Comments on: Food Allergy Awareness

By: Kay

Kay — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:00:31 +0000

Kay…

Found your post Thursday, Jengates Blog ” Blog Archive ” links for 2009-04-08. Are you sure this is correct? All allergies are different….

By: Don

Don — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:54:26 +0000

Thank you for making this an issue of concern. Several of my family members have fairly severe food allergies and find it very difficult to eat outside the home. Many people, and I’m ashamed to say, many restaurants don’t take them seriously when they explain they have food allergies so please don’t cross contaminate the food. They have had reactions due to carelessness in public food estabishments. Fortunately not very serious…yet.

By: Mara

Mara — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:27:29 +0000

I suffer from food allergies that seemed to begin after a CT scan and other tests. Something in the dye they injected into me may have been the trigger. Trying to find exactly what it is that makes me ill is extremely difficult, but I have narrowed it down a bit. MSG is the common additive in every food that causes stomach pains, diarrhea, nausea and a major breakout on my forehead and cheeks. If many foods make you sick, you may find that MSG (monosodium glutamate) is the reason.

By: Lara

Lara — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:19:55 +0000

After an extensive process of elimination, I finally discovered soy as my food enemy. I was suffering from fatigue to cycstic acne and had no idea why. Since ridding myself of soy, the results are nothing short of amazing. This is an ingredient that is in everything. It’s also interesting how people often overlook it.

By: John Layer

John Layer — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:49:30 +0000

Many misconceptions about food allergies. First an upset stomach doesn’t indicate a food allergy, just an intolerance. If you have a spastic bowel, you need more fiber. You have to go slowly,weeks. Blood tests for food allergies and inhaled allergens are worthless. For inhaled allergens you need skin testing as well as correlation. Food allergies need a direct food challenge. Food allergies can be manifested by hives, angioedema, which is swollen lips or throat, or eosinophilic gastro-enteriteis(rare), or weight loss. NO ONE is allergic to everything, but if your system is spastic or intolerant; then other things will bother you. Soy is the most difficult thing that humans eat; it has a high concentration of a vegetable starch, raffinose. This is high in asparagus, brocholi and less in beans. Raw or under-cookecd these are much more difficult to digest. The treatment is avoidance or liquid Beano which is a natural product that aids digestion. Adults rarely get an allergy to milk but rather an intolerance. We all have it. One might get it after a spoonful, another only after 20 glasses. You body secretes an enzyme into the gut to split lactose, the milk sugar, into 2 other sugars. Then and only then can the body digest the milk. You then have to avoid or use Lactaid milk (predigested). We secrete less of this after illness, or with aging. Changes in our diet are hard on the gut.
John MD

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:22:38 +0000

I just found out today that the bread I am buying that I thought did not contain sesame, DOES. Usually, the package says “may contain sesame etc.” . I looked on the bottom of the roll and saw tons of sesame seeds. I am so alarmed that this bread company can sell them with out disclosing that they may contain them. Does anyone know the laws regarding this issue? I ‘d like to feed my daughter food that won’t make her sick…it’s difficult to do this.

By: jk

jk — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:47:46 +0000

Ray B.. .it sounds like maybe you have Oral Allergy Syndrome? (dont hold me to it though; i’m not a doctor! ) .. i’ve been to a few allergists who say there’s nothing really you can do about it. Apparently people who have severe pollen allergies get it. some tips though – peel the skin off of fruits (e.g apples, pears..), and also microwaving the foods if you can. Raw fruits, nuts and vegetables can cause problems, but not when they are cooked. Some food allergies have been linked to different pollen allergies. for instance, if you have an allergy to grass pollen you may have an allergic reaction to melons, tomatoes and oranges. Unfortunately I was allergy tested and showed an allergy for every single weed, tree and plant they tested me for! Good luck!

By: sb

sb — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:28:55 +0000

RayB — Google NAET. Your wish is already here.

By: sb

sb — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:27:44 +0000

RayB — your wish is already here, but you won’t hear about it from any mainstream news source. Google NAET — it’s non-invasive allergy elimination. My entire family, including my infants, have used it.

By: Ray B

Ray B — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:57:00 +0000

My wife and I both suffer with food allergies in addition to more common allergies (pollen, dander) but we have never sought treatment since our reactions are mild compared to some. Mostly our lips swell, we develop hives, our mouths and throats itch. We developed these allergies in adulthood and they happen to be to things that we enjoy eating. My allergy to most tree nuts (but not peanuts or cashews for some reason) and most fruits has impacted my diet in that I can no longer enjoy foods I previously loved such as pecan pie, peaches, banana pudding, applesauce and more. My wife is currently avoiding milk products because of a recent increase in bloating and nausea when consumed and also has severe reactions to seafood and shellfish. My wifes reaction to shellfish is so bad that if food comes into contact with shellfish such as mozzarella sticks fried in the same oil as shrimp will cause a reaction.

What bothers me is that over time the range of foods that I have reactions to is increasing. I never know from one day to the next what food is going to provoke a response. At one time I could enjoy fresh strawberries, but lately they have begun to upset my stomach. That is usually the first sign that I am developing an allergy to a food.

My wish is that since this sort of allergy seems to be increasing that more research would be done to find a cause and treatment so that my wife and I can once again enjoy our meals again. Maybe one day but for now we just grin and bear it.