Sep 22, 2022
If you've had children, you may have been given tips (probably unsolicited) about feeding Baby, but what does the science really say about baby advice? From allergies to getting your child started on the best foot forward, most parents are left trying to decipher an ever-changing landscape while feeling defeated.
Today's guest, Meenal Lele, is the author of The Baby and the Biome, a revelatory look at how we all got so sick. She is also the founder & CEO of Lil Mixins, an early allergen introduction solution. She has a chemical engineering and business degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Meenal's book combines her deep clinical experience with her goal to end food allergies that affect 40 million Americans, like her son.
Join us as Meenal helps to break down the complicated topic of children's food allergies and what science really says when it comes to a child's microbiome.
Does your child have early eczema or food allergies? Post something you learned in your journey in the comments to help other parents!
In this episode:
- The scary stat of how many kids will develop a chronic immune disease
- How eczema, food allergies and asthma are all related
- What is the best time window to introduce common allergenic foods to a baby (this goes against common advice)
- Why staph and eczema can go hand in hand along with food allergies
- What should parents do to hopefully minimize these issues?
Quotes
“Foods become an allergen when your body mistakes a totally normal, safe food and decides it's a parasite.” [12:52]
“I feel like we're so unwilling to be even momentarily uncomfortable that we end up throwing things at a problem that don't even help. And that's the case for us with antibiotics. In Sweden, they made doctors report every single time they were using antibiotics, and why, and it cut the reuse of antibiotics by 75%, meaning probably for us in the United States, three out of four uses of antibiotics are completely unnecessary." [26:25]
Links
Connect with Meenal Lele online here
Check out Lil Mixins here
Follow Lil Mixins on Instagram
Order a copy of Meenal's book: The Baby and the Biome: How the Tiny World Inside Your Child Holds the Secret to Their Health
Healthy Skin Show ep. 020: How Your Mouth Microbiome Can Mess Up Your Skin w/ Trina Felber
Healthy Skin Show ep. 222: Food Allergies + Skin Rashes in Kids w/ Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS
Healthy Skin Show ep. 086: Allergies, Your Immune System & Skin Rashes w/ Dr. Maya Shetreat