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Food Allergies and intolerances

Some people can eat a food every day and yet still have an allergy to it!
In fact, the more you crave a particular food, the more likely you are to have an allergy to it.
It’s just that your body has become so used to feeling ‘under the weather’ that you don’t notice it any more.

Sometimes we are attracted towards our allergens

For example, children often demand to have tomato ketchup with everything! Although they are not having full-blown allergic reactions, the ingredients in ketchup are giving them a type of allergic ‘high’ which makes them addictive. So alcoholics, smokers, chocoholics and tea/coffee drinkers are probably allergic to these substances!

Just to complicate matters further, food allergies can appear to come and go.
Your reactions to certain foods may depend upon the level of stress you are experiencing at the time, and many people find they can eat all sorts when they are on holiday, but not when they are at home.

The hidden dangers in packaged food


Sometimes it can be hard to know exactly what ingredients are in a package of processed food, for example, the word lactose may not be instantly recognisable as milk. Below are some guidelines of what to look out for, but this is not a complete list. If in doubt, enquire of the manufacturers, or avoid the food.

 

FOOD SOMETIMES KNOWN AS:
WHEAT bran, enriched flour, farina, gluten, graham flour, high gluten flour, high protein flour, wheat bran, wheat germ, wheat starch, wholewheat flour, gelatinised starch, modified food starch, modified starch, starch, vegetable gum, vegetable starch.
MILK butter, artificial butter flavour, butterfat, buttermilk, casein, caseinates, cheese, cream, curds, dry milk solids, lactalbumin, lactose, milk derivative, milk protein, milk solids, rennet casein, sour cream, whey, yogurt, caramel colour, caramel flavouring, high protein flour, margarine, natural flavouring. Milk solids are sometimes used to spray the flavourings on to crisps.
EGGS albumin, mayonnaise, ovalbumin, ovomucin, ovomucoid, Simplesse, a shiny glaze on baked goods may indicate the presence of egg.
SOYA miso, soy flour, soy nuts, soy protein, soy sauce, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu, vegetable broth, vegetable gum, vegetable starch. Soya flour is often used in loaves of bread.
PEANUTS cold pressed peanut oil, mixed nuts, peanut butter, peanut flour, groundnut oil. May be present in chilli, sweets, Chinese and Thai meals, egg rolls, marzipan, soup