Category Archives: Food Sensitivity

5 Steps to Help Make Dining Out with Allergies Easier

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Dining out can be very difficult for individuals with food allergies. A new study found that the more steps you take to protect yourself from exposure, the less likely you are to have an allergic reaction.

The researchers asked 39 people with allergies (or their parents) about 25 behaviors people might do before eating out. Nineteen of those surveyed had experienced a food allergy reaction while dining at a restaurant. After examining the results, the researchers observed a few common strategies that people used to successfully avoid an allergic reaction while eating at a restaurant.

The top 5 strategies included:

  • Speaking to the waiter on arrival
  • Ordering food with simple ingredients
  • Double-checking food before eating
  • Avoiding restaurants with higher likelihood of contamination
  • Reviewing ingredients on a restaurant website

https://consumer.healthday.com/respiratory-and-allergy-information-2/food-allergy-news-16/dining-out-with-allergies-is-tough-but-these-steps-can-help-739703.html

Research for alternative testing method for food allergies looks positive

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According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have developed an alternate method to more accurately detect and identify the presence and severity of peanut allergies, without directly exposing patients to the allergen.

A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at the University of Notre Dame designed nanoparticles, or “nanoallergens”, that mimic natural allergens by displaying each allergic component one at a time on their surfaces.  These nanoallergens are used to dissect the critical components of major peanut allergy proteins and evaluate the potency of the allergic response using the antibodies present in a blood sample from a patient.

Basar Bilgicer

“The goal of this study was to show how nanoallergen technology could be used to provide a clearer and more accurate assessment of the severity of an allergic condition,” said Basar Bilgicer, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics initiative at Notre Dame.  The goal of this new testing procedure is to replace the oral food challenge; which requires a patient to ingest small amounts of the offending food to the point of intolerance or anaphylaxis; and skin prick testing, which may have false-positive test results.

“We are currently working with allergy specialist clinicians for further testing and verification of the diagnostic tool using a larger patient population. Ultimately, our vision is to take this technology and make it available to all people who suffer from food allergies.”

 

Source: Novel platform uses nanoparticles to detect peanut allergies

 

 

Its Here! The 2017 Valentines Day Edition of the Safe Snack Guide!

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Snacksafely.com announced the publication of this year’s Valentine’s Edition of the Safe Snack Guide, an extensive catalog of allergy-friendly foods used by thousands of schools and tens of thousands of parents nationwide to help keep allergens out of the classroom and the home.

This edition has an entire section devoted to allergy-friendly sweets for your sweetie! Many are available at your local supermarket or can be ordered online.

Find peanut, tree nut and Top 8 allergen-free, gluten-free, kosher, organic, and non-GMO foods from this fully interactive Guide!

Source: Its Here! The 2017 Valentines Edition of the Safe Snack Guide! – SnackSafely.com

5 Tips to Safely Celebrate the Holidays with Food Allergies

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Top Tips for celebrating with family if you have some dietary restrictions.

Gathering with family is an important part of the holidays for most of us.  If you suffer from food allergies or eat a restricted diet due to a health conditions, here are a few tips to consider.
  1. Talk to the host prior to the event –   Ask ahead of time what is on the menu and if the host would like you to bring something.  If possible you might ask them to  prepare the main course in a way that fits your dietary needs.  You should also figure out if there will be enough dishes that you can eat to fill you or if you will need to bring your own food.  By all means, do offer to bring a dish or two that you know you can eat and then share the love with everyone!  I’m always tickled if family raves over my grain-free paleo-style dishes.
  2. Know what it’s swimming in – I’ve found that most of the common food allergens come in the sauces, dressings or marinades.  These culprits frequently contain gluten, dairy, egg, soy, or sugar.   You may ask the host to hold aside a portion of undressed salad or fix your piece of chicken or fish with no marinade or sauce.  I usually ask for olive oil, salt and garlic …It’s delicious every time and I know I’m not getting any hidden gluten or dairy in the sauce.
  3. Send a package ahead of you – if you’re traveling to an area where there is no Whole Foods or natural grocery nearby to accessorize your diet, you can often ship ahead a small box of essentials. You can either pack them yourself or you can use a service, like Amazon or Vitacost and have them ship the necessary items. I frequently do this with non-perishables, like coconut milk, sunflower nut butter, chia seed, and high quality coconut or olive oils.  Plus you can leave any of the gourmet leftover items with your host to enjoy!  Better yet, order enough to get free shipping and include a hostess gift of some special gourmet food item that he/she cannot purchase locally.   Organic dark chocolate or specialty cooking oils are a wonderful gift idea!
  4. Don’t go hungry – When we are hungry our brains may bypass the filter of what we know to be a better choice.  We’ll often we end up eating too much and pick foods that we’d normally avoid.  This is why I vow never take my husband grocery shopping on an empty stomach… you just never know what will make it’s way into your shopping cart! 😉  Eat a small protein snack prior to heading out, like nuts/seeds, guacamole or jerky.   If you know there will not be any safe options, it’s ok to eat your entire meal before you go and just enjoy the company and not the food.
  5. BYOBF  (Bring your own back-up food) – whether traveling by plane or car or just driving across town for a holiday get-together, you can never go wrong by having a few nonperishable snacks or options with you.  You never know when you’ll get stranded in the car or in the airport for longer than expected.  I carry things like packets of sunflower nut butter, coconut butter and shredded coconut, a piece of fruit, dried organic beef or bison jerky, Alter Eco 85% dark chocolate bar, and/or packets or tins of wild salmon or sardines.   I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stranded somewhere longer than anticipated and hungry and so thankful for my little stash!  As the true saying goes, “Fail to plan and plan to fail…”

Wishing you a most delightful and delicious holiday season making many memories with your loved ones!

Sources: 5 Tips to Safely Celebrate the Holidays with Food Allergies , All-American Allergy Alternatives, LLC

Holiday gift ideas for people with allergies

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Searching for gifts for friends or family members with allergies or food sensitivities?  Check out our patients’ and doctors’ ideas,  from the practical to the creative, with some that are very tasty!

  • Environmental controls-products that help reduce or limit allergens in the home.
    • Pillow and mattress encasements
    • Air purifiers, filters and dehumidifiers
    • HEPA vacuum cleaners
    • Various allergen reducing cleaning products
    • Visit:  allergycontrol.com  or  bedbathandbeyond.com
  • Foods, cooking and recipes for the food sensitive or allergic
    • The Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill: make your favorite recipes with fresh home milled pure flour from various grains, lentils or beans. nutrimill.com
    • Premium cookbooks can be found in many stores such as williams-sonoma.com , or a subscription to a specialty magazine like glutenfreelving.com
    • Grass-fed beef and meat products from US Wellness Meats grasslandbeef.com
    • Vital Choice wild seafood and organics vitalchoice.com
    • Is the person on your list a Vegan? Check out ohsheglows.com or vegweb.com for a collection of vegan recipes and resources.
    • Safe Sips for the wine lover: Sulfites can contribute to allergic reactions, so try sulfite free organic wines from freywine.com
    • Chocoholic? Find milk free, peanut free, gluten free chocolate treats and gifts at nowheychocolate.com or www.vermontnutfree.com

Still not sure? Try gift cards or certificates for movie, theater or concert tickets, adventure lessons, art classes, or even professional cleaning services for their home or apartment.

Let us know if you have other ideas, suggestions or have found useful site that you would like to share with others by commenting below.

Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays from All-American Allergy Alternatives, LLC