very unlikely for the normal allergic baby to be affected in this manner. But I don't know the particulars of your case. Your doctor does. I would doublecheck the next time you visit.

Sensitivities to protein vary enormously. That's why it's so important to get all the information possible on your specific case - or for your own child's - to be able to make the most informed decisions about diet.

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