Infant Eczema and Maternal Dairy Intake

In the November 2013 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, author Sarah Bedell Cook looks at a trial investigating infant eczema and maternal cow based dairy intake.  The breastfeeding mothers that participated in this trial all had a history of allergies (including food allergies, eczema, hives, asthma).  The infants were all exclusively breastfed and were monitored from birth to age 4 months.  Half of the mothers ate a diet that restricted dairy products (30 women) and the other half did not restrict their dairy intake (32 women).  At age 4 months, the incidence of eczema was significantly lower in the infants whose mothers restricted their dairy intake (only 2 infants developed eczema compared to 8 infants in the unrestricted dairy group).  Eczema is a relatively common concern for infants and this trial provides very helpful information around potential support for eczema management.