I found a cookbook! Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree

First off---we've had a day or two of really warm weather and our lilac bushes have budding leaves!

 

My husband and I went to Lehman's General Store last weekend, as we are accustomed to doing about this time most years.

While I was there, I picked up a book that I had regretted not picking up last year: a spiral bound cookbook with the title Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree by Mary Yoder and Deborah Steiner.  From the looks of the family picture on the back of the book, I'd guess the authors are Mennonite or Amish. 

When I first picked this book up, I was skeptical. I've been eating Gluten-free (with a cheat here and there) for a couple years now, and truly did not expect to find anything non-wheaty as far as cookbooks go in an Amish store.  The fact that it was about allergies surprised me as well.  I may go into my lunch-and-dinner ventures in Amish country in a different post...

This book is based on the use of a "Four Day Rotation Diet", something that I have read about a lot in my allergy journey, but  have not embraced.  Part of the reason I have not taken to the four day rotation of foods was that, in the past, I did not have a wide enough variety of foods I could eat to break them up into eating once every four days.  Another reason was that I couldn't figure out how to do it; how to sub properly. I didn't have reliable recipes to use--it would have meant more hours scouring the internet for usable recipes.

I feel like I've been regressing a bit with my health/allergies lately.  I am sure part of it is stress with adding a paying job to my schedule and trying(and failing) to balance everything, part of it is that spring allergy season is gearing up, and part of it is because I have been eating more junk (read: Easter candy, chips, etc) and not so healthy meals due to a real lack of time to cook said meals when I am at work during the dinner-prep hour.  The family only wants so much roast and veggies or stew...

So....I am thinking about incorporating some of these recipes into my repertoire.  I'm not sure I want to do it completely, one reason being that I would have to give up my ritual of tea drinking in the morning.... I love my tea...I did pick up some different flours from the health food store and hopefully that will give me a good start.

I like the fact that the authors are at least aware of the corn allergy issue and the gluten issue, and I can adapt the days they have gluten-containing ingredients with the other alternative non-gluten ingredients.  I like that, when they use a "gum" in breads, it is guar gum and not (corn-derived) xanthan gum.  That, to me, is promising.  And I didn't see a whole lot of "gums", which I prefer as well.

So, we'll see how it goes, once I get a handle on it and try some of the recipes out!

GF/Top 8 Allergy Helps: Meijer.com

When someone is newly diagnosed with food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances/what have you, they often start with a "I can't have XYZ." outlook as they think about what they will be eating from day to day.  Today's food stores are packed to the brim with food, but if someone has a list of ingredients they can't eat, shopping can quickly become a discouraging chore as many foods are taken off the plate. I know that I often felt very deprived during my year of avoiding so many foods and found it to be quite depressing.

I would like to encourage the thought of "I can't have XYZ." to become more like "Look at all these things I *can*  have!", because that thought is much more positive, and opens up a realm of possibilities.

Awhile back, I found a helpful source of information that has opened up some new food options: Meijer.com.  I'm not sure why I waited this long to share it!

I would recommend sitting down with the list and making your own list of foods that you *can* have, and working from there to add some interesting flair to your diet. 

Multiple Food Allergies?
When striving to eat Gluten/Top 8 Allergen Free, it can be hard at times to read food labels and know for certain whether a product contains something you are trying to avoid--there's just so much to watch out for, it's overwhelming! One way to simplify things is to avoid processed foods (and even then it's still hard to avoid certain things), but it's also nice to have a list of safe items to have on hand for a change of pace.

One excellent resource I have found is the Meijer website, Meijer.com.  Meijer offers many helps to those of us who are dealing with food issues, the most helpful to me being the Meijer Brand Allergen List.

Although Gluten is not technically a top 8 allergen, it is included on the Meijer Brand Allergen List, along with each of the top 8 allergens, Starch, and Phenyl.  Meijer has generally been responsive to me when I've contacted them with questions regarding specific products in relation to allergies and derivatives (unlike some other store-brand attempts to find answers), but this listing simplifies the process.

Of course, if you have allergies beyond the scope of the chart, you would still need to contact the company. And do still pay attention to labels, because they can change without notice.

The way to get to the Meijer Brand Allergen List (rather than the link above) is to go to Meijer.com.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and under Do More, click Healthy Living.  Then under Special Diets, click Meijer Brand Allergen List, and then click View the List here.


Only Avoiding Gluten?
If you are only looking to avoid Gluten, you can simplify your search by going to the Meijer Brand Grocery Gluten-Free Products List.  There is also a Meijer Brand Gluten-Free Drug Store Product List.


