Life with a dairy intolerant child! What foods to look out for...

It’s true when they say that you really can only truly know how difficult eating can be when yourself or a family member has a food intolerance/sensitivity!

Ultimately this is something I help so many people with daily, and yet when it comes to light in your own home it feels like a whole different ball park.

Food intolerances and sensitivity’s can look different for many people. In some cases a sensitivity can be identified via symptoms and not always show on medical tests alone. So I wanted to share a little personal experience with you all and perhaps it might help you and your families in some way if your little one has experienced anything similar and you may feel unsure as to what is happening for them.

Background

Around 7 months ago when my little man Avery was about 15/16 months old, I began suspecting that something odd was happening in his little body…..

He had been eating an extremely wide, varied diet, he ate many many times a day as if it was an Olympic sport haha, and had previously been breastfed.

Upon the end of our breastfeeding journey around 15months, naturally we started incorporating more yoghurt, cheese and cows milk into his diet, as we did with Harlow at the same age. At first everything seemed to be ok, until it wasn’t around a month or two later and I started to get my suspicions that something he was eating may have been affecting him.

Signs that something wasn't right

Firstly, he started to have 4+ poo nappies a day. Sometimes 6 or 7. And while that alone can be normal for some kids, (sorry for the TMI in advance) they were very light in colour, very runny and with a lot of undigested substance. And so with these combined factors, I just knew that it was not normal at all!
Secondly he hadn’t been gaining weight. Now, while I try not to worry too much about growth charts alone, he had previously been sitting around 15th percentile for weight and he dropped below the 3rd percentile in a matter of 2-3months. Plus he had only gained 1kg over the past 6 months or so. He was just so little. To give an idea he could still fit in his 3-6 and some 6-12 month clothes at 16-17 months old.

This itself baffled me! For those that know Avery, they know that he can eat and eat for days! If there is food in front of him he wants it and was never fussy in what he ate. So the fact he wasn’t gaining much weight was concerning with the amount of food he was eating. But in thinking about the situation, it was kind of like he was never satistified or full. He could just eat and eat and eat.

Investigation

So my investigating began!

I knew from my experience with adults, that dairy can cause the increased bowel motions, can cause the gut to be inflamed and therefore contribute to undigested food particles. I was also aware that if he was eating soooo much food, but never really full and not gaining weight, that it was possible he wasn’t actually absorbing anything properly.

So, at first I began thinking he might be lactose intolerant. For those who don’t know, lactose is the type of sugar found in milk products, but not the actual dairy proteins themselves, which are whey and casein.

So we swapped cows milk to almond and oat milk, swapped normal yoghurt for lactose free yoghurt and only every 2nd day and coconut yoghurt and continued with small amounts of hard cheddar cheese due to its lower lactose content.

Over the next 2-3 weeks of trialling, Avery’s bowel motions did reduce but they were still not normal. Still light, still undigested and runny and more so on the days he was still having the lactose free yoghurt. He also didn’t gain any extra weight still.

Discovery

This told me that there was more to it. My further suspicion told me that he was perhaps dairy intolerant, not just lactose intolerant, meaning that he was reacting to the actual dairy proteins, not the lactose itself.

So the next trial began, no dairy at all.

Oat and almond milk, bio life vegan cheese and coconut yoghurt as well as nuttelex spread became our only dairy free substitutes along with checking all labels of crackers, spreads, mayonnaise, condiments, snacks etc and being aware of any foods eaten out of home, that may be cooked with butter or milk.

You would be surprised at just how many pre made foods actually contain dairy in some form, not to mention how much more aware of it you become when out at events etc where you can't just let the little ones grab what they want.

So pretty much within 1 week of absolutely no dairy, Avery had only 1-2 bowel motions each day, they were fully digested and dark brown in colour.

Within 1 month of no dairy he had gained 1kg compared to the 1kg previously in 6 months.

And all of this confirmed that his gut was now able to absorb what he was eating and he was no longer inflamed.

Further confirming his intolerance, over the next few months, there were a couple of occasions where normal milk was added to his porridge accidentally instead of oat milk, or where he snuck in some of Harlows cheese or yoghurt, or pinched an Easter egg at Easter time (not even kidding haha), had something at a party etc and on these occasions, I kid you not, within an hour he had done a yucky poo followed by 5-6 more that day!

