A Holistic Approach for FPIAP Healing
Up to 60% of FPIAP cases (food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis) occur in breastfed infants. With symptoms like visible blood and mucous in otherwise healthy infants, many breastfeeding parents are unfortunately advised to wean from the breast and provide hypoallergenic formula to their babies to mitigate FPIAP symptoms.
This blog is always handwritten from my perspective and my clinical experiences — no AI slop found here!
Did you know the majority of FPIAP diagnoses are in breastfed infants?
Up to 60% of FPIAP cases (food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis) occur in breastfed infants. With symptoms like visible blood and mucous in otherwise healthy infants, many breastfeeding parents are unfortunately advised to wean from the breast and provide hypoallergenic formula to their babies to mitigate FPIAP symptoms.
What about the mothers who have worked so hard to breastfeed their baby through early postpartum challenges?
What about the parents who don’t qualify for WIC and feel a huge financial burden to provide special formula for their infant?
What about the families who value breastmilk and understand that formula can never replicate their breastmilk?
What about families whose babies refuse bottles?
I could list 10 more scenarios why “just give your baby formula” is not good enough for many families after a FPIAP diagnosis. While weaning from the breast and providing formula is a solid option and preferred plan for some families, it’s not the ONLY option available.
Identifying and eliminating your baby’s trigger foods + adding healing measures to your maternal diet/lifestyle is a pathway to success for many babies with FPIAP symptoms like bloody and mucousy stool.
You aren’t crazy for wanting to breastfeed.
You aren’t selfish for wanting to breastfeed.
You aren’t making your child sicker for wanting to breastfeed.
I’m on your team and I support your infant feeding hopes, dreams and goals!
1.. Food Allergy: A Practice Parameter Update-2014.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2014. Sampson HA, Aceves S, Bock SA, et al.Guideline
2.. Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome and Allergic Proctocolitis.
Allergy and Asthma Proceedings. 2015. Nowak-Węgrzyn A.
3. Diagnosis and Management of Food Protein-Induced Allergic Proctocolitis.
Current Gastroenterology Reports. 2025. Leney M, Kahale F, Martin VM.
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I provide clinical lactation care locally in Tallahassee, Florida and via my secure telehealth portal from my screen to yours. I offer holistic lactation care to you and your baby through the lens of health and wellness with a focus on creating ease and sustainability to reduce stress and bring more joy into raising your little one!
You can learn more about more about my services and in-network insurance benefits on my WEBSITE. Online booking is available HERE! Questions or comments? Please EMAIL me!
Food Quality vs. Family Budget
Of course, meat quality matters but budget and affordability also matter. I’m of the firm opinion that buying meat and making stock using ingredients you can afford is better than just wishing you were drinking meat stock. Rather than didactically break down the pro’s and con’s of meat quality using statistics and research, I’m going to share a little bit of what has worked for my family over the years.
This blog is always handwritten from my perspective and my clinical experiences — no AI slop found here!
Of course, meat quality matters but budget and affordability also matter. I’m of the firm opinion that buying meat and making stock using ingredients you can afford is better than just wishing you were drinking meat stock. Rather than didactically break down the pro’s and con’s of meat quality using statistics and research, I’m going to share a little bit of what has worked for my family over the years. Anyone can share information on grass-fed vs. corn fed, free range vs. pastured, omega 3’s vs. omega 6’s, and the benefits of supporting local farmers but I’m here to support families who choose to use food on their healing journey — and that’s something I know a lot about.
My family saw great healing using conventional meats because that was what we could afford at the time with one income and a mom with a mission to dramatically increase healing foods her family was eating. I took full advantage of the fact that meat stock uses cheaper “non-choicy” cuts and would buy the boniest, toughest cuts I could find because not only were they they the cheapest but they also have the most healing collagen. We were that crazy family buying 40 pound boxes of frozen chicken backs from our local butcher shop and having frequent convos with the shop owner about whether or not he could source bulk chicken feet and chicken necks. Back then we lived in Orlando and there was a great local grocery store that sold the off cuts that I was so keen to buy — I would fill my buggy with pork ribs and pig feet, knowing full well that I would be questioned why I was buying 10 pounds of trotters to every employee that walked past!
Would I have preferred to take a healing path for my family with exclusively local pastured meats? YES!
Was that possible? NO!
