If you enjoy a gluten free diet, then dining in a restaurant warrants a certain level of caution.

Firstly, ignore the complimentary bread!

Yes, you’re hungry.  Yes, it is free.

But it’s almost certainly not going to be wheat free.

The solution:

Have a snack before you go out. Something small, that will tie you over during that ‘eternity’ between ordering and the waiter arriving with your food.

When ordering, as a general rule: ignore fried food.

Battered foods are almost always made with a wheat-based batter.  *Note: the oil in which the foods are fried is even more likely to be tainted with gluten.

Be wary of sauces. Go for something simple, such as grilled meat, fish or chicken with olive oil and/or lemon juice.

Salad dressings are another gluten free hazard. Most will not contain gluten. However, some (especially Asian style) do. Try sticking to oil and vinegar for dressings.

Rice would seem a safe choice. Yet Coeliac Disease sufferers be careful. Always ask if it is cooked with chicken stock. Many stocks contain gluten.  Best to check if the restaurant does use stock before you order.

If you are not confident in your options, speak with the waiter and/or kitchen staff.  Tell them you have ‘a wheat allergy’ (it may not be entirely true, but it will effectively communicate your dietary needs).  To make things even simpler, carry a dietary alert card that you can hand over to the kitchen staff.

Remember, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

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If you’ve recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease such as gluten sensitivity, these are the basic treatments that are most likely to occur.

The first step doctors will take is to identify targeted nutritional needs.
All doctors will perform check-ups, using various methods but they’ll all achieve the end result of gaining a comprehensive understanding of your nutritional deficiencies.   

The Gluten Free Diet:

Many doctors will prescribe a gluten free diet to you even if you haven’t had a blood test confirming you have a gluten sensitivity, if you’ve been unsuccessful with other treatments. Doctors will usually keep you on a gluten free diet for at least three months, so they are able to see the results effectively.

The Casein Free Diet:

Doctors will often prescribe a casein free diet for patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders like Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The Paleolithic Diet:

If a doctor puts a patient on a gluten free diet, they’ll also often put the patient on a Paleolithic diet as it will also help treat an autoimmune disease. The Paleolithic diet consists of replacing grains from the diet with fresh, natural foods. The foundations of this diet are that our ancestors had a diet that was close to a Paleolithic diet rather than the high carbohydrate, processed foods many people consume today.

Dietary Supplementation:

Most doctors will prescribe dietary supplements either orally or intravenously to you, in order to help you restore your health a lot faster.

Detoxification:

On top of prescribing dietary supplements to you, doctors will also usually prescribe you supplements that are specifically designed to help remove toxins from the body.

The treatments may sound difficult as you might see it as a severe change, but the results will far outweigh the food sacrifices you’ll make as you’ll feel healthy, happy and energetic.

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Joan reported that she has had severe asthma her entire life. “My memories of childhood were the loneliness of being awake in the night with asthma, unable to lie down because that made it worse, unable to sleep and not wanting to call my parents because there was little they could do.”

She had asked her doctor to test her for food allergies, but the doctor declined, saying that since she was allergic to so many things, it would not make a difference to eliminate certain foods.

She took matters into her own hands. She went gluten free 16 months ago because of neurological symptoms and recognising the health effects of gluten free diets. But the unexpected result was that her asthmatic symptoms disappeared. She has been without symptoms – or asthma medication – for more than a year, even during spring and autumn, when pollen is significant.

This lady writes, “My theory is that there is a cumulative effect on your body. My gluten intolerance was stressing my body – causing a heightened response to all allergens. Once the stress was removed, the other allergens have not been able to trigger the allergic reaction.”

Is her theory right? Does it matter? What does matter is that because of her gluten free diet, she now leads a normal life. No more asthma.

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In my many years in this industry I have often listened to people’s health problems and symptoms and how they have responded to traditional medical intervention.

If I suggest they may be gluten sensitive, their response to me is often, “Does this mean I have an allergy?”

The answer is “No!”

Gluten sensitivity is not an allergy. It is a food intolerance. Allergies and intolerance are both reactions by your immune system, but those reactions are completely different.

It’s important for you to understand the difference between an allergy and an intolerance, because understanding is critical to accepting and subsequently dealing with it.

Although many people think they have a food allergy, they actually have food immune reactivity ( FIR ), or food intolerance, which is a delayed reaction from eating some foods or ingredients. Common types of FIR occur from eating gluten in wheat, barley and rye; dairy products; nightshades ( tomato, potato, aubergine, tobacco and peppers ); and soya products.

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People with life-threatening allergies are advised to carry an adreline (Epipen) injection, wear a medic alert bracelet and have an anaphylaxis action plan.

This is downloadable from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at www.allergy.org.au

Anaphylaxis Australia provides a lot of useful information on their website, from food recalls and alerts to tips on living with anaphylaxis.

The website also contains a kid’s corner with cartoon characters each suffering from a different food allergy.

