May 11th begins 11th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week
Next week marks the beginning of Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 11-17)
Food allergies are more common nowadays. Or is it just that we know more about them? My son's entire school is nut free. This was non-existent when I was a kid. Now we hear about the dangers of anaphylaxis and other reactions to food. Many parents are frustrated at what they consider 'glib' reactions to something like a peanut allergy - which is very serious! People insist there are only a 'couple of nuts' in the cake they insist a child eats and do not seem to realize how serious (and unfortunately, sometimes deadly) food allergies can be. Other food allergies are the Celiac allergy group (also spelled Coeliac)who are allergic to gluten (wheat, barley, rye), there are corn allergies, strawberry allergies, egg and dairy allergies and many more.
http://www.foodallergy.org/ can give you more information.
Tell us-
Do you or a loved one have a food allergy? How do you cope? What changes have you had to make in your life? Are people around you educated and supportive of your needs?
Comments
Thanks for the info. Growing up, my brother had terrible allergic reactions to peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil, etc. It was so bad that if he came into contact with a surface that had been exposed to peanuts, his throat and eyes would swell up and occasionally it meant a trip to the ER. Pretty serious. And having seen first hand the types of reactions people have to certain foods, I can understand what some might consider an overabundance of caution on the part of the schools.
And of course, like most kids growing up, I loved all things peanut butter. The good news is that peanut products weren't banned from our home. I just had to learn to be extra careful with my Jiffy with the understanding that if I wasn't it could become a very serious and potentially life-threatening situation for my brother. How have other families dealt with food allergies? Completely left out of the grocery list? Used sparingly? Something else?
There are those among us who have food allergies, like Tina's brother to peanuts.
Then, there are those among us who have food intolerances that are incorrectly referred to as "allergies."
Some of us have a bit of both, good grief! I am allergic to ragweed, therefore anything chamomile. Do you know how many products contain chamomile? Besides tea, chamomile is a popular ingredient in personal care products. I'm also allergic to aloe, pine and a host of other natural wonders.
Due to allergic reactions to nightshade plants, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers cause a lot of problems like breakouts inside my mouth, gastrointestinal issues - not fun. I can, however, have homegrown tomatoes because they're not so acidic. Plus, because of this reaction, I'm intolerant of medicines that contain certain narcotics.
Finally, I'm lactose intolerant (but I'd rather take a Lactade tablet than give up ice cream!), therefore, it's difficult to get enough calcium in my diet without taking a supplement.
My mom, who shares the eggplant problem, and I were talking about this recently, noting how we subconsciously avoid certain foods that just happen to be the ones we can't have. But, I keep forgetting to ask the chef to not include eggplant or mushrooms in my veggie tempura, LOL!
Now, here's the really frustrating part of all of this: an otherwise healthy macrobiotic diet that might help my arthritis, ergo lack of calcium, makes me sick. Go figure!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KWZ/is_5_4/ai_111734421
Post new comment