engleski

Dietary treatment of childhood food allergy

It is well known that the incidence of atopic diseases in general, and of food allergy in particular, is increasing and it has, therefore, become an important morbidity factor in developed countries. In infancy, the most common cause of allergy is cow's milk protein, with an incidence of 2-3% in formula-fed babies. Beyond that age group, egg and peanut allergy are the most prevalent. The only effective treatment is strict dietary elimination of the food allergen. As a milk based formula is the only food received by a non-breast fed infant in the first 6 months of age, it has to be substituted with an adequate hypoallergenic formula. In older children, again, the principal treatment of food allergy is the elimination of food allergen, but dietary avoidance is more complex due to problems in food labelling and the risk of nutritional deficiencies. The aim of this review article is to present the current knowledge on dietary management of food allergy in children, with special references to the recommendations of the responsible organisations such as American Academy of Pediatrics and the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

food allergy; childhood; dietary treatment

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