Food Allergy Websites

Happy Heimlich Maneuver Day! Seriously! http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2010/06/heimlich_maneuv.php

I’m often asked for a list of websites that will help those just diagnosed with food allergies adjust to their new diet. Here are some of my favorites, peppered with editorial comments.

Allergy Grocer: http://www.allergygrocer.com/

Andean Dream: http://www.adreamshopping.com/ Allergen-free quinoa products. Their spaghetti noodles rock.

Bob’s Red Mill: http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF): http://www.celiac.org/

Celiac.com: http://www.celiac.com/ Scott Adams has produced an amazing site and keeps his news links current.

Celiac.com’s Gluten-Free Forum: http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/

Celiac.com’s Unsafe Foods List: http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Celiac Chicks: http://www.celiacchicks.com/

Raising Our Celiac Kids (ROCK): http://www.celiac.com/categories/Celiac-Disease-%26amp%3B-Kids-by-Danna-Korn

Celiac Webring: http://d.webring.com/hub?ring=celiac

Clan Thompson Celiac Site: http://www.clanthompson.com/home/

Celiac Sprue Association: http://www.csaceliacs.org/

Coconut Bliss: http://www.coconutbliss.com/ This is an allergen-free better-than-ice cream made from coconut milk. They sweeten it with agave syrup, so it’s low glycemic. You will want to eat buckets of this vegan wonder as well as bathe in it, but it’s so rich that sometimes a spoonful will do.

Dairy-Free & Lactose-Free Products: http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/recipes/dairyfree/acceptableproducts.html

Daiya: http://www.daiyafoods.com/index.html This is a cheese product that is said to be allergen-free; I had a bad reaction to it though. Anyone else tried it?

Dr. Cow: http://www.dr-cow.com/products/ Gourmet vegan cheese– it’s supposed to be awesome– can’t wait to try it.

Seattle’s IBS Treatment Center: http://ibstreatmentcenter.com/ Dr. Wangen has a fantastic website. See the “Causes of IBS” tab for info. on what food allergies are and detailed info. on the ELISA test that checks for them.

Dr. Steve Wangen’s Healthier Without Wheat book: http://www.ibstreatmentcenter.com/HealthierWithoutWheat.htm

Earth Balance: http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/ This is news some of us have waited years for. Earth Balance has a vegan, soy-free tub margarine that you can bake with. And it tastes like butter. Mmm… butter… aaaallggh….(insert Homer Simpson-like drool here)

Edible Options: http://www.edible-options.com/

Ener-G Foods: http://www.ener-g.com/ Pretzels, buns, cookies, egg replacer, and bread that doesn’t taste like thrice-baked industrial-strength cardboard, oh my!

Enjoy Life Foods: http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/ Good stuff free of the 8 most common allergens, and widely available.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN): http://www.foodallergy.org/ Trace Adkins’ PSA videos are on this site. His daughter has multiple allergies.

Flying Apron Bakery: http://www.flyingapron.com/home.htm Jennifer Katzinger has brought delectable gluten-free, vegan treats of all kinds to life at this Seattle bakery. They do special orders and can modify recipes to be low glycemic. Her cookbook is a must-have. Even people on normal diets will relish the temptations here.

Food Allergies Info. Site: http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/food-allergy/

GF Adventures: http://gfadventures.com/ Michelle and Greg Wallick help make gluten-free travel possible.

Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet List: http://www.gfcfdiet.com/unacceptable.htm

GF Links: http://gflinks.com/

Gluten Free Living Magazine: http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/

The G Free Diet: http://www.gfreediet.com/ Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s site and book are great for people new to this diet.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Recipes: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=gluten-free%2Cvegan

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/gluten-free/index.shtml

Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF) Diet: http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG): http://www.gluten.net/ Washington’s own advocacy and support group. I served on their board of directors for awhile. They have some great web resources.

Gluten Free Mama: http://www.glutenfreemama.com/index.htm Their coconut blend flour is great for baking.

Living Without Magazine: http://www.livingwithout.com/

Lundberg Family Farms: http://www.lundberg.com/

Nana’s Cookie Company: http://www.nanascookiecompany.com/default.asp Great snacky stuff, and low glycemic.