Each character tells their story in a child-friendly way, and there are handy hints for parents as well. www.allergyfacts.org.au

www.everybody.co.nz has an excellent food allergy resource, including guides on how to shop for and store food.

It also has a useful guide for teachers who have a child with food allergies in their class.

It will help them understand what a food allergy is, what they should do if the child has a reaction and how they can keep the classroom a safe environment.

Shopping can be a problem for people with food allergies.

The website of the Royal Prince Albert Allergy Unit has a downloadable shopping list which has been developed specifically for children with nut, egg and milk allergies.

It lists many products that are nut, egg and milk-free. It should make shopping a lot easier! www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy

Useful Websites;

• www.allergyfacts.org.au
• www.allergy.org.au
• www.foodstandards.gov.au
• www.foodallergyalliance.org
• www.foodallergy.org
• www.everybody.co.nz
• www.ecaai.org
• www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
• www.foodintol.com
• www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy

Regards

Paul Smith

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What’s the difference between an intolerance and an allergy?

A food intolerance is quite different from a food allergy. Intolerance is a diverse reaction to a food that does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is a good example, where sufferers lack the enzyme needed to digest the lactose in milk and some milk products.

Symptoms of intolerance may be vague and can include headache, fatigue and irritability, gastrointestinal problems such as bloating and wind, diarrhoea, nausea and indigestion, aggravation of eczema or asthma, and joint pain. Sometimes the symptoms of an intolerance can resemble those of an allergy. It’s important to note that food intolerances can also mimic the symptoms of other medical conditions, so be sure to consult a doctor to eliminate other problems.

The only way to really tell whether you have intolerance or an allergy is to go through the diagnosis process. Once an allergy and other medical condition diets prove successful, an intolerance is a likely answer.

What are the symptoms of a food allergy?

They range from hives ( the most common reaction) to swelling around the mouth, itchy eyes, diarrhoea, vomiting and eczema. The most serious allergic reaction is anaphylaxis, when histamine floods the body causing serious heart and lung problems, and sometimes death.

Eczema is often the first sign of a food allergy and can appear in the first few months of life. Although not all eczemas are caused by a food allergy, up to 40 per cent of infants with eczema have an allergy as a significant trigger. An allergy to cows’ milk is the most common cause, closely followed by eggs.

Asthma and runny noses are not usual symptoms of a food allergy. In a small number of very young children, respiratory problems can be triggered by food but in most cases there are other symptoms. In more unusual cases, food allergies can manisfest by aggravating gastro-oesophageal reflux (acid reflux or heartburn).

Foods that most commonly cause anaphylaxis, the most serious reaction, are peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, but any food can cause an allergic person to react in this way.

Death from allergy in children is rare, but can happen. The most common food causes are peanuts, followed by tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

Who is most likely to have a food allergy?

Allergies are genetically predetermined. Dr Crump says if both parents are allergic, their children have a 60 per cent chance of inheriting an allergy. But specific allergies, like a wheat allergy, are not passed on, just the tendency to be allergic.

Will children “grow out of it”?

Food allergy may start during infancy, with the first symptom often being a rash or hives accompanied by vomiting and diarrhoea. How severe it is and how long it lasts depends on the age when it first appears, the type of food involved and the severity of the first reaction. In general, the later the onset of the food allergy, the less likely it is that the child will “grow out of it”. Most children allergic to cows’ milk can drink it again by the age of three, and most of those with an egg allergy are able to eat egg by the age of five.

A test called a RAST (radioallergosorbent test) can confirm if IgE antibodies are dropping to normal “safe” levels in allergic children and, if this is the case, a trial of the food  can be  undertaken in the doctor’s surgery. Asthma and hay fever may develop as the food allergy subsides.

But Dr Crump says 20 per cent of children with allergies will not outgrow them, with reactions to peanuts and fish usually becoming more severe and persistent.

How are allergies and intolerance diagnosed?

Some of the same tests are used for the diagnosis of allergies and intolerances.

Short-term “elimination diets” are required for indentifying food intolerances. Particular foods there are high in natural or artificial food chemicals are eliminated from diet for two-to-three weeks. If symptoms abate, there is a good chance one of the foods chosen is the one causing the problem. This can be tested by re-introducing one food at a time.

Food Challenges should not be undertaken by people with history of anaphylaxis, and should always be performed in a specialist setting under medical advice.

The most definitive test of whether a person has a food allergy is by looking for raised IgE antibodies (the antibodies created by a true allergy) in their blood. This is achieved using “skin prick” tests or a RAST blood test.

In a skin prick test, a drop of the potential allergen is placed on the skin. The skin is then lightly scratched to allow a small amount of the extract to enter. If the person produces IgE antibodies in response to that allergen a skin irritation will be evident.

This test is very good for diagnosing an allergy to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood and soy.

One positive test on its own is not proof of an allergy, but fortunately a negative one pretty much rules out an allergy.

Dr Crump says other tests for allergies have not been proven.

Can allergies be treated?

