Calling all Parents with children with Food Allergies

A few days ago I was contacted by my older sister. She told me she had a friend who had a son with an illness that left him with a very limited diet. I contacted Gladys to ask her what  exactly her sons condition was. I was in for a surprise. She told me that her son was diagnosed at 18 moths with Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. I have ran across this disorder in my mass research on food allergies but never looked more in depth into it until now. It is a disorder ( like food allergies) but its when the body rejects food like it would the flu. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cells that triple in numbers when they think something foreign inters the body ( for him its food). Eosinophilic Esophagitis is the high number of Eosinophils in the esophagus. Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis effects the stomach and small intestine. 


The symptoms include:

•  Nausea or Vomiting
•  Diarrhea 
•  Failure to thrive (poor growth or weight loss)
•  Abdominal or chest pain 
•  Reflux that does not respond to usual therapy (which includes proton pump inhibitors, a medicine which stops acid production)

•  Dysphagia (Difficulty swallowing)
•  Food impactions (food gets stuck in the throat)
•  Gastroparesis (Delayed emptying of the stomach)
•  Anorexia (poor appetite)
•  Bloating
•  Anemia
•  Blood in the stool
•  Malnutrition
•  Difficulty sleeping

There is no cure for EE or EG, but treatment can help alleviate symptoms and help prevent more damage to the gastrointestinal tract. Her son is going through dietary therapy. Its a testing of food allergies as a guide for an elimination diet. An elimination diet is avoiding the foods that test positive on allergy testing. He is on an amino acid formula called Elecare. It is protein based that has absolutely NO allergens. Along with that her son who's name is Daniel by the way can now have pork, potatoes, apples, corn, broccoli, cod or tuna and bananas with the exception of a few more I haven't been updated on. She can only cook with 100% corn, vegetable or olive oil and season with honey, salt, pepper, pure maple syrup and Fleishman's margarine. She is a dedicated mother and is giving it her all and I think she is doing a damn good job. So I'm reaching out to everyone and anyone who has information on EE and EG. For more information on EE and EG click here. 

   

      Thanks, 

          Danny Brown.

I wont let Food Allergies stop the goodness.

Having a child with food allergies can be hard sometimes. You want them to enjoy all the things you did when you where a kid. When i was little one of my favorite things to eat was Banana Pudding. Oh gosh how i loved it so much. I got sick one time from eating it so much :) I took princess to my grandmothers house and my grandma wanted an old fashioned Banana Pudding. You know the cooked pudding the Nilla wafers and the whipped egg whites all layered up and baked so the top is a little brown. Well its a tasty banana pudding but i felt sooo bad because princess wouldn't be able to enjoy the goodness. I had to figure out a way to make a banana pudding for my Emily to enjoy. I found out that the Jell-O brand instant pudding mix didn't have any protein allergens in the ingredient list and i know that Oreos are safe for princess to eat also the golden ones. Nilla Wafers contain milk and eggs.So making the mix using soy milk i started splitting oreos. I didn't want to make it super sweet so i removed the cream and lined the baking pan with the cookie. I needed a cream to layer with the cookies and bananas. I found a recipe for Vegan Coconut cream. I mean wow this banana pudding was amazing. Using these simple replacements Emily got to enjoy a great treat. She wanted more and more but I didn't want her to get a tummy ache like i did when I was young. It was a great desert. Nothing special make it just how you would any other banana pudding.

Peanut Allergy label list.

When shopping for foods for a child with food allergies you would think that reading labels would be straight forward and have in bold letters CONTAINS PEANUTS! Some do but not all and you have to be aware of what your purchasing. So I am providing a list of things that have Peanut Protein in them. Food Allergy Books by Linda Coss gave me some good insight I found very useful.