National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA): http://www.celiaccentral.org/

Pratt Family Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes: http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/recipes/allergiesintol/main.html

Smart Balance: http://www.smartbalance.com/ They have a heart healthy squeezy butter.

Spectrum Organics: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/ Shortening!

Sun Flour Baking Company: http://www.sunflourbaking.com/ Just discovered their Brownie Babies. If you just can’t get enough chocolate, these are for you.

Tinkyada Rice Pasta: http://www.tinkyada.com/ Tasty allergen-free pasta that does not disassemble upon boiling.

Tom Sawyer Gluten-Free Products: http://www.glutenfreeflour.com/

What? No Wheat? http://www.whatnowheat.com/

I’m sure there’s many more good sites out there. These happen to be the ones on my favorites menu.

If I were going to write an “information prescription” for someone either suspicious that they have a food allergy or who’s newly diagnosed it would be to buy Steve Wangen and Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s books. I would also have them go on a tour at Whole Foods or another market where the staff is familiar with food allergies. Such tours and/or individual help is actually offered some places.

For those unfamiliar with food allergies, true food allergies are an autoimmune response. Your body actually produces antibodies to the proteins in certain foods. One of the most common allergies is celiac disease.

An estimated 1 in 99 people in the U.S. has celiac disease, with the vast majority of them undiagnosed. People with celiac cannot eat gluten, the protein in wheat, barley, and rye (oats and millet make some react as well). To them it is a neurotoxin (a good example of another type of neurotoxin is scorpion venom).

The small intestines of many people with celiac become damaged and unable to absorb nutrients. When that happens, food proteins continue farther on into the digestive system where they shouldn’t be and leach into the bloodstream.

The body’s immune system attacks those proteins as invaders. This is called leaky gut syndrome, and it is how some people with undiagnosed celiac disease may develop other allergies as well. It is important to take charge of one so your gut will heal and others don’t develop.

While there are restaurants like PF Chang’s, Outback, and Bonefish Grill that offer gluten-free, dairy-free menus, many people with food allergies can only eat what they cook for themselves. They have to be extremely careful about cross-contamination as a tiny amount of allergen can trigger a major, even life threatening reaction.

Food allergy symptoms can range from depression, fatigue, and migraines to arthritis, diarrhea, constipation, bowel spasms, and seizures. Some people have contact allergies to certain foods, and those who have anaphylactic reactions have to carry Epi-Pens.

The good news is that eliminating allergens from your diet for life can result in a complete recovery– no prescriptions required. Compared to even five years ago, the amount of gluten-free products on the market is astounding. Regular grocery stores usually have an allergen-free section nowadays.

Many recipes can be adapted to allergen-free diets. I have about a dozen food allergies, and through someone else’s patience and understanding, have learned to adapt all kinds of recipes to my diet. Substitutions like egg replacer, rice milk, and stevia (for those of us who try to avoid sugar) are life savers.

I’ve been told that I’m like the Mike Myers “kid with the bike helmet tethered to the jungle gym” character from SNL when I ingest sugar… yes, watch me drag the jungle gym down the road behind me… as I commandeer the nearest yellow moped and gleefully take over the world!! Mwah hah hah hah!! (and people wonder why some hypoglycemics don’t drink…)

Okay, back to the subject at hand (seen on a t-shirt: they say I have ADD but they don’t understand– oh look, a chicken!). For years I’ve been trying to get the Food Network to create a cooking show for us low-glycemic, multiple-allergy people. Maybe one of these days they’ll actually read my letters.

In the meantime, there is a wealth of other support out there, and these websites are a great starting point. A food allergy diagnosis is a blessing because you can be healthy again and take control of your life back.

As you’ll see on the above websites, people like Steve, Michelle, Scott, Jennifer, and others I’ve worked with over the years have– as T.D. Jakes says– turned their misery into their ministry!

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The next time you feel like complaining, remember that your garbage disposal probably eats better than 30 percent of the people in the world. -Robert Orben

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