ok, so I am posting this one here because I figure it has more to do with women/mothers than with pouches and ileos....being a highly allergic person with IBD, a k pouch and a ton of digestive issues I asked my Dr. here why it seems as if there are so very many more North American kids with food allergies than here in France. Ditto for obesity and IBD (chrons, colitis etc..)
So this was his answer:
It has everything to do with how we introduce foods into a babies diet.
The basic difference being that they put off giving the baby anything but mother's milk or formula for as long as possible (at least 6 months) and then start introducing green vegetables first...tiny teaspoons of pureed broccoli or green beans or even carrots but above all...no cereals, meats or sugars (fruits). They come much later...they also prepare homemade pureed vegetable soups (potato, carrot, greenbeans, and any other green vegetables that baby is taking a shine to) for dinner every night...1 good pot of soup does at least a week and you can freeze it into ice cube size portions..
That is it! No other explination...he says that by intoducing cereals and animal protiens or sugars (including fruits) into a baby's diet too early you are causing intestinal irritations that the baby's body cannot yet handle...thus causing inflamation and eventually the begining of allergic/IBD reactions...
I do not know if this is totally true or just a supposition but I do know that most babies/children here suffer from few or no food allergies, little obesity and the various forms of IBD and Chrons etc are much less common here than back home...
As a woman who never had children and was blessed with step daughters and grandchildren I see the health benefits to this system..(it is also so very much cheaper than buying baby food!)
I would love to have your opinions and input on this subject...who knows..maybe he is onto something?
Sharon

I tend to agree, at least on the allergy issue. Not sure on the IBD issue, but they may well be intertwined. I do know that there has been a movement in the U.S. to delay the introduction of food to an infant for at least six months. This was taught even when my kids were born over 20 years ago, but it was not seriously stressed and 3 months was more like the typical starting point for cereal, and that was always rice only.

Part of the problem I think is that moms do not like to hear their babies cry and want for them to be satisfied and happy. There often seemed to be a feeling that they were not making enough milk for their babies because they would finish nursing after only 5 minutes or so. But, in reality, the babies were getting plenty.

I nursed both my sons with my first getting formula from a bottle at around 3 months when I returned to work (with part time breast feeding until he was 9 months). He probably was around 3 months when he started cereal. My second son was nursed until he was 11 months and weaned straight to a cup, getting some cereal probably around 4 months. Neither have a weight issue (actually both are quite thin) and it was the one who nursed longer who developed UC. Go figure!

But, neither one has any food allergies.

Jan

Yes, I agree. These days the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until six months of age to introduce anything except breast milk and/or formula for that exact reason -- to decrease the risk of food allergies. For my son, we waited until he was a little more than seven months old, as he was born just under six weeks early, so we used his "adjusted" age to introduce solids.

We skipped the cereals, too. From everything I'd read, they just seem to cause constipation in babies and don't add anything nutritionally, so we didn't bother with them. His first food was actually avocado, which he loved as a baby but doesn't seem to care for now. He's an adventurous eater though, loving Indian food (yellow curries being a favorite) and sushi, so I'm not complaining! It makes it much easier to pick a restaurant when we go out.

I'm a case that disproves the theory. Breastfed my babies exclusively from day one and both were diagnosed with milk allergies by 4 months old based on me eating milk products (once I stopped dairy my kids sympts cleared up). No solids introduced for either until 6 months, a full 2 months after being diagnosed and no formula introduced until after dx.

I'm going to guess French women eat dairy while breast feeding so that variable is probably the same. I feel this theory is far too simplistic - no one in my family has milk issueS. I'm not even lactose intolerant which surprises the GI drs. My son outgre his allergy at 2 3/4 years and we are hoping my daughter will too (she's only 18 months old)

Hi Jill,
My Hubby comes from a time and a world where babies had no choice other than breast milk...he was passed around from breast to breast for the first 4 months of his life(lucky boy ) because after a week he systemattically rejected the breast milk of each of his wet-nurses...obvious milk allery now but then? Who knew...so they fed him bread dunked into sweet tea! Never had a drop of milk again (although I couldn't say the same about the breasts )...
Most French people do not drink milk...period.
They eat a little cheese, yoghurt and small quantities of milk in coffee or hot chocolate but almost never strait milk...even kids stop relatively young and have no growth or bone problems...and low obesity too
by the way...hubby has the bone mass of a boxer or a Sumo!...explinaton? He ate tons of dried fruits and nuts growing up and lived off of sardine sandwhiches for years...all full of easily assimilatable calcium...
There are no hard fast rules...just what works for you...
Sharon

Highly doubt the fact that American children drink milk has a lot to do with childhood obesity. More or less, it has something to do with the over-consumption of McDonald "Happy Meals", Taco Bell, Burger King; aisles of processed, packaged food at the grocery store--you get the point. Unhealthy diets mixed with sedentary lifestyles and you have a recipe for disaster.

