Teen dies due to severe allergic reaction

Below is a link to a story of a teen who recently died due to a severe reaction to dairy. He talked to the wait staff but was not full informed of all the ingredients. This tragedy should never have to happen. His family is now pushing to require all restaurants to list all ingredients in their foods.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/teen-dairy-allergy-byron-buttermilk-chicken

Eating Out Safely

There is nothing more annoying than trying to have a nice dinner out and being interrupted by bathroom issues. It can also cause a lot of anxiety, worrying if tonight's dinner will ruin tomorrow morning. Unless you cook something yourself, it's hard to know every ingredient that goes into food cooked at a restaurant. For this reason, I don't go out often. But when I do, this is the strategy I use to eat out, safely.

Vegetables, Fruits, and Meats

The safest foods on any menu are the single ingredient ones. This means vegetables, fruits and meat with nothing added, such as seasonings or sauces.

As long as there is no sauce, a side of fresh cooked vegetables like broccoli or green beans is great! Except, of course, corn. I avoid corn in all forms. Even a bit of butter is good on the side vegetables if you can tolerate dairy. Just avoid margarine since it can contain corn oil. Whipped butter is a good alternative.

All fruits are great choices as long as they are fresh. Canned fruits can contain high fructose corn syrup which is a big no-no. This is more of a problem during the winter since fruits are seasonal.

Meat is almost always a good choice as long as there is no breading and no sauce. Steak, grilled chicken and baked fish are just a few examples and are all fairly safe. Burgers are usually fine and a lot of places are now offering them on a lettuce bun. Just no ketchup, mustard, pickles, bbq sauce, mayonnaise or relish. These contain distilled white vinegar and/or corn syrup. Distilled white vinegar is a derivative of corn.

Potatoes

Nothing goes better with meat than potatoes! Fries sound good. However, there are two issues here. First, french fries are cooked in oil. Sometimes this same oil is used and reused to fry other foods that are full of gluten. The oil may also be corn oil. Secondly, to make french fries taste better, they are sometimes soaked in corn syrup. This is especially true of the frozen fries. Luckily, I've found a few restaurants where I can eat the fries, including Five Guys Burgers that uses peanut oil.

If I'm not sure about the fries, I will usually stick to a baked potato with butter. Also, avoid the sour cream as it usually contains distilled white vinegar. However, Daisy brand sour cream does not contain vinegar and agrees with me. Mashed potatoes are also not a good choice because they can contain so many ingredients that may flare me.

Appetizers and Salads

Appetizers are not usually a safe choice because most are breaded and fried. I can get humus if it's on the menu, but pass on the pita bread. Shrimp cocktail is good too, but without the sauce. Some restaurants will also offer raw cut vegetables.

Salads are a good choice but must be ordered without dressing. You can ask for a side of olive oil, but make sure it is pure and doesn't contain added corn oil. You can also add fresh lemon. No croutons, of course. Also be sure to leave off anything that might contain vinegar, such as hot peppers or capers.

Gluten Free Pasta (but be careful!)

If gluten free noodles are available, be sure to question whether or not they contain corn. A lot of gluten free pastas tend to contain corn. Corn adds a nice flavor and texture, but is deadly to my colon.

Drinks

As far as drinks are concerned, the safest bet is plain water, maybe with some lemon. Anything sweet can potentially contain corn syrup and the diet drinks contain sugar substitutes which are also derived from corn. I might also order hot tea, but have to check the creamer for corn syrup. Bring your glasses or a younger member of your family; they're impossible to read!

Desserts

Desserts are hard. I only feel safe getting plain jello. Some restaurants offer gluten free options of cakes and cookies. But I never order these because I can't be sure of all the ingredients.

Talking To Your Waiter

The most important thing to do is to talk to the wait staff. Let them know that you have a food allergy. Although I have a gluten and corn intolerance which causes me to flare, I don't want them to think that I'm just being trendy or trying to lose weight. But restaurants are always accommodating for people with dietary restrictions so don't be afraid to talk to them. Also, I always leave a very nice tip for all their trouble and bombarding them with food questions!

It is sometimes a gamble and you might not know until the next day or later that night whether or not you made good choices. If you frequent a certain restaurant it is important to write down exactly what you ate and the results. In this way, you can put together a list of safe restaurants and safe foods.

It is also difficult to watch friends and family eating anything they want to without repercussions, while you sit there dutifully munching your vegetables like a rabbit.  Just keep in mind that it is the company you keep that is really important!

