Things I learned today

We had a great doctor appointment today with an allergist for Jonathan. He (Jonathan, not the doctor) throws up after eating things with soy (shortening, soy milk, mayonnaise) so we wanted to see if (unlike the gluten issue) this is a true allergy, so we knew how to approach it.
Well, the good news: he doesn't have an allergy. Which means it's an intolerance, albeit a more severe reaction for an intolerance.
I did learn some important things while there though:

• The reason that baking an allergen may make it tolerated is that the protein is exposed to heat for a longer duration than stove-top cooking, and the extra time denatures the protein. As I understood it, it's not just reaching a certain temperature, but being at the temperature for a long enough time to denature it that makes the allergen able to be tolerated. (With that understanding, I can explore baked milk and soy products as an option for each of the kids individually.)
• As the child outgrows it (which is expected), the reaction lessens, rather than disappearing all of a sudden. For example, transitioning for vomiting to diarrhea.
  
• The allergen should be re-tried every 6 months to monitor progress. (That would put us around July.) We will try a tuna salad sandwich with normal mayo or some frosting made with shortening.
  
• Dr. Marc McMorris is a FABULOUS doctor. I would recommend him to anyone needing an allergist in Ann Arbor. His bedside manner and ability to work with young kids was fantastic. I just wish he were a GI doctor for us to work with regularly!