Thank you for posting this info though; very interesting. One summer, I watched a friend's daughter and while she did not have peanut allergy, it was very prevalent in the family. I believe the pediatrician told her to not give her any type of peanut/butter until she was at least 5 years old to prevent the allergy from occurring.

Thanks Shelby..you are right about all of the fast food/sedentary diet etc...as for the peanut allergy..there is this clinic in France specializing in its treatment and it does something really very weird....they slowly introduce peanut butter into the kids system (do not try this without doctor's approval/supervisions etc)...they start by smearing small quantities on the cheek of the child every other day (or something like that) and then introduce it in a hospital environment to the child internally in mini quantities and slowly work their way up....
They have some success here with it..don't know how much though...and I certainly would not suggest it to anyone with a real allery...who knows....maybe I could try that with wine????
*(I am allergic to wine and I live in France!! )
Sharon

Don't get me started on the sedentary lifestyle! I was appalled that there was no P.E. for my kids in grammar school beyond around third grade. Then, there was a couple of years of P.E. in junior high. Come high school, it is completely gone by the sophomore year. College, that was a single class that could be taken on-line (can you believe that, an on-line P.E. class?).

But, my kids are skinny, and they sit in front of monitors all day. And they eat junk. Totally not fair....

And here I am, on a 960 calorie, medically supervised diet and sweating on my treadmill, because eating good food and sweating on the treadmill was not enough! I had P.E. every day all the way through school and had to take it every quarter in college too. I played tennis, rode my bike, backpacked, and spent years and years in hospital nursing on my feet. Now I'm fat after getting a colectomy and arthritis. I'm sure menopause did not help either. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself, especially when I read about people having trouble gaining weight.

Jan

Interesting about the clinic but I guess I am of the mindset of "whatever works".

I can't remember if PE stopped being mandatory in 11th or 12th grade, but it WAS mandatory for all until then. I know it has become much more lax in recent years which is just wrong! Exercise aside, kids needs to release energy!

I'm sorry Jan--it sounds like you struggle with your weight for reasons beyond your control. It hurts just to watch my MIL walk because she has problems with her feet as well as arthritis.
Sometimes my fistula acts up too much so I have to take a break from exercising. I really notice a difference all the way around when I can't exercise. It's annoying that I can't be as active as I would like to be.

I wonder what your husbands symptoms were? My kids develop blood in their stool from milk , not just intestinal upset. If I even ate something cooked in a pan with butter while breastfeeding they would bleed. But eliminating all dairy and dairy by products such as whey and casein clears things up immediately. And my son has outgrown his - eats cheese and drinks milk no problem.

Jill, the same thing happened to my good friend who also has Crohn's. Her first baby was having bloody stools--which was enough to send mom into orbit. She was gassy, fussy, and just not happy. They found out it was a dairy allergy and of course she was breastfeeding so she eliminated all dairy and voilà. She decided to eliminate milk for her second baby and he didn't have a problem. As far as I know, the first child no longer has an intolerance.

According to my sister-in-laws, (all 5...1 of which actually was breastfeeding her own son at the same time!! ) he would vomit like crazy and keep nothing down..blood? Who remembers..it was 63 yrs ago!
But he can't even stand the smell of milk products...I am only allow cheese that doesn't stink in the house (this is France...They all stink! )..by the way..I just read in a nutrition magazine that the rind of most soft French cheeses (think Brie, Camenbert etc...and especially Blue and Roquefort) contain natural mega doses of probiotics and if you really want to hit the spot...get the rraw milk cheese...
No wonder the French have such great digestive tracts...they eat cheese every day...
Jan, have you heard about removing milk products from a babies diet if they have repeat episodes of ear infections or sinus/mucus problems??
Jan...I am so sorry...it is so unfair that we have to live through all of the indinities of IBD+++ then menopause and finally uncontrollable weight gain...when did I get this tummy and how did it suddenly pop up over night???
Have you ever taken a peek at the Woman's Health site??? Tons of ideas to stabalize weight gain in pre/post menopause...I find it so terribly unfair that I eat 1/2 of what most people do, am tripple as active (walk every where...no car, no licence, almost no public transport!)...and the rolls of fat keep rolling on
The doc told me to remove ALL milk products from my diet if I want to loose weight...I get enough calcium from legumes and dried fruits...I tried this week, substituting puréed veggies for my usual whole grain bread and cheese and eating meat/fish instead of ice cream for snack (ice cream means industrial quantities!)...and I do fit into my pants again..
Maybe he is onto something....
Sharon

Nope. I am through with all the "tricks" for weight loss and just need serious help. While I feel fine being fat, I know that I need the weight loss to reduce my risk for diabetes (prediabetic now) and heart disease.

There are studies here that show that including milk in the diet actually helps with weight loss, so go figure.
http://health.yahoo.com/expert...ilk-for-weight-loss/
I guess there is a study proving practically anything, And, yes, there is milk protein in the prescription diet I am on. The average weight loss is about 50 pounds with it, so I am OK with it, especially since my hubby is doing it with me. Right now, my biggest complaint is diarrhea, but I'm used to that...

Jan