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Introducing milk through baked goods may help children beat allergies

Category: Allergy Testing

Many children who have received positive food allergy tests are unable to consume milk. However, the beverage plays an important role in a child's growth and development. Yet a new study out of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine has shown that it may be possible to help young people overcome milk allergies.

The key, researchers said, is in how milk is presented to children. Slowly introducing milk into a young person's diet has been shown to help them beat allergies, but many struggle with this process and never complete it. However, the researchers showed that introducing milk in the form of baked goods may prepare children's systems for milk without the immediate shock of ingesting it directly.

For five years, the researchers had children with milk allergies eat foods like waffles, muffins and cookies, all of which are made with milk. At the end of the study, 47 percent of the participants could tolerate skim milk, yogurt and ice cream.

The researchers said that the milk in baked goods is always heated, which destroys some of the proteins that cause allergic reactions. This is why introducing milk in this manner is easier on children's systems.