If you don't have a Meijer store in your area, you are probably thinking you read this post for no reason. Have no fear--it's not all for naught! Peruse the Meijer site a bit further and Under Special Diets is a Gluten Free Resources listing, as well as a National Brand Gluten-Free Product List (last updated March of 2011).


Many thanks to Meijer for making this information available to us!

How does the BaxAura work?

I asked the chiro for a layman's explanation of how the BaxAura does its job.

I didn't bring my handy dandy notebook to my appointment, so I hope she will forgive me (and chime in, perhaps, if she reads this) if I mess up the explanation. :)

So, here goes.

When the cuff is on the arm and the scan is running on the computer, the computer sends a digital signal to the nervous system  of many, many different items and measures the body's response. This is not only for allergens, but for anything to which one's body could be having an abnormal response.  As the computer runs through the test, it tags each item that the body responds abnormally strong to, and puts it on a list.

When the laser light is used for the treatment, your own personal list of allergens is loaded into the machine, and the full signal is sent to the nervous system. At the same time, there is a signal the body associates with euphoria that is sent through the laser light. 

So, the full signal of the treatment is being sent along with a euphoric ("this is good") signal to encourage the body to associate the things on your list with good, not with the prior "this is bad", negative response.  This alleviates undue stress on the body and overall health.

The homeopathic bottles given for use after the BaxAura treatment are given a homeopathic digital dose of your allergens/items that came up in the testing. So, for instance, if your full dosage of item X with the laser light was 888, your homeopathic dose would be 8. The homeopathic dosage is a "baby dose" of the full laser light treatment dosage. This homeopathic is what you use during the weeks after treatment to aid the body's healing after your initial laser treatment with the BaxAura.

I hope this helps you to understand somewhat how the BaxAura system works.

Here's to better health!

Allergies: Presenting Differently After Alternative Treatments?

Have you had allergy treatments with AAT, BioAllergenix, or Bax Aura? If so, have you noticed that your allergies seem to be presenting differently?

I asked my chiro whether other patients have had this experience.  I have noticed this in myself and have seen it mentioned on various online boards, and finally had the presence of mind to ask this the other day, since I had no other pressing issues at the time.

Her answer was that often the noticeable symptoms of the allergy that bring people to seek out treatment are addressed with the treatments, but that as the cause of those symptoms are addressed, there are often other underlying issues that are brought to light. Things that you may not have noticed when you were dealing with the other allergy issues.  As treatment progresses, you address the cause of those "new?" symptoms, and so on, until you get to the bottom of things.

What this translates to for me is that the hayfever I remember having since I was a very young child, that progressed to multiple food allergies, year-round indoor allergies, chronic sinus problems and gut problems is what brought me to the point of seeking out more than a mere pill for treatment. (A pill that didn't work by that time, anyway.)

When I began seeking treatment with AAT, then BioAllergenix, these treatments took care of many of the food and environmental allergies (ie. most of my hayfever symptoms and sinus problems).  Once these symptoms had been gone for the most part, I started to notice a "something's in my throat" feeling here and there.  My family doctor ordered a thyroid test (which came out perfectly fine) and chalked it up to GERD/reflux/heartburn and told me to take Pepcid. 

I wasn't happy with the "take a pill" solution to my throat problem; I wanted to get to the source of the problem rather than slap a band-aid on it...a band-aid that could bring some long-term health problems if used regularly.  Having had the experience of keeping a food journal and keeping track of symptoms, I noticed a correlation between tomatoes grains and the throat feeling in my throat.  When I stayed away from those things, the throat issue would go away. With internet research on WebMd and online medical journals, I learned about Eosinophilic Esophagitis.  While I don't have the means to pursue an actual diagnosis, the end result would be the same for me were I given that diagnosis: avoidance of known allergens/triggers. (The other alternative would be swallowing, rather than inhaling, the contents of a steroid inhaler. Something I would consider only as a last resort.)

So that is what I am doing: avoiding gluten and tomatoes.And trying to eat healthily and maintain a healthy gut.

My body is apparently working deeper on this allergy issue. According to the chiro, there is a good chance that I had problems even as a child. They were just not recognized at that time (EE is a relatively newly-discovered and named disorder; one that is alarmingly rising in our young children).  With food and environmental allergies on both sides of my family, I would not be surprised if that were the case.

So, there's that.  I wanted to just set that out there in case anyone was wondering. :)

Here's to better health! 

Fell off the Gluten-free/Nightshade-free Wagon...Day 1 Gluten-Free/Tomato-Free

Yep, you heard me. I fell off the wagon. I made it 8 weeks and 2 days.  The "test" that was Friday made me decide to go back to eating Gluten-free on Saturday(thought I did have some chili pepper that day--but no tomatoes) and intending to be back on the wagon.

BUT

I didn't take into account Mother's Day.

