Sore tummies, unpredictable bowels, reflux, eczema that flares after certain meals, a child who has quietly narrowed their diet down to five foods. A naturopath looks at why a child’s gut is reacting the way it is — including food intolerance — and what can be changed.
Some children do. Many do not, and while everyone waits, a child is uncomfortable, sleeping badly and missing school. A pattern you have watched every day is worth taking seriously: children’s gut symptoms and food reactions have findable drivers, and most can be investigated and worked on alongside your GP.
A sore tummy most school mornings. Nappies or toilet trips you have started keeping notes about. A child who is windy and bloated, constipated one week and loose the next. Skin that flares a day after a particular meal. A fussy eater who may not be fussy at all, but has worked out that eating hurts.
Most parents who bring a child to us have already heard it is a phase and that the tests came back clear. Meanwhile, the parent hears: wait it out.
It is not “all in your head”. You are the person who has watched this child every day. Our job is to take the pattern you have noticed seriously and find the root cause.
A food allergy is a fast immune reaction involving IgE antibodies, which can be life-threatening and belongs with your doctor or an allergy specialist. A food intolerance involves no IgE antibody, is slower and dose-related, and shows up as digestive, skin, energy or mood symptoms. The distinction matters, because it decides who should be looking after your child: allergy belongs with a doctor, and food intolerance is where a naturopath can help.
A true food allergy is an immune reaction involving IgE antibodies. It comes on fast — hives, swelling, vomiting, wheeze, and at its most serious, anaphylaxis. IgE-mediated allergy can be life-threatening, and your GP, your paediatrician or a clinical immunology and allergy specialist diagnoses and manages it. We do not diagnose anaphylaxis and we do not manage it. We will never alter or second-guess an adrenaline autoinjector plan or an allergy action plan a doctor has written. Likewise, we never advise trialling a suspected allergen at home to see what happens. A food challenge belongs in a supervised medical setting.
Food intolerance is a different problem. No IgE antibody is involved, reactions are slower and dose-related, and the symptoms are digestive, skin, energy or mood rather than sudden. It is far more common than true allergy, and it does not show up on allergy testing. Often, it is what is behind the child whose tests came back clear but who still feels awful. That is where our work sits. Our article on food intolerance testing explains what these investigations can and cannot tell you. ASCIA, Australia’s allergy specialists, explain the difference in more detail.
Usually a combination: the gut microbiome, digestive capacity, a diet low in fibre, nutrient shortfalls, the gut-skin connection and stress. Two children with the same symptoms often have very different reasons for them. So we start with a long history — feeding from birth, illnesses, antibiotics, growth, sleep, skin and what a normal week of eating actually looks like — before anyone removes a single food.
The drivers we most often find behind children’s gut symptoms:
With a plan built around your child and your household rather than an ideal no family could keep up. In practice, that means a short structured trial of removing a suspected trigger, rebuilding the diet rather than only shrinking it, age-appropriate support, testing only when it changes the plan, and close attention to growth. Depending on what we find, that can include:
Children often respond faster than adults. Even so, real gut change still takes weeks and months, so we usually review at around six weeks.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
A food allergy is an immune reaction involving IgE antibodies. It comes on quickly, can involve hives, swelling, vomiting or breathing difficulty, and can be life-threatening. So a doctor or allergy specialist diagnoses and manages it. A food intolerance involves no IgE antibodies. Instead, it comes on slowly, in proportion to how much your child eats, and shows up as digestive symptoms, skin changes or low energy. Food intolerance is far more common, and it is where a naturopath can help.
Your GP or a clinical immunology and allergy specialist arranges skin prick testing and specific IgE blood tests, and that is where we will send you. What a naturopath can arrange is testing of digestive function, food intolerance patterns, nutrient status and the microbiome, where the result will change the plan. We are also happy to say when a test is not worth the cost.
Usually not. Where we trial removing a food it is short, specific and planned, with a reintroduction date and something nutritious put back in its place. Long open-ended elimination diets risk nutrient gaps, growth problems and a difficult relationship with food.
Yes, alongside their medical care. We work on the things around the allergy — gut function, nutrient status, fibre and variety, and making sure a restricted diet is still a complete one. We do not change an allergy action plan, an autoinjector plan or any prescribed medication, and we never suggest reintroducing an allergen.
Some children are noticeably more comfortable within two or three weeks, particularly where constipation or wind is the main issue. Work on the gut lining, the microbiome and nutrient repletion takes a few months. That is why we review at around six weeks.
If your child’s tummy is running your family’s week, it is worth finding out why — and a naturopath who works with food intolerance in children can help. Our naturopaths and nutritionists consult from Geelong CBD and Drysdale, in person or by telehealth, six days a week. Book an initial consultation and we will start by listening — to you and to your child.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