Happy 4th of July! This is a dangerous time for those with food intolerances and allergies. Things that I avoid like the plague at cookouts; ketchup,  mustard, soy sauce and mayonaise. These contain corn syrup and distilled white vinegar. The soy sauce contains gluten. There are alternatives available. I use the gluten free version of the soy sauce and it tastes just the same. And I use Vegenaise for the mayonaise.

Also the biggest thing that I avoid is corn. Grilled corn is delicious, but not if it causes me to go into a flare.

Enjoy the holiday but be aware of what you eat.

Warning; flying fish eggs contain corn syrup!

     Here is a warning to all that are trying to avoid corn and corn derivatives. Flying fish eggs are produced with corn syrup. No wonder they taste so yummy. I found this out the hard way. I thought that these yummy sushi eggs were a healthy low fat treat. I ate them and got sick as a dog. So I googled them to see why. Not only do they contain corn syrup, but also soy sauce, for all those avoiding gluten. It's a shame that now I have to avoid this; but it is best to know what we are actually consuming.

Beating Crohn's Naturally

     I am now convinced that Crohns, Relapsing Polychodritis and many other "auto-immune" diseases are triggered by food allergies/intolerances. My trigger foods are wheat, gluten and corn. I have eliminated all of these from my diet. I have also eliminated all derivatives of these foods. This was the key. And this is all I do. I am off of all medications, especially those horrid steroids.

     My mom also has Crohn's/Colitis. She has found that her trigger foods are all dairy related. She can eat a bit of dairy foods and be fine. But if she eats too many dairy foods in a day, she gets her symptoms back.

     I have set up this blog with ways to cut out allergens in your diet. I was focused on wheat gluten and corn... Now I think I will focus on cutting all allergens including milk. Many of my recipes do contain milk. So from now on I will try to leave out this allergen also.

     My hope is that this blog will be able to help someone. I sell nothing. The products that I talk about are products that I actually use with success. I don't get paid to endorse these products.

     One of the hardest things in life to change is your diet. It brings great comfort and we feel very secure with it. Most people would rather take a ton a medicine than change their diet. Of course diet can be changed a little at a time through baby steps. But the way this has worked for me was to completely change every aspect of my diet. It is very hard, but it works for me.

     As noted previously, I am not a doctor. I am a person who has Crohn's disease and Relapsing Polychodritis. I control both through my elimination diet. I take no medicine. I have no symptoms of either. I can not say what is best for you. I am putting it out there what I do. If anyone is willing to eliminate allergens from their diet I would love to hear about it.

     Remember, Celiac was once an incurable disease. Now we know it is only a gluten allergy. Avoid the gluten and they're fine. I believe that Crohn's is a sister disease, caused by a similar allergen. It may be gluten, corn, milk, soy, fish, eggs, peanut, citric acid or any other allergen. It may be a combination of allergens. For me it was wheat, gluten and corn. For my Mom it is milk. For my daughter it was citric acid.

How to Start:
Start by elimating all major allergens, as noted above. It seems like it wouldn't leave much to eat. I started by eating plain chicken, rice and vegetables. Other good foods to start with: fruit, salad with no dressing, potatoes, gluten free noodles, hamburger (no bun), juices (watch the citric acid), steamed vegetables... No sauces or dressings.

Next, keep a logue of everything that is eaten or drunk. Everything counts, even gum and pop.

Reintroduce known allergens one at a time. Wait one week if possible. Note the reactions. you must be very patient.

I feel that I was blessed with this knowledge and need to share it. I sincerely hope that you will find help through this.

Any questions please feel free to email:
lynne1408@earthlink.net

Red Lobster

     When following a wheat and corn free diet, it is very difficult to eat out in restaurants and not fear being sick a few hours later. I am excited to start this new feature on eating out.

     My first entry is about Red Lobster. I ordered the salmon. I asked for them to grill it and add no seasonings at all. I always mention that I have food allergies in restaurants, hoping that this will scare them a bit into following my requests. They did add salt and pepper anyhow. I had a side of steamed broccoli and a baked potato with butter. Sour cream is iffy, unless you can read the actual container. I also had a side salad without dressing. It came with croutons, but I just took them off. There were many other good choices on the menu as well; steak, grilled tilapia... and other grilled fish. The lemon was also a nice addition to the salmon.