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What To Do If You Or Someone In Your Family Has A Food Allergy

The food allergy is caused by the body's immune system mistaking the ingredient in the food, usually a food protein, as harmful to the body instead of beneficial. This mistaken identification triggers a defensive reaction in the body (antibodies) to fight this perceived danger to the body. The antibodies battling this enemy are what cause the allergic reaction.

Approximately 90% of all food allergies are to one of the following food items:

Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (cashews, walnuts), fish, shellfish, soy or wheat.

To prevent your body from reacting in a manner that makes you sick you need to eliminate from your diet all foods that contain the food substance that you are allergic to. This may not be easy, as some foods have hidden food items in them that the consumer is not expecting to find there. Reading labels is the best way to determine if what causes the food allergic reaction is contained in the food item. A doctor or food dietitian can help you to understand how to eliminate the food(s) that you or your family member is allergic from the diet.

You may need to take a nutritional supplement so that you body will still receive all the nutrients it needs to be healthy. This is why it is important to speak with your doctor or a dietician before eliminating any foods from your diet. Your doctor will likely give you a list of foods to avoid when making the food allergy diagnosis.

If the food allergy is to milk than you need to follow a milk allergy diet. You will need to remove all milk and other dairy products from your diet. Since dairy products are a good source of both calcium and Vitamin D, it is important to include in your diet other sources of food rich in these nutrients such as broccoli, spinach and soy products.

Many processed or prepared foods contain milk, so you need to carefully read all labels before purchasing or preparing foods. Food manufacturers often change ingredients so check the label each time you purchase the item.

Items to avoid if you are on a milk allergy diet are:

Milk and milk solids, non-fat milk, skim milk, or powdered milk, and also milk solids. You should also avoid buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, cream, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, butter fat, artificial butter flavored products, curds, whey and whey products, and also cottage cheese.

Foods that you should avoid because they contain milk/milk products are Au gratin foods, chocolate and cream candies, coffee creamers, creamed or scalloped foods, custard, nougat, ice cream, malted milk, margarines, puddings, and also white sauces.

When reading labels and you or a family member is on a milk allergy diet pay particular attention of the following words on the label:

lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin, casein or sodium caseinate, lactose (which is milk sugar).

You can substitute soy, rice or almond milk in place of cow's milk in recipes. There are many non-dairy products that are available such as margarines, non-dairy ice cream, non-dairy chocolate, non-dairy cheese and non-dairy yogurt that you can purchase to replace the ones you cannot have.

Egg Allergy Diet:

If you or a family member is allergic to eggs than an egg allergy diet is the answer.

Infants and young children often are allergic to eggs. A egg-free diet eliminates all eggs, egg products and items that contain eggs or egg related ingredients such as eggs, egg whites, egg yolks, dried eggs or egg powder, egg solids.

They also need to know and avoid foods that contain eggs such as eggnog, Bavarian creams, breaded foods, cake, cookies, candy, creamed foods, cream pies, cream puffs, custard, doughnuts, egg rolls, egg noodles, frosting, hollandaise sauce, ice cream, mayonnaise, marshmallows, meat or fish cooked in batter, meringue, muffins, pretzels, pudding, Soufflés, tartar sauce, and also waffles.

When shopping and reading labels avoid any product where these words appear on the label if you are on an egg allergy diet:

Globulin, Albumin, Apovitellenin, livetin, ovalbumin, ovomucin, ovomuciod, ovovitellin, phosvitin.

Egg substitutes are not always safe as some contain egg whites.

Peanut Allergy Diet:

One of the most common food allergies is the peanut allergy. The allergic reactions to peanuts can be some of the most serious kinds of allergic reactions even life-threatening so it is vitally important to avoid all foods that may contain peanuts.

Common peanut foods are peanuts, peanut butter, cold-pressed or expressed peanut oil and peanut flour.

Some foods that contain peanuts are:

Ground nuts, mixed nuts, artificial nuts, nougat, and ethnic dishes from the following cultures: Chinese, African, and also Thai. Also be careful to avoid cookies, pastries and other baked goods, candy, egg rolls, and marzipan.

When shopping and reading labels for foods containing peanuts are sure to watch for the following words and avoid those products:

Hydrolyzed plant protein and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

Many of the prepared foods we eat such as baked goods, candy and ethnic foods can be contaminated with peanuts if the products are prepared in the same place or by the same manufacturer of peanut containing foods.