Letters to the Editor Indian Pediatrics 2005; 42:964 |
Avoidance of Food Allergens in Asthmatics |
Out of 24 children under study, 20 had raised IgE against rice, 12 had raised IgE against wheat and 9 against maida. Amongst the pulses, except for masoor dal (17%) and soyabean (21%), high IgE against other pulses varied from 64% to 96%. Amongst fruits except for tomato (8%) and orange (17%) raised IgE for fruits varied from 29% to 96%. It would be very informative to know how the parents managed food for these children and still met the dietary requirements. Amongst spices 12.5% children had high IgE against red chilly and 23% against green chilly, but IgE against other spices, specially black pepper (92%) coriander (83%) jira (83%), turmeric (50%) must have made cooking a great challenge. As it would not be practical and feasible to evaluate IgE levels for so many food items in every asthmatic child, so 84 food items from this list will have to be excluded from the diet of every asthmatic child. In nutshell conclusions of this study would turn topsy turvy many of the presently followed recommendations regarding nutritious food for these children. Curiously seven children (30%) did not get any benefit by avoiding these food allergens. Yash Paul, Editor’s note: No reply received from Agarkhedkar, et al. despite several reminders.
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