Life moving forward

They say that most kids tend to grow out of a dairy intolerance by the age of 2. We are a couple of months away from Avery's 2nd birthday, and only time will tell if this is true for him.

After a full 6 months of elimination, we will begin the reintroduction testing phase, something I am yet to look into thoroughly on a Peadiatric level, but my gut feeling tells me he may be the one that doesn’t outgrow it just with how severe and quick his reaction has been on those odd occasions.

It is important to note that using milk and yoghurt substitute products, they do contain fortified calcium but as I am sure we will continue to learn, there may come a time we need to further consider if Avery is receiving enough calcium through his food.

So, I will keep you updated on the turn of events after 2! But really, now that we have had time to adjust ourselves and get into the groove of things a little easier, I felt it was important to share with you all, in the case that maybe one of your children has experienced similar symptoms and you may be feeling at a loss as to what might be happening. And so I hope this has been helpful for you today!

Go To Dairy Free Substitutes

While it is fairly common knowledge that foods such as milk, yoghurt and cheese contain dairy, you will be surprised at how many packaged items in fact contain dairy also.

So, see below for my go to product recommendations for following a dairy free diet for a child (or an adult) and products to be aware of that may often contain hidden dairy ingredients. Always make sure to read nutrition labels and be aware of the note 'Contains dairy'.

Go To Dairy-Free Foods

So Good Unsweetened Oat Milk
Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk
Coyo Coconut Yoghurt
Bio Life Vegan Cheese
Sakata Plain Wholegrain crackers (generally I look for no dairy and also low in sugar)
Traditional oats/Heritage Mill Natural Muesli
S + W Light Mayonnaise
Homemade banana bread/protein balls without dairy
Homemade pancake batter
Homemade stirfry/curry sauces
Harvest Snaps Snowpeas
Happy Snack Company Choc coated Chickpeas
Nuttelex spread
Lindt Dark Chocolate
Vegan Ice-cream
Nomo Easter Eggs

Keep an eye out for hidden sources of dairy:

Crackers-Flavoured ones may contain dairy, Sakata flavoured, Sao, Cruskits, Cheese flavoured crackers-as some examples.
Praise Whole Egg Mayonnaise-While mayonnaise typically doesn't contain any diary, this particular one contains Whey Protein Concentrate and states on the label that it contains dairy. So even though something typically shouldn't contain dairy, still always double check.
Proactive Margarine/Olive grove Spread-even though it is made from vegetable oils it also contains milk solids
Cakes and sweet biscuits
Pre-mix Pancake mixes
Croissants
Cereals-Nestle Milo Cereal, Uncle Toby's Quick Flavoured Sachets, Muesli with yoghurt clusters
Muesli Bars-LCM's/K-Time/Uncle Toby's Chewy etc
Baked goods such as storebrought banana bread
Chocolate powder on Babyccino's
Some crips-Flavoured Crisps/Cheese flavoured snacks
Packet/Jar Stir Through Sauces

**Products labelled as Lactose Free- These are beneficial for those with a lactose intolerance/sensitivity but if they are sensitive/intolerant to the dairy proteins themselves, these will still not be suitable

Whenever in doubt, the best thing you can do is to check the label and check the allergen section to see if it states 'Contains Dairy'.

So I hope this has provided insight into something that is often undiagnosed for children for some time. And if you are an adult who suffers from regular digestive discomfort or even ongoing skin conditions such as eczema or psoraisis, it might be worth you looking into dairy as a possible culprit. As always if you would like to discuss this further or would like some dairy free recipe inspiration, don't hesitate to contact me or follow me on my socials for tips and inspo.

Health and Happiness

Ash xx

**Please note that this information is based on my personal experience and while I am a qualified Nutritionist, I am not a peadiatric nutritionist and so if you do have concerns or suspicions based on some of the information read, please also consult your medical pracitioner. It is also important to note that the inclusion of dairy for children is important for their development and so you should not eliminate dairy foods unless there is a medical reason to do so.