Sensitivity to dietary proteins in breastmilk causing colic

Low-Allergen Diets Prevent Colic

Colic in breastfed infants younger than six weeks of age is associated with intolerance to dietary proteins excreted in breast milk, reports the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Over a seven-day period, David J Hill, FAAAAI, and colleagues from Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, studied breastfed infants with colic less than six weeks old.

Mothers were randomly assigned to a "low-allergen" diet that excluded milk, egg, wheat, peanut, tree nuts and fish or a "control" diet that included these foods.

Ninety infants completed the program; 47 receiving the "low allergen" and 43 the "control" diet. More children in the "low-allergen" group (74 percent) than in the control group (34 percent) saw a 25 percent decrease in their distress. In the last 48 hours of the study, the "low-allergen" group had 128 minutes less distress than the "control" group.

The results of this study suggest that breastfed infants less than six weeks of age with colic may be allergic to trace amounts of dietary protein normally excreted in breastmilk.

The researchers found that breastfed infants less than six weeks old respond positively when breastfeeding mothers are placed on a low-allergen diet.