Myth: allergens take weeks to leave breastmilk

Does this surprise you? How long do you think it takes? Well, let’s talk about it....

Currently, the prevailing narrative is that food proteins are in a mother’s breastmilk for days on end. Somehow they are just floating around in the milk, and a mother has to “detox” to clear her body for weeks. So baby should also be on formula during this time, while mama “cleans” out her breast milk.

Newer research shows this is not the case. Did you know proteins peak in your system within HOURS?

But why, you ask, is my baby reacting days later? Why does it often take babies several weeks to clear up?

With non IgE food allergies, reactions are often not immediate. In fact, a baby can react DAYS later to something they were exposed to. It all depends on a number of factors like baby’s sensitivity level, quantity of proteins ingested, etc.

So when your baby has a reaction, AFTER cutting out foods, it isn’t that your milk is still tainted.

One important thing to note here is that often times mom is still eating something with the allergen in it, unknowingly. Again, it is not that your milk is holding onto the allergen, it is that you are continuing to consume an allergen and you don’t realize it. This is very common as it can be difficult to fully catch all the ways that dairy and soy can be hidden in foods! (Download our Dairy and Soy Cheat Sheets in the Fed Well Hub Starter Guide here)

So what is the take away? YOU are fine to continue to breast feed. We are passionate about putting a stop to this idea of breast milk detox that translates into needing formula. We are also passionate about putting a stop to stressed-out moms who believe that accidentally consuming an allergen means that she is “stuck” with those food proteins in her body for weeks.

Share this with someone who needs to know this information today. For more on the science, check out this article from Free to Feed: True or False? Allergens are present in breast milk for weeks.