Arachic oil                                                              
Arachis 
Arachis hypogaea 
Artificial nuts 
Beer nuts 
Boiled peanuts 

Cold pressed, extruded, or expelled peanut oil 

Crushed nuts, crushed peanuts 
Dry roasted peanuts 
Earth nuts 
Goober peas 
Goobers 
Ground nuts, ground peanuts 
Hydrolyzed peanut protein
Hypogaeic acid
Mandelonas
Mixed nuts
Monkey nuts
Nu nuts flavored nuts
Nut pieces
Nutmeat 

Peanuts, peanut butter, peanut butter chips, peanut butter morsels 

Peanut flour
Peanut paste
Peanuts sauce, peanut syrup
Spanish peanuts
Virginia peanuts 








You can find this information online this is from my own online research i am just bringing it to you in one place so you wont go insane looking and always look out for what the product was produced on. The slightest trace of peanuts could be harmful to someone with a severe allergy.

What does Milk mean to you?

Yesterday I listed the names of ingredients on labels that you may not understand what they are and they contained egg protein. its the protein that trigger allergic reactions when the immune system produces antibodies and histamines to fight off the foreign body. Thus causing maybe a breakout or itchy eyes or throat or even Anaphylaxis. I'm listing ingredients on labels that contain Milk Protein in them so you know what to look out for.

 

• Butter 

 Any type of butter that you see on a label. From Butter fat oil to Natural Butter Flavor.

• Casein & Caseinates 

Anything with these words in it has Milk Protein in it. Casein is a bonding agent that's used for things like cheese. But it can also be found in cosmetic products some pants and adhesive products.

• Cheese

  All types. Even cheese flavor (artificial and natural), Vegetarian cheeses have casein. So i use Vegan cheese like Daiya.

• Cream, whipped cream

• Curds

• Custard

• Dairy product solids

• Galactose

• Ghee

• Half & Half

• Hydrolysates 

• Ice cream, ice milk, sherbet

• Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate

• Lactate solids

• Lactyc yeast

• Lactitol monohydrate

• Lactoglobulin

• Lactose

• Lactulose

• Nisin preparation

• Nougat

• Pudding

• Quark

• Recaldent

• Rennet casein or Rennet

• Simplesse is a fat replacer

• Whey 

• Yogurt 

There are vegan products you can buy so your child doesn't have to be deprived of tasty treats in life.

Do you know?

When reading labels to make sure none of your child's allergens are in the ingredients do you know what all of those long words mean or if they have the allergen in them. My princess is allergic to eggs plus other things but today i want to list how they may label egg ingredients.  All of what im listing contain egg protein in them.

•  Albumin
• Apovitellin
• Cholesterol free egg substitute
• dried egg
• egg, egg whites
• yolk 
• egg wash 
• eggnog
• fat substitute
• globulin
• livetin 
• lysozyme 
• mayonnaise
• meringue powder
• ovalbumin
• ovoglobulin
• ovomucin
• ovomucoid
• ovotransferrin
• ovovitelia  
• ovovitellin
• powdered eggs 
• silici albuminate 
• simplesse
• trailblazer 
• vitellin

"FENCH FIES"

Going out to eat with a child who has a food allergy can feel difficult at times but it doesn't have to be . There are plenty of options for your child and yourself to enjoy. I worried so much at first with my daughters peanut allergies trying to figure out what places used peanut oils when cooking. Come to find out a majority of places stopped using peanut oil to fry because it is one of the “BIG 8” and counts for 90% of those with food allergies. It seems that one food toddlers love and will love if introduced to is FRENCH FRIES! every time I ask my daughter what she wants to eat she whispers “fench fies” there was one random time she said Crabs i was shocked and confused. You may not want to go out and get fries without knowing if the place your going to uses peanut oil. A simple way is to bake your own fries. Preheat the oven at 450 F. Cut your potatoes (I prefer sweet potatoes) into wedges or fries and make sure your rinse them off to remove the starch and pat them dry. Put them in a large bowl to toss drizzle 2 tbsp of the oil of your choice. (note if using coconut make sure the potatoes are warm so the oil wont thicken up on you) and some salt if you like. Toss until they are all coated evenly. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 min. turn them over about half way through. In the words of Emily FENCH FIES!!

     Sweet potatoes are a great source of Vitamins A and C and have about 4 grams of Protein.