Hubby and I were invited to go to a Chinese buffet for lunch after church, and I am fairly certain I got gluten there(though I am telling myself the lo mein noodles were buckwheat soba noodles....not made of wheat....lalalalalalala). I know for a fact I got peppers there. The Thai chicken had both jalapenos and red pepper flakes in it and the first tiny bite made my nose itch so I stopped eating that kind of chicken. I did have plenty of other foods that had peppers and maybe some tomato in the sauces.

I felt fine after that meal. Full, but fine.

Last night, the kids wanted to take me to Denny's with the IL's, so we went. Denny's isn't very helpful at all with making their food information easily available, but I think I probably did ok with the mushroom and swiss chopped steak, the sauteed spinach with bacon(sans the pico de gallo) and the hashbrowns. Again, I felt fine after this meal as well.

I'm not having the usual token stomach/belly pains I have had in the past, but I AM rather bloated.....and not very regular, if you know what I mean.  My left hand is still a bit tender, but I spent much of Saturday doing yardwork(chopping down bushes) so that may have exacerbated what I did to it earlier.

Today, I am back on the Gluten-free wagon for sure. And the Tomato-free wagon. I will be watching my body when I have peppers/potatoes for adverse reactions but am going to tentatively add them in here and there(definitely not on a regular basis yet). I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but I remember now that when I had the pizza on Friday, I did have some of that "something in my throat" feeling. I don't recall having that yesterday, so I am thinking it's a tomato-reaction for me.

I go in later this week for a chiro/allergy treatment. We'll see how it goes/what I find out!

An Allergy Epiphany

I had sort of an allergy epiphany today.....some might roll their eyes at me and shake their heads, but I thought I would share anyway.

Here it is:  after much discussion with a friend on an online board, I have discovered that paprika and pimento ARE members of the nightshade family.

Before you think I am a total dolt, let me show you how I came to different conclusions before.

Back in 2008, when I started my elimination/avoidance diet, I had gotten the scratch test done and was told to avoid the 13 different foods I reacted to and their families. The allergist's office gave me nothing to work off of, so I had to find the information for myself.

Two of my main sources for determining foods and their families are here:
Calgary Allergy Network
Botanical Food Families

BOTH of the above sites show that Paprika and Pimento are members of the Myrtle family(a food family that I could safely eat).

What I neglected to see (or ignore) was that on BOTH of these sites, Paprika and Pimento are BOTH ALSO members of the Nightshade family(a family that I consistently have trouble with, especially tomatoes...).

This is NOT true. But it is extremely confusing trying to find out what is true in doing internet searches. Even Encyclopedia.com , which cites 4+ different "reputable" sources, has rather questionable information and don't differentiate between the very different foods called "pimento"!

From what I gather now, Pimento SPICE, aka Allspice in the U.S. is from the dried fruit(looks sort of like black peppercorns) from a tropical American evergreen tree, Pimenta dioica,  in the Myrtle family.

Red pimentos that are stuffed into olives, according to this site, are indeed from the Nightshade family (Solanaceae).


Ok, so we've got Pimento down. What about Paprika? Why are those listed as being in the Myrtle family on those sites? Hmmmm?

I think someone got their lines crossed or got faulty information and it's just been (unfortunately) reproduced across the internet.   I can see how people would get confused about Paprika, in trying to research it and keep everything straight. Especially when reading on this site about allspice (the spice, not the pimento pepper in the nightshade family) and then reading the sentence: "Allspice is also grown in México, albeit in lesser quality. It is used there for the famous mole sauces (see paprika). "

WHAT? So now I am *really* confused: Do the Mexicans then use allspice(the ground up spice like you would use in apple pie) in their mole sauces, or do they use paprika, the kind of spice that comes from a pepper plant in the Nightshade family? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

My brain is going to explode.

When I started avoiding all those foods 3 years ago, I *thought* Paprika and Pimento were nightshades and treated them as such....then I read that they weren't(at the two botanical list sites) and started having them off and on. They are not something I have on a regular basis or anything....but MIL does have the green olives with pimentos out about every time we go to their home for dinner...and I have had deviled eggs with pimento sprinkled on top. The last 2 weeks I have suspected the olives might be a culprit for me and I have avoided them...looks like it's a good thing I listened to my body(finally!). I also find it interesting that the mayo that I reacted to not too long ago also has paprika in it....I know the soy was one of the things that I reacted to, but I suspect the paprika too, now that I know it's family of origin...there are SO many condiments that have paprika in them, too!  *sigh*

I wonder if it's eating those olives on a weekly(or so) basis that has sort of held me back in my allergy journey. Something to think about for sure.

I can't believe it took me 3 years to figure this out! Ugh! (Many thanks to my online friend who called me on my wrong assumptions!)

