A Mom's Journey Into Allergy Free Living
My journey into allergy free eating heightened when my youngest Daughter Laura became severely allergic to nuts followed by Gluten, Dairy (even butter), Celery and Carrots. Laura’s body reacts like a fine tuned computer system with her esophagus closing upon the ingestion of even small amounts of her allergens. This is a serious condition which our whole family stays on high alert to avoid.
When I was pregnant with Laura 23 years ago I developed Graves’ Disease (an autoimmune condition). 20 years ago I went to see a Biochemist to find out why I had gotten sick in the first place since I had a very clean living lifestyle, ate carefully, never smoked, never did drugs rarely drank alcohol, and was a former aerobics instructor who continued to work out regularly. The Biochemist I saw, Dr. Jeane Petan in Greenville SC, does all her testing during the 3 hour visit in front of you. She asked me within the 1st 30 minutes if I knew how allergic to dairy I was- WOW I had no idea & of course I loved Dairy! The only indication I had regarding my health was that I had struggled for a few years with Sinus Infections. Dr. Petan ordered me off all Dairy and Gluten. That was in 1995 & most people had never heard of gluten- I had not either. I stayed away from Gluten and Dairy for 5 years. At first it was very depressing & overwhelming however we are creatures of adaptation and we can change when we put our minds to it. The first 5 days were the toughest, but I learned to cope. My health improved dramatically to the point that I could occasionally have a little gluten and 1 small serving of dairy weekly. Supplements such as MSM (organic Sulfur), Buffered Vitamin C, Digestive Enzymes & other Immunity Boosters helped tremendously.
Dealing with yourself is one thing, but to experience your children struggle is another. Seeing Laura deal with her eating limitations at 22 years old has been very tough. Laura had been allergic to nuts for many years previously but her allergens have increased significantly during the last 6 months. Weekly we work to find new ways to combine allergy free ingredients so that they taste more normal to us & to help Laura have a broader range of cuisine. We have made some good progress so far!
One of the toughest things about allergy free eating is that you often buy lots of ingredients to experiment with only to find out that you do not like the way whatever you have purchased tastes or the texture is repulsive. I cannot tell you how many brands of allergy free baked goods we have bought only to find out it feels like you are trying to eat concrete - ahhh! The purpose of this Blog is to reach out and let other people with allergies know you are not alone and if we can help you in knowing what ingredients/brands are most normal tasting and best to work with we certainly will because we can all waste a lot of time & resources experimenting to have an allergy free kitchen. Like Laura says, “We want you to dine & be fine,” be healthy & happy!