Choosing Between Extensively Hydrolyzed Formula or Amino Acid Based Formula

Some may be tempted to jump to an amino acid based formula (AAF) such as Neocate, Elecare, Puramino etc before trying an extensively hydrolyzed formula (EHF) like Alimentum or Nutramigen. That is because AAF are deemed to be more hypoallergenic than EHF.

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There is data suggesting that kids on extensively hydrolyzed cow’s milk formula may develop a tolerance to cow’s milk quicker than those on amino acid formula. Other benefits - taste slightly better and less expensive.

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What’s more interesting -- more kids on an EHF with LGG (a probiotic) develop a tolerance to cow’s milk compared to a regular EHF, after a 12 month period. The EHF with probiotics used in the study is Nutramigen LGG.

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Note: Not all probiotics are equal. There are many strains of probiotic and the result is only specific to Lactobacillus GG.

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This is exciting news! I'm looking forward to more research on probiotics and how they relate to food allergies.

Canani et al. Formula selection for management of children with cow’s milk allergy influences the rate of acquisition of tolerance: a prospective multicenter study. J Pediatr 2013;163:771-7.