I also learned that there are other foods high in solanine ( present in Nightshades) and am thinking about omitting them from my diet...I need to do some more research on that topic before I decide what to do and if the solanines are something that my body reacts to---blueberries and okra are two of the main foods I remember on the lists... 

So....just to be clear:

Pimento SPICE(as in, Allspice) = Myrtle family

Pimento(as in the red powdered stuff in the spice aisle) = Nightshade
Paprika = Nightshade

Corn Allergy

Of all my allergies, Corn allergy has been by far the most difficult to avoid.

I wish my allergist had given me much more information than he did when he diagnosed me with corn allergy. Beyond the basic food families list I was given by the allergist, I had to find the rest of the information myself. Thank You, God, for the internet!

One might think in order to avoid corn, just keep away from cornbread, corn on the cob, cornflakes and popcorn. No problem, right?

Oh, wait. Then there's that pesky high fructose corn syrup that is in just about everything (even though "They" say it's ok in moderation, it's rather hard to eat something in moderation when it's in so many foods, isn't it?).

Ok, so that complicated things a bit. It made me wonder what else corn was in and I eventually came to find the Corn Allergen List . Take a peek there and you will be amazed at how much corn has infiltrated the American food supply. Since being diagnosed with my food allergies, I am floored by how much we have altered our foods.

Walk into a mainstream grocery store and try to find a loaf of bread without any corn derivatives. Try to find some chicken without any corn derivatives. The options are few and far between.

There is also a lot of hidden corn in our foods that a Corn Allergic person will quite likely need to avoid. The hardest thing is that producers and manufacturers don't have to declare it on the labeling since corn is not declared a "top 8" allergen. Also, if it is not an ingredient in the recipe (say, if they use corn starch to dust equipment or in the packaging to reduce product sticking ie. for cheese), they do not have to list it on the labeling.

Some things to be aware of:
~Most produce has been washed in/sprayed with a citric acid(read: corn) solution in order to maintain freshness.
~Waxes on produce are quite likely to contain corn.
~"Fruit and Vegetable Wash" products contain corn(I wasn't able to find one that was corn-free.)
~Meats, even those with "natural flavors" often contain corn and/or are 'washed' in water containing citric acid.
~Canola oil has undeclared Citric Acid in it that is not labeled as an ingredient since it is 'merely' a degumming agent
~ Iodized salt contains corn(dextrin or another derivative).
~Some frozen vegetables are coated in corn starch to prevent sticking. Read labels or contact the company and ask.
~ The fortifications in grains such as rice, and in milk are based in corn.
~Bleach contains corn, though at the moment I don't remember how it is involved in the bleach-making process. I do know that conventional dishwasher detergents, most of which contain bleach, would aggravate my allergies and effect my overall health. When I switched to alternative dishwasher detergent, it made a BIG difference in how I felt!
~Craft items--things such as Crayons and Tempera paints contain corn(I figured this one out when my kindergardener brought home his tempera paint artwork. I had great difficulty sleeping for 3 nights, a headache, stiff neck and was walking around in a fog before I made the connection and banished the painting. That night I slept fine and was feeling great by morning!).

Some people with corn allergy even react to meat if it was corn-fed, and to eggs if the the chickens were corn-fed(most are fed a mix of corn and soy with other nutrients added). I was spared from that extent of the allergy, as near as I could tell.

Corn allergy sufferers need to consider every aspect of their allergy, not simply the food.
Corn is in many household cleansers, laundry care, personal care products such as shampoo and conditioner, soaps/body washes, lotions, hair care items, toothpastes, etc. It is in most bread yeasts. If popcorn is being popped or if bread is being baked, and you have corn allergy and are in the vicinity, chances are your body will respond to that allergy in some way. (For me, it was instant brain fog, tunnel vision and inability to focus/concentrate. Getting through the grocery store and getting the items on the short list became a chore.)

There is one site that I have gone to nearly every day since I found it after being diagnosed with Corn Allergy. The Avoiding Corn Forum offers support, information, commiseration and encouragement to fellow allergy sufferers(not just corn--many have multiple food allergies like I have). Having that support and knowing you are not alone can make all the difference in the world. We often compare notes to determine which products are safe for corn-allergic people to use.

There is also a Corn-Free Foods (& Products) List that has been quite helpful for determining what I *could* eat. If it was on this list, it was likely to be corn-free (always read labels). I just had to then determine whether the items were also free of my other food allergens(no small feat!).

There is also blog that is updated ever so often on the latest places to watch out for corn: News For Corn Avoiders . It is helpful for understanding where and how corn is lurking about, and what new places 'they' are finding to use corn.

So, there's a glimpse into what a corn-allergic person has to watch out for.
Hope that helps!