At this point, my family has a larger grocery budget but we also have a larger family with less demand for healing foods. I try to prioritize pastured, local fed meats for our meals but when the local co-op has a big shipment of conventional beef liver for half the price of the local chicken liver I’ve buying, you can bet I will fully stock my freezer to meet my toddlers’ liver pate needs for the foreseeable future. I’m clearly still that crazy lady!
The bottom line is I trust families to make their best choices and do the best they can with their available resources. Finances can be a real barrier to getting over the hump to get started with big lifestyle and diet changes but staying realistic and remembering perfection is an impossible goal can be the helpful push for turning plans into action steps!
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I provide clinical lactation care locally in Tallahassee, Florida and via my secure telehealth portal from my screen to yours. I offer holistic lactation care to you and your baby through the lens of health and wellness with a focus on creating ease and sustainability to reduce stress and bring more joy into raising your little one!
You can learn more about more about my services and in-network insurance benefits on my WEBSITE. Online booking is available HERE! Questions or comments? Please EMAIL me!
Reducing Meat Stock’s Histamine
As discussed in Meat Stock vs. Bone Broth, one benefit of short-cooked meat stock is that it contains dramatically less histamine than long-cooked bone broth. Yet, for some folks, they need to take extra precautions to prevent excess histamine in their meat stock.
As discussed in Meat Stock vs. Bone Broth, one benefit of short-cooked meat stock is that it contains dramatically less histamine than long-cooked bone broth. Yet, for some folks, they need to take extra precautions to prevent excess histamine in their meat stock. Excess histamine, gut permeability and low levels of the digestive enzyme DAO work synergistically (with many other factors, of course) to inflame the body and create a hostile environment that can result in symptoms like itchy skin, hives, diarrhea, bloating, sensitivity to the sun, extreme reactions to bug bites, anxiety and depression, to just name a few.
If you are battling with the symptoms listed above, I suggest taking additional steps to reduce your meat stock’s histamine load if you are not seeing improvement while drinking properly prepared meat stock. Most people will find that short-cooking and freezing after cooling is the only histamine mitigation they need but some sensitive folks will need to follow extra precautions. The following is a comprehensive list of ways to further reduce histamine in meat stock:
Cook your meat stock on the stove top rather than using a slow cooker or pressure cooker. This provides more temperature control to ensure your stock is simmering, rather than boiling.
Reduce cooking time even further. Typically, chicken stock calls for 2 hours of simmering and beef stock calls for 3 hours of simmering. Meat stock is “done” when the meat is tender and slides off the bone. Try checking meat tenderness earlier than recommended to see if you can pull your stock off the heat earlier to reduce cooking time.
Cook small batches of meat stock. Smaller batches can require less cooking time and storing leftovers in the fridge is a quick way to increase histamine.
Cool your stock down quickly after removing from the stove. One technique is to fill your sink with ice and place your stock pot directly into the ice to cool. If it’s winter and freezing outside, place your stock pot outside in the snow to cool. Distributing hot meat stock into smaller bowls/pots brings cooling much faster than waiting for a big pot of stock to cool.
After cooling, freeze stock in small portions in the freezer as freezing halts histamine production. Freeze small portions so you can gently heat the exact amount you need on the stove top. If you freeze in glass jars, be sure to leave at least one inch of empty head space to avoid the risk of the freezing stock expanding and breaking your jar. Silicon muffin trays are excellent for very small portions — freeze in the silicon tray and then pop out and store in a ziploc bag.
Do not blend chicken skin into your “cream” as described in Making Meat Stock. Chicken skin is naturally high in histamine. It is fine to include cartilage and gooey connective tissues for increased nutrition and healing though.
Purchase your meat directly from a butcher or farmer who can ensure your meat is as fresh as possible.
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I provide clinical lactation care in Tallahassee, Florida and via my secure telehealth portal. I offer holistic lactation care to you and your baby through the lens of health and wellness with a focus on creating ease and sustainability to reduce stress and bring more joy into parenting your little one!
You can learn more about more about my services and in-network insurance benefits on my website. Online booking is available HERE! Questions or comments? Please email me!
This blog is always handwritten from my perspective and my clinical experiences — no AI slop found here!
