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Don’t Make Me Sick! This summer learn how to keep food allergies from spoiling all of your outdoor fun. 
When the sun is out and the birds are chirping, nothing beats an outdoor picnic. Just pack up a blanket, some food and pop an Allegra to keep the ragweed at bay and you’re ready for an afternoon of relaxation. Unless, of course, the real culprit isn’t the ragweed but what’s in your picnic basket. Food allergens, which may lurk in that egg salad or PB & J, are not only potential picnic crashers but also very dangerous. Common food allergens can be found in milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Why are some people allergic to certain foods? Good question. “We don’t even have a complete understanding of why people don’t tolerate certain foods,” says Sue Hobbes, clinical assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “There isn’t a clear understanding of what component it is.” Some people are born predisposed to certain foods, but some allergies develop over time as people become sensitized to certain foods. The body will produce a lot of histamines to allergens after repeated or high-dose exposure, says Hobbes. This puts the body on hyper alert and it reacts quickly when it’s exposed again. A food allergy is far from a death knell, but it does take some extra precautions in where and what you eat. The first thing you need to master is the art of being a label reader. If you’re preparing food at home and putting in different ingredients you need to know what is being added. Hobbes says new food regulations are requiring more things to be listed on labels, such as if foods are prepared or packaged in the same factory with common allergens. Knowing where food allergens come from is another helpful precaution. “You need to be aware of some common sources of those ingredients so that if you don’t have the benefit of a food label you’re alert and aware of where the food may hide,” Hobbes says. The best protection, she says, is to always be on alert and ask a lot of question. Always ask how foods are prepared, and don’t hesitate to ask the wait staff at a restaurant to check with the kitchen on how certain items are prepped. Because allergens are so specified they can be easy to avoid. Also, their voids are easy to fill. For example, there’s no requirement for eggs or fish in your diet, so if you’re allergic you easily can gain your protein elsewhere. The same goes for fruits or other particular items. Assuming you’re getting your nutrition from other source you should be all right, says Hobbes. Allergic reactions can cause breathing problems, swelling, vomiting and even death. When reactions occur, the common treatment is to give oneself a shot of epinephrine, such as an EpiPen. If you have a food allergy, check with your doctor to make sure you’re armed with the proper treatment in case of an emergency. Hobbes says children are more vulnerable than adults because they’re smaller and a smaller amount of the allergen may produce a reaction. However, adults also can react to very little of an allergen, too, she says. |
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