Food Allergies - 7 Things You Must Know About Food Allergies

It could be fair to say that allergies to natural things is one of Nature's cruel jokes. Consider a friend of mine whose dog is allergic to her own dog hair! This same dog also suffers from hay fever!

If you, or someone you love, have food allergies, then here are 7 things you simply must know about your food allergies. It may not help you overcome the food allergies, but it will help you understand them.

1. An allergy is about your immune system over-reacting to the presence of a specific substance that has entered your body (by eating, breathing, skin pores,...) that it sees as an invader.

Normally, your immune system does a great job of identifying and destroying substances that don't normal belonging to your body. But in the case of an allergy, you could say that it just 'loses it'!

I remember one time, I washed my hair with a cheap shampoo I had just bought. After the shower, I noticed that my head was getting warm going on hot. My mother, who was there at the time, alerted me to the fact that I was having an allergic reaction to the shampoo and told me to have another shower to wash off the cheap shampoo I had used. I did and it brought relief to my head.

Clearly, my skin was reacting to a substance in the cheap shampoo I had bought.

2. Normally, when your immune system sees a substance as an invader, it will produce a particular anti-body* and histamine* to try and destroy it before it damages your body.

However, when it over-reacts, it produces way too much of it which leads to your body reacting to its own defense system.

Allergy symptoms then are the effect these two chemicals have on various parts of your body such as your respiratory system*. This is why, for a person suffering from hay fever, anti-histamine drugs are prescribed.

3. The two most common ways of testing for an allergy are skin tests and blood tests. Personally, I have been tested for food allergies using kinesiology. I particularly like that method as it is non-invasive and does not put my skin at risk.

4. Do not confuse a food allergy with a food intolerance. They are not the same! A food allergy triggers a response from your immune system, whereas a food intolerance does not*.

A common food intolerance is lactose intolerance. A person suffering from lactose intolerance will 'upset' their digestive system by drinking milk, for example, but it will not provoke the immune system into action.

5. There are eight primary foods that are the causes of most food allergies: milk, peanuts, fish, soy, wheat, tree nuts and shellfish*.

6. In general, if a person has a food allergy, then it will be to only one or two of these primary foods.

7. Being allergic to one type of food can lead to being allergic to other foods that are similar in nature. For example, if you are allergic to wheat, then you may also be allergic to rye*.

As you can see, a food allergy is really about your immune system, designed to protect you from foreign substances, overreacting to the presence of certain substances that it sees as a threat and tries to over-kill it.

The good news for children is that sometimes they grow out of their food allergies, no doubt because the immune system learns to see the 'allergic foods' as not being a such a big threat.

Serge M Botans

Published At: Isnare.com Free Articles Directory - http://www.isnare.com/
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=521149&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet

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Welcome to November 2011

Just a reminder that November is Epilepsy & Diabetes Awareness Month. We are showing two bracelets for this month to represent these causes.Epilepsy Awareness bracelet,  Item # A08  (Includes adorable Juvenile Diabetes charm), and  Diabetes Awareness bracelet, Item# A04 (Includes Sterling Awarensss ribbon).

Please join Creative Medical ID in supporting Epilepsy and Diabetes Awareness!

Santa Claus cookies, gingerbread men, fruit cakes, candy canes, ... need we go further? Hey, it's the holidays. We don't know about you, but some of us here have started our new diets ever so proudly, and ...whoooops! The holidays are upon us! Ouch! Now what do we do?? What comes to so many people's minds who are on the diet train?

"The holidays are going to be a total struggle because, although my favorite foods will be featured attractions on so many tables, it will be others indulging and not me."

or

"It's the holidays! Why bother? The diet can start when the new year makes its debut."

Those who can adapt with a mindset that exists somewhere in between those two extremes are in the minority - yet it's those few individuals who get through the holidays just fine and still lose weight or, at the very least, don't gain more than a pound or two.

One thing we want to make clear: yes, it's the holidays. It's a festive time of year - and it's supposed to be. So let's decide right here and now that this does NOT have to be an "all or nothing" situation for you. As a matter of fact, you can use this holiday season as a vehicle to prove to yourself, once and for all, that "failing" with your eating plan is not an option. Yes, you can do this!

And it doesn't have to be difficult...

One thing that needs to be acknowledged is that, for most who are on a diet of some kind, the threat (yes, that's what it feels like) of deprivation sets in. You have to face the truth in this. You know, that little voice that screams within you, "Oh no! I'm in for an uphill battle - I just know I'm going to want all those foods I see on the table, and I certainly do not want to be bothered with having to say to myself, "No, you can't have that!" We all have that little retaliator within us that answers back, "Oh no??! I'll show you - don't tell me what I can't eat...I'm going to enjoy myself and no diet is going to ruin it for me!" And, of course, the other part of you says, "Bad! You're going to get fat!"

Sound familiar?

It's okay... relax.

