Hi Cheryl, rthanks for responding.
I guess we are getting into the issue of definitions here:
you said:
"Proteins tend to be more allergenic than other foods, but my daughter is
allergic to strawberries (no protein). My other daughter is allergic to
rice.
My son is allergic to ragweed. No, they don't have to be protein. My niece
is
allergic to sugar (refined beet).
When your body, for whatever reason, misinterprets a food for an invader
(germ) or an inhalant (dust, mold, weeds), it can misinterpret a nonprotein
for a protein.
Cheryl Muller, RNC, IBCLC"

I had a look at the National Institute of allergy and Infectious Diseases
website at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/food.htm#A that states:

"Food allergens (the food fragments responsible for an allergic reaction)
are proteins within the food that usually are not broken down by the heat
of cooking or by stomach acids or enzymes that digest food. As a result,
they survive to cross the gastrointestinal lining, enter the bloodstream,
and go to target organs, causing allergic reactions throughout the body. "
It's quite a good site to check out, just found it by searching with Google.

I always thought a reaction to a non protein substance (eg. lactose) is
an "intolerance", as in lactose intolerance.

Strawberries, oranges, beets etc would all have proteins in them as amino
acids are "the building blocks of life" (whew... that came from the cobwebs
of my high school biology lessons- LOL!)and any living thing is made up of
proteins, even if very small amounts. Hence your daughter's allergy to
strawberry is an allergy to the proteins in the strawberry, even though we
don't regard strawberries as a *protein* food.
In reference to the DHA & AA additives, to my way of thinking,*how*
allergenic they are depends on how pure the additive is. If it is 100%
fatty acids then the likelihood of causing allergy is pretty low as the
protein contaminants have been removed (I would think it being 100% pure is
highly unlikely though!)My dh (a scientist with a PHD in immunlogy so knows
more about this stuff than little old me! - no connections with formula
co.s either, he'd be divorced if he did, LOL!)says that the purity depends
on the process that they use to 'drop out' or remove the contaminants. I
checked the website of http://www.martekbio.com and cannot find any details
of the process they use, nor the analysis of the product. My 'gut'feeling
is that it would not be 100% pure, therefore yes it could be theorised that
infants could react to the contaminants.
We have had these formulas here in Australia for a while now and I must say
I don't notice a big switch to them (in the newborn period at least, as I
mainly see babies up to 2 weeks as a hospital domicilary midwife, so
perhaps they switch once they learn about them from other sources.) I would
be interested in what others have observed. How wide a use is there? Are
they monitoring the use? (probably not!)Any notifications of allergic
reactions?- I dont know.
Hope this is clear
Regards
Karen Clements IBCLC

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