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Babies can develop sensitivty to cow's milk early in life. Learn more about the different types of milk hypersensitivty that can affect infants and toddlers.

Milk Allergies

Food Allergies Spotlight10

Enjoying Theme Parks with Food Allergies

Thursday May 12, 2011

Last winter my family visited Disney World in Orlando and had a wonderful time. We were thrilled to discover that Disney has an entire office of people dedicated to helping guests with food allergies. Before our trip, we emailed the Special Diets Office at specialdiets@disneyworld.com and were given a list of foods that my daughter could tolerate throughout the Orlando parks.

At the counter-service restaurants we visited, a manager brought out a binder and double-checked the ingredients for each item we ordered. The manager then supervised my daughter's food as it was cooked to make sure there was no cross-contamination. We had a great time, and my daughter loved the chicken strips, which she declared much better than mine.

Have you visited Disney World, Disneyland or another theme park? Did you find food that you could eat? Were park employees willing to help accommodate your food allergies?

Write a review of your theme park visit and rate the park on its allergy-friendliness. Find out which parks readers rate most highly for guests with food allergies.

Oral Food Challenges for Kids Very Successful

Tuesday May 10, 2011

A recent retrospective study done at National Jewish Health found that most kids with food allergies who had been avoiding a food after a skin-prick test were able to reintroduce the food into their diet after an oral food challenge.

The study reviewed the charts of 125 kids who had been diagnosed with food allergies after skin-prick or blood tests and a review of their clinical history. The children were given the foods they had eliminated from their diets in a supervised oral challenge. Between 84% and 93% of the foods were tolerated, which meant that the children were able to add them back into their diets.

If your child has been on an elimination diet for one or more foods for some time, and has never had an anaphylactic reaction to those foods,  you may want to revisit the allergist's office for an oral challenge. You child may now be able to tolerate the food, making life easier for all.

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What is in the New “Plant-Based” Plastic Bottles?

Monday May 2, 2011

I picked up a bottle of water today and was surprised to read on the label that the plastic bottle was made from "30% plant-based material." Nowhere on the bottle did it say what plants went into the making of the bottle.

It took some poking around on the Coca-Cola website to find the answer. The new recyclable PET bottles are made partially from ethanol derived from Brazilian sugarcane. The bottles are being distributed in nine countries in 2011, in limited Coca-Cola products. There are plans to expand markets and products in the next year.

Sugarcane is not a major allergen, but ethanol can also be made from corn, grasses, or even poplar wood. At this point the plant-based plastic bottles are being made only from sugarcane, but it may change in the future. New processes are being invented to create ethanol from all sorts of food waste and biomass.

Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult to determine the source of an ingredient. Peanuts and soybeans are used to make everything from artificial fireplace logs to fabric for car interiors. These non-food products do not come with allergy warning labels, despite containing common allergens.

The proteins in these products have been extensively processed and are probably safe for people with severe allergies to these foods. However, as consumers, we should be able to make informed choices about the products we choose to bring into our lives.  As manufacturers develop new, non-food products that are made from food ingredients, they have a responsibility to inform their customers of the ingredients that go into those products.

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Here's to All the Allergy Moms

Friday April 29, 2011
mother's day
If you are the mother of a child (or children) with food allergies, you are not just a mother. You are personal chef, advocate, mediator, and event planner. You:
  • put in long hours in the kitchen.
  • read and research and find out everything you can about your child's allergies.
  • spend hours calling ahead to restaurants, playdates, camps, and birthday parties to plan ways to make them safe.
  • juggle doctor's appointments and keep emergency medicine stocked and up-to-date.
  • seek out other families who are managing food allergies so your children do not feel alone.
  • spend two hours in the grocery store reading all the labels.
  • meet with teachers, principals, and school nurses, and navigate the labyrinth of emergency management and 504 plans.
  • write letters to your congressperson, raise money for food allergy research, and support groups that advocate for policy change.
  • are a tireless advocate for your child (even when you're tired.)

In short, you do everything in your power to help your child have a normal childhood.

It may feel like your hard work is invisible, but every moment that you spend cooking special meals, advocating, and planning is one more small step toward changing our world and making it safe for our children. Every time you talk to another parent before a playdate or birthday party, you are giving that parent the tools they need to help other children. Every time you call a restaurant you are raising awareness of food allergies. Every special snack you pack to bring to school is a gift of belonging for your child.

The invisible work you do - the special allergy-friendly cupcakes so your child won't feel left out of the school party, the quiet hand-off of the Epi-Pen to the babysitter - is the most important work of all. The very invisibility of your effort is what makes your child feel safe and secure in a world full of hidden threats.

Other food allergy parents know how much sweat and anxiety and hope it takes to send your child off into the world with food allergies. We applaud every invisible thing you do. You may be cooking your own Mother's Day brunch this year, but you are still a hero.

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