Protect
yourself from food allergies:
To help identify your
allergies and hence avoid trigger foods - you can of course have blood tests
but you can learn a lot by observing timings of reactions. Always discuss
findings with your doctor and remember that symptoms like food allergies may
also be mimicked or caused by other diseases and conditions which may be
serious, may be very treatable and need to be checked out. Treatment of a
food allergy can make your life much more enjoyable and give you a great
sense of wellbeing but a missed colon cancer, a missed thyroid disease or
other problems can be tragic - so do check with your doctor first.
·
Keep a food
diary of your eating habits and food allergy symptoms. Write down
everything you eat for a few days and then if you have a hunch as to what
might be affecting you - note which days you eat the offending item and
which days your symptoms appear. Discuss your diary with your doctor
·
Avoid foods
you are allergic to but read food labels carefully. many processed foods
have hidden ingredients that can cause a relapse of
symptoms.
Hidden
food allergy ingredients:
Food labelling is quite
comprehensive in most countries but nevertheless it can be hard to avoid
some ingredients.
·
Wheat
Gluten-A particularly difficult culprit to track down is gluten and wheat
products used as thickening in huge numbers of food products - soups, bread,
pasta, white flour, white vinegar, alcoholic beverages, cookies and
crackers, ice cream.
·
Milk-casein,
butter, artificial butter flavor, margarine, cheese, custard, sour cream,
yogurt, brown sugar, chocolate, lunch meats, hot dogs, high-protein flour.
·
Eggs-albumen,
mayonnaise, salad dressings, sandwich spreads, bread, ice cream.
·
Corn-corn
meal, corn syrup, maple syrup, dextrose, flavourings, grits, powdered sugar,
vitamin C, plastic wrap, paper cups and paper plates, adhesive on stamps and
envelopes.
·
Sulphites
(used on raw and processed foods to prevent spoilage and
discoloration)-alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, bakery items, pizza crust,
waffles, pickles and olives, wine vinegar, horseradish, pickles and pickled
vegetables, relish, trail mix and other dried foods, gelatin, frosting, jam
and jelly, coconut, gravies, stuffing, noodles, rice mixes, fish and
shellfish, sugar, tortilla and potato chips, hard candy, vegetable juices,
canned and frozen vegetables.