There is no specific treatment for a food allergy apart from avoidance, so it’s very important to have an accurate diagnosis. Advice from a dietician who specialises in food allergies is also recommended to ensure that the diet contains the correct foods so that it remains nutritionally adequate, while particular foods are avoided.

Should pregnant mothers avoid certain foods?

Current evidence suggests that foetal sensitisation to food allergies during pregnancy appears to be minimal. Allergens from the mother’s diet are passed into breast milk, however, and can occasionally cause eczema and other allergic reactions in young babies.

Dr Crump cites the frightening case of a six-month-old child who displayed a very rare and severe allergy to macadamia nuts – the child’s mother had craved these nuts and eaten many during her pregnancy.

“If you consume any allergic food, you may occasionally put your child at risk during breastfeeding”, warns Dr Crump.

So for most women, the golden rule is moderation. Despite this, some doctors advise high-risk pregnancy and lactating women (those with allergies themselves) should avoid peanuts, other nuts and seafood. The jury is still out on the amount of milk and eggs they should eat. However, just as eating a lot of one type of food is not advisable, avoiding eggs and milk altogether is also not recommended. In fact, the ASCIA advises against any moderation of maternal diet during pregnancy or lactation to prevent the development of allergic disease in the infant.

The delayed introduction of solid foods may reduce food allergy risk; high-risk children should not begin solids before six months of age, introducing wheat at one year , dairy, eggs and fish between one and two years, and sesame, nuts and shellfish after two years of age.

Common Allergies:

Foods which most commonly cause allergies reactions

Offenders:
Tree nuts; almond, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts.
Peanuts; including peanut oil
Eggs
Shellfish; Prawns, oysters, crab, mussels, scallops and lobster
Fish; salmon, tuna, anchovies and fish oil
Milk; and products containing milk
Sesame seeds
Soybeans; used in soy sauce, soy milk and tofu

Wheat; used in bread, pasta, cereal and beer

The future

Dr Crump says some promising studies in Australia and New Zealand have shown that giving “probiotics” (food containing bacteria beneficial to the gut) to breastfeeding mothers is improving infant’s eczema and decreasing their prevalence of allergies.

There is also research being undertaken using genetically engineered antibodies to block IgE antibodies. The first study saw the majority of people allergic to peanuts without reacting.

Professor Ameratunga says another approach involves the development of genetically modified foods to alter their ability to cause an allergy. Genetically modified allergens may come into use as a desensitisation strategy.

He says it is likely that effective forms of treatment will become available within the next 10 years.

What is lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. If digestion doesn’t occur, lactose accumulates in surrounding tissue, which leads to bloating, cramping and diarrhoea.

The likelihood of someone having lactose intolerance is very much dependent on their genetic makeup. Allergy expert Dr Vicent Crump says 80 per cent of people of Asian descent have “primary” lactose intolerance, where they lack the gene responsible for producing the lactase enzyme necessary to digest the milk sugar.

However, anyone can suffer a bout of “secondary” lactose intolerance. This is not because of an absent gene but when something (like a tummy bug) damages the lining of the person’s small intestine where the enzyme is produced. This can last for several weeks after the infection and sufferers cannot tolerate any type of dairy product.

Lactose intolerance starts to show when a child is about four or five years old. These kids have diarrhoea and may not gain weight when milk is part of their diet. In some people, severe diarrhoea may prevent proper absorption of nutrients. However, symptoms are usually mild.

Dr Crump says people with lactose intolerance can handle small amounts of dairy products, such as that found in biscuits, yoghurt or bread, if they are not totally deficient of the enzyme.

“But they could not drink a glass of milk or put milk in their tea or coffee”, he says. Breastfeeding mums should also be aware that their milk contains lactose, he says.

If a person’s symptoms are eliminated after a three-to-four week trial period of a diet free of dairy products, the diagnosis can be confirmed. The intolerance can be controlled through diet by eliminating all food containing lactose, primarily dairy products.

There are lactose enzymes in liquid or tablet form that can be purchased over the counter and added to milk. For people who do not consume dairy products, it is recommended they obtain their calcium from other sources, such as soy milk or rice milk.

What’s the difference between coeliac disease and wheat allergy?

Coeliac disease and wheat allergy are two distinct conditions.

Coeliac disease is a permanent adverse reaction to gluten. Those with coeliac disease will not lose their sensitivity to this substance. This disease requires a lifelong restriction of gluten. The major grains that contain gluten are wheat, rye, oats and barley. These grains and their by-products must be strictly avoided by people with coeliac disease.

Wheat-allergic people have an IgE-mediated response to wheat protein. These individuals must only avoid wheat. Fortunately, most wheat-allergic children outgrow this allergy.

How to get the nutrients you need if you have a food allergy:

Regards

Paul Smith

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David began to develop tiny water blisters, which burst and left scabs.

Because he had been working long hours in a stressful job, his family doctor initially diagnosed stress related psoriasis.

The condition did not clear up.

For 18 years, David endured the problem, with only periodic, short-term relief.

One doctor prescