Additional Food Allergies = Incomplete Recovery or Refractory Sprue? - Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Diet Support

An Egg A Day Appears To Help Young Children Grow Taller

An egg a day might help undernourished young children grow to a healthy height, according to a six-month study in Ecuador.

Whether soft or hard-boiled, fried or whisked into an omelette, eggs appeared to give infants a boost.

It could be a cheap way to prevent stunting, say researchers in the journal Pediatrics.

The first two years of life are critical for growth and development - any stunting is largely irreversible.

Too short for age

Poor nutrition is a major cause of stunting, along with childhood infections and illnesses.

According to the World Health Organization, 155 million children under the age of five are stunted (too short for their age).

Most live in low- and middle-income countries and health experts have been looking at ways to tackle the issue.

Lora Iannotti and her colleagues set up a field experiment in the rural highlands of Ecuador and gave very young children (aged six to nine months) free eggs to eat to see if this might help.

Egg dinners

Only half of the 160 youngsters who took part in the randomised trial were fed an egg a day for six months - the others were monitored for comparison.

The researchers visited the children's families every week to make sure they were sticking to the study plan and to check for any problems or side-effects, including egg allergy.

Stunting was far less common among the egg treatment group by the end of the study - the prevalence was 47% less than in the non-egg group, even though relatively more of these egg-fed infants were considered short for their age at the start of the study.

Some of the children in the control group did eat eggs, but nowhere near as many as the treatment group.

Lead researcher Ms Iannotti said: "We were surprised by just how effective this intervention proved to be.

"And what's great is it's very affordable and accessible for populations that are especially vulnerable to hidden hunger or nutritional deficiency."

She said eggs were great food for young children with small stomachs.

"Eggs contain a combination of nutrients, which we think is important."

Balanced diet

Prof Mary Fewtrell, nutrition lead at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "In a way, it is surprising that more research has not been conducted using egg in this situation - although I know that in some cultures, parents do not necessarily find egg to be an acceptable early food mainly because of concerns about allergy.

"Egg is a good nutritious complementary food that can be introduced as part of a varied diet once the mother decides to start complementary feeding - never before four months."

She said eggs should always be well cooked to avoid any potential infection risk.

The WHO recommends mothers worldwide to exclusively breastfeed infants for the child's first six months to achieve optimal growth, development and health. After the first six months, infants should be given nutritious complementary foods and continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years or beyond.

The British Nutrition Foundation advised: "While eggs are a nutritious food to include, it's very important that young children have a variety of foods in their diets. Not only is this necessary to get all the vitamins and minerals they need, but also to allow them to become familiar with a wide range of tastes and textures.

"A range of protein-rich foods should be provided when feeding young children, which can include eggs but can also feature beans, pulses, fish, especially oily fish, meat and dairy products."

Can speciality eggs crack the market?

Raw eggs 'safe for pregnant women'

Pediatrician Creates Easier Way To Determine Egg Allergy Limit

TAKATSUKI, Osaka Prefecture--A pediatrician here gave birth to the idea of putting egg powder in sachets as an easier way for young allergy patients to discover how much of it they could safely eat.

Masahiro Enomoto, 45, who works at a medical center in Takatsuki, embarked on developing the egg powder product, called Tamakona, with his fellow physicians five years ago.

LEARNING A CHILD'S LIMITS

Traditional treatment for allergies called for patients to avoid all potential food allergy products.

However, it is currently recommended that patients identify their personal safety limits beforehand and ingest as much of the trigger food as possible within the range doctors help them determine.

This treatment policy is particularly important for children with an egg allergy.

Eating as much egg as possible could dramatically improve their lives. Their resistance to a few grams of eggs would, for example, mean they may be able to enjoy certain sweets or baked goods.

Determining a child's limit is alike beneficial for parents, since confirming it in advance will stop parents from excessively worrying even if their child eats food containing egg without knowing it.

Patients' limits are decided through the oral challenge test, wherein they consume about 2 grams of boiled eggs at a medical center first. If no problems are detected, the same amount is attempted at home for one to several months.

The volume of boiled eggs is then raised to 6 grams for consumption at home for another few months. The goal is for a child to be able to eat one boiled egg.

Such dietary guidance at home, however, places a heavy burden on parents, who must cook eggs every day and have their children eat only a few grams at a time. This process may need to be repeated across several months to a year.

Among many other difficulties is parents having to change the eggs' flavor at times for children who do not like boiled eggs.

"It is sometimes difficult to boil eggs, for example, on trips and busy days," said Enomoto.

Replacing cooked eggs with confectionery available on the market is difficult, too, given that the quantity of their egg content could be changed.

Testing at medical centers is also problematic, according to Enomoto.

The size and boiling time for eggs differs from hospital to hospital, with no standardized criteria in place. Different methods among doctors may, thus, lead to different results.

"I believe having an alternative option will lead to families being happier," he said.

SEARCH FOR EASIER WAY

Enomoto found inspiration for developing the powder while helping children who need to avoid specific food products as an allergy specialist.

The quantity of the powder is easy to adjust so that fixed quantities can be readily used during hospital tests and can provide parents with dietary guidance for their children at home.

The product is made by turning well-cooked eggs into powder. A predetermined volume of egg protein is then put into each sachet as the substance is responsible for allergic reactions.

The powder is supposed to be mixed into juice drinks and baby food.

Enomoto tested Tamakona at an unused room at his own company by treating eggs with a dryer. The flavor was changed on many occasions, too, considering there are children who do not like the smell of cooked eggs.

When the product was nearing completion, Enomoto commissioned a food processing firm to produce it. The finished product is flavored to resemble the smell of sweet potatoes and fruits.

His first product, Tamakona 250, was marketed in November 2019, carrying a price tag of 150 yen ($1.10) per pouch before tax.

Another line in far smaller bags was released in November last year for babies, in the hope of preparing a range of variants essential for oral challenge tests.

Tamakona is now available at more than 100 hospitals nationwide. Since its commercial introduction in December 2021, Tamakona is also shipped to consumers if their doctors allow it. At least 300 people have reportedly given it a try.

---