Wheat Allergies

For our family, an allergy to wheat was one of the toughest to manage. Unable to buy bread, pretzels, many cereals, cookies, crackers make meal planning a challenge with eating out and travel even more difficult. As awareness of celiac disease (an intolerance to gluten) has increased, so too has the availability of wheat free options in grocery stores and wheat free mixes for breads, pretzels and other wheat-based foods. Check out The Gluten Free Mall at http://www.glutenfreemall.com for many options for those with wheat allergies. It is still possible to bake your favorite recipes by substituting wheat flour for a mixture of non-wheat flours. You may have to experiment and tweak it a bit, but I often used a recipe of: 2 cups white rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch flour,...

Read More

Desensitization to food allergies

Would you put your child in a clinical study? Researchers are currently conducting a study on food allergies and are testing peanut allergic individuals, ages 12-20, and egg allergic individuals, ages 6-18, to see if they can tolerate small amounts of the food to which they are allergic. I know that we need research in order to find a cure, or at least better treatments, to food allergies. That said, I would be hard pressed to volunteer my child for such a study. This particular study gives peanut and egg allergic individuals increasing amounts of peanut and egg protein to see if the individual's immune system will tolerate it. The problem for me is that if an allergic reaction does occur, symptoms can be rapid and range from hives to vomiting to breathing issues and even death. How...

Read More

Are You Wishing for More Heifer Calves from this Spring's Breeding Season? I know I am! Maybe we're feeding them too well during hard times. . .?

Mom's diet may play role in whether baby is boy or girlBy LINDSEY TANNER (AP Medical Writer)From Associated PressApril 24, 2008 5:30 PM EDTCHICAGO - Snips and snails and puppydog tails ... and cereal and bananas? That could be what little boys are made of, according to surprising new research suggesting that what a woman eats before pregnancy influences the gender of her baby. Having a hearty appetite, eating potassium-rich foods including bananas, and not skipping breakfast all seemed to raise the odds of having a boy.The British research is billed as the first in humans to show a link between a woman's diet and whether she has a boy or girl....

Read More

15th Annual Food Allergy Conference

I've had a chance to reflect upon my recent experiences at FAAN's (www.foodallergy.org) annual conference in Baltimore. This was my 4th trip to the conference and I found that much of the content is a repeat for those of us who are repeat attenders. It was stated at the beginning of the day that the majority of the people in the room were first time attendees. For that reason, the same overview of food allergies, its causes and symptoms, definition of anaphylaxis, etc. was presented for those new to this diagnosis. I can appreciate that. Personally, I found the afternoon sessions more helpful. There were discussions about how parents need to change their roles as they prepare their food allergic children for the challenges of life with food allergy. There was a presentation on advocating...

Read More