It is easy to forget about ensuring a balanced healthy eating plan when faced with a food allergy. The focus is shifted away from what to include in the diet to what to avoid. It is so easy to get consumed with what one cannot eat and forget about all the healthy stuff that can boost the nutritional content of the diet.
Here are some suggestions to help ensure good nutrition. It is often recommended to take a multi-vitamin supplement to ensure provision of all essential nutrients, especially if multiple allergies are present. Read the food label and ensure it does not contain any potential allergens before using it.
1. Fruits and vegetables. Offer lots of these foods. They are not common food allergens and provide many essential vitamins and minerals. Ensure a variety of color and type to provide a balance of nutrients. Dried beans and peas add fiber and protein; green vegetables will provide Folate and vitamin K; and yellow or orange fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin A and C.
2. Milk and Dairy. When a milk allergy is present, calcium deficiency becomes a concern. Soy dairy products can be a good alternative if no soy allergy is present. Other options for milk are rice milk or almond milk (if no almond or nut allergy is present) as a milk source. DariFree™ by Vance Foods is a another good option. It is a fat-free, non-dairy milk alternative made from potatoes. It is gluten-free, casein-Free, and is also free of soy and rice. It is an excellent source of calcium and a good source of vitamins. A calcium supplement is often necessary to provide adequate calcium in the growing child as well as the adult. It is also important to ensure adequate Vitamin D to allow for adequate calcium absorption. Most calcium supplements have added vitamin D.
3. Grains. Carbohydrate foods become a problem in the wheat allergic person, and the easiest alternative is to just eliminate starches and grains from the diet. However, carbohydrate foods, especially complex starches are our main source of energy and thus essential to a healthy balanced diet. By eliminating starches from the diet, you also lose out on fiber and B-complex vitamins. It is therefore better to select wheat free or gluten free grain products to ensure adequate energy, fiber and nutrients. A good intake of fruits and vegetables can also help add fiber, vitamins and minerals.
4. Protein. Ensuring adequate protein each day can be difficult, but with proper planning can be easily done. Good sources of protein include eggs, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, soy, nuts, seeds and beans. Many of these sources fall into the common allergy group and so often get excluded. Focus on as many protein sources as you can to ensure an optimal protein intake.
5. Fat. Don’t forget about the fat. Often a child faced with many food allergies needs additional fat in the diet for added calories. Remember that not all fat is bad fat. Try to include sources of plant fats like olive oil or avocadoes to help add additional calories if needed. When nuts and peanut butter can be used they are good sources of unsaturated fats as well as protein.
Tanya Sussman, MS, RD, LD
Executive Director
Nutrition Services
1611 S. Green Rd, Suite 202
South Euclid, OH 44121
Tel: (216) 381-4541
Fax: (216) 381-2430
Email: nutrition.services@sbcglobal.net