Making Meat Stock
In it’s most simple form, meat stock is a short cooked stock using bony cuts of meat. I will not share a “recipe” as everyone’s needs are unique and there is no one right way to make meat stock. Rather, I will share guidelines and general directions for you to customize to fit your taste buds and your health needs. If high histamine levels are on your radar, there are many ways to reduce the histamine found in your meat stock. Remember: healing meat stock only requires bony cuts of meat, water and salt — everything else is optional!
In it’s most simple form, meat stock is a short cooked stock using bony cuts of meat. I will not share a “recipe” as everyone’s needs are unique and there is no one right way to make meat stock. Rather, I will share guidelines and general directions for you to customize to fit your taste buds and your health needs. If high histamine levels are on your radar, there are many ways to reduce the histamine found in your meat stock. Remember: healing meat stock only requires bony cuts of meat, water and salt — everything else is optional!
Choose your bony cuts of meat. For chicken stock - legs, leg quarters, thighs and wings are great choices. When in doubt, choose dark meat because dark meat is closest to the bone. Chicken backs, necks and feet are perfect for adding even more healing collagen but should be in addition to meatier cuts and make up no more than half of your chicken for a batch of stock. For beef/lamb/bison stock, again, the key is to choose bony cuts of meat — shanks, ribs, oxtail, knuckles, head meat, neck bones, etc. Many butchers sell “soup bones” that make great additions to your beef stock but cuts with plenty of meat near the bone should make up at least half of your cuts for red meat stock. These bony cuts of meat are not considered “choice” cuts of meat and are typically the cheapest cuts available which is an added bonus!
Add your meat to your largest stock pot. The amount of meat you are cooking dictates the amount of water you will use for your stock. Only add enough water to cover your meat, plus about an inch. Do not add too much water or your stock will not gel and will have less flavor. Knowing how much water to add is a practiced art but my suggestion is to remember that less water always makes tastier stock.
Add salt. Since this is not a recipe, I do not provide exact measurements but you can always add more salt to taste after your stock is cooked, so start small until you find how much salt works for you. Table salt is highly refined and contains additives so table salt is not recommended for your meat stock. Focus on high quality mineral salts like Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt. Natural salts contains necessary minerals for supporting overall health and is naturally delicious.
Add in your bonus ingredients! My suggestion is to start with a basic meat stock and then try adding different ingredients one at a time with future batches. Bonus ingredient suggestions: cracked black pepper, whole garlic bulb, onion, fresh herbs, seaweed, dried herbs, medicinal mushrooms, fresh veggies, hot peppers, etc.
Slowly bring to a boil over medium/medium high heat. The meat will scorch and burn if you crank the heat to high so be careful! Once you have a rolling boil, lower heat to a simmer. Stir occasionally and check if the heat needs adjusting to maintain a slow simmer. Chicken stock should simmer for about 2 hours and red meat should simmer for about 3 hours. Don’t forget to set your timer after you turn down the boiling stock to a simmer. {You can also use a slow cooker or pressure cooker but I suggest cooking your first few batches on the stove so you know what flavor to expect from meat stock. It is easy to over cook stock in a slow cooker or pressure cooker so be aware of that added risk.} Confirm your meat stock is ready by ensuring the meat is tender and slides off the bone. Remove from heat.
Strain meat stock into a large bowl or pot. Set aside to cool. After the meat is cooled, use your fingers to pull the meat from the bone to reserve for later use.
This final step is technically optional but it boosts your meat stock with the healing properties of adding healthy fats and collagen directly back into your stock — and it tastes delicious! Throw the chicken skin, cartilage, connective tissues and any gooey bits next to the bones into your blender. Add a little stock and blitz on high speed until smooth. Add this “cream” back into your stock and strain your stock again.
Enjoy your beautiful finished product! You can drink by the cup or use this rick stock as a base for nourishing soups. If you are drinking meat stock as the foundation of a healing diet, drinking up to 6 cups of stock a day is recommended. I suggest starting with just one cup a day and checking in to see how it makes you feel and then increasing over the next couple of weeks until you reach your goal.
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I provide clinical lactation care in Tallahassee, Florida and via my secure telehealth portal. I offer holistic lactation care to you and your baby through the lens of health and wellness with a focus on creating ease and sustainability to reduce stress and bring more joy into parenting your little one!
You can learn more about more about my services and in-network insurance benefits on my website. Online booking is available HERE! Questions or comments? Please email me!
This blog is always handwritten from my perspective and my clinical experiences — no AI slop found here!