Instead of approaching this holiday season with this kind of mindset, let's do it differently this year. You know it is possible to enjoy yourself and still enjoy results, too. It's not necessary to approach the holidays in a state of panic. Rather than thinking, "what am I cheating myself out of?" think "let's see, it's the holidays...I'm going to be tempted with lots of goodies. The truth is that I have a choice in how I go about this. If I'm realistic about this whole thing, chances are pretty darn good that I'm going to indulge. But this doesn't mean I have to give up my concept of eating healthy."

You see, if you're involved with an eating plan that has "forbidden" you to have that chocolate brownie, and you know you're going to have a brownie (or 3) during the festivities, then face the situation right now by preparing for it. What some people will do is get anxious about it all...and then when the day comes, they eat that brownie and then say, "Oh well... I did it now - it's over! I might as well go all the way and pig out!"

Resolve not to do it that way this time. You see, if you resist to the point of feeling cheated and wanting to retaliate, you won't be helping yourself. It is not supposed to be a game where "sometimes you're good and sometimes you're bad." Get rid of the "Good VS Bad" mindset right now. Imperfection is okay.

1) Maintain an awareness of the portions you'll be eating. Instead of saying "I can only have this one," devote your energy to really savoring it - perhaps eating that cookie 3 to 5 times slower than you normally would. "More chews" will lead to more satisfaction. Instead of looking at that butterball cookie in that rally attractive plate and thinking "I shouldn't," instead think (before picking it up) "how long can I make that last once it's in my hand?" You see? You are creating a POSITIVE - not avoiding a NEGATIVE.

2) Moderate Exercise Take a walk when you normally wouldn't. You don't have to go crazy with exercise - just do one extra thing a day.

3) More Healthier Choices When you have a choice between that piece of cake and a fruit, instead of thinking, "I really should eat the apple," shift from a "feeling deprived" mindset to one that works better for you. Perhaps think, "It's okay if I opt for the cake. The fruit is healthier. Maybe half (or quarter) a regular piece of cake and then the fruit!" This works!

4) Understand that you're not necessarily going to live up to your expectations of yourself. THIS IS THE KEY>>>>> Don't put yourself down for it! <<<
Practice thinking this way beginning now - anticipate those holiday meals. Mentally rehearse accepting yourself wholeheartedly as you see yourself in the scenario. This kind of visualization/rehearsing is very valuable.

Above everything: accept who you are and don't punish your actions. Instead, focus on what you are doing right.

Oh, and one more thing... (and this is an order)

Enjoy the holidays!

 New honesty

Experts aren't sure what to call this new open attitude about illness. But they credit television, the Internet, celebrities, and the need to raise money and awareness for diseases.

"Morning television and Oprah, settings where empathy existed, that really said, 'it's OK for me to have an illness,'" says Rich Hanley, director of graduate programs at Quinnipiac University's school of communications. "Pop culture has embraced personal narratives."

And whether it's Lance Armstrong fighting cancer or Brooke Shields and postpartum depression, celebrities show people that it's OK to tell the world what they are going through, says Rhoda Weiss, a national health care consultant in Santa Monica, Calif.

"The hipness is also indicative of a new freedom of expression that came out of the Internet," she says. "Being able to talk about your disease has a freeing-like affect on the victim both on the Net and in front of others."

Combine all of that with the sophisticated marketing of diseases - ribbons, awareness months, walks, and colors - and the illness becomes a pop-culture statement, says Hanley.

Owning the illness

People who broadcast their illnesses are not looking for pity and are not in denial about the seriousness of their disease, says breast oncologist Dr. Alejandra Perez, who sees patients wearing everything from sloganed T-shirts to pink wigs to no wigs at all.

"For our patients, it is very, very important to show the world that even though they have cancer, they are fighters," says Perez, co-director for the Memorial Regional Hospital Breast Cancer Center in Hollywood,Fla. "They are not victims.".

"You are giving affirmation to the fact that it does suck, and it's OK to suck but nonetheless you can look good and feel good," says Silverman, 38, mother of two. "It's my goal for people not to look at me and cry. Look at me and see that I am doing all the things you need to do to have a life."

Feeling good can look good

"Medical fashion accessories" can actually look good, too.

Stylish bracelets, necklaces and watches from http://www.creativemedicalid.com/ changed Renee Rhoades' attitude about having to wear a medical ID bracelet. She was worried about being branded as a sick person.

"I feel like a diva when I wear them," says Rhoades, who lives in Richmond and has diabetes. "I went from feeling self-conscious about being tagged with something for the rest of my life to 'So, what bracelet do I get to wear today? "

                 

                    Photos by Michael Scott/Creative Medical ID                    

 

Creative Medical ID shows a an Italian Charm Links bracelet that alerts people of the wearer's medical condition.

Article : Beaded Medical ID Bracelets

Most medical ID tags are worn in case of emergencies and doctors and emergency workers are trained to look for them because they usually have special medical instructions on them. The bracelets can identify things like heart disease, allergies to certain medications, diabetes or any one of a number of other pieces of information that a doctor may need to know if you're unconscious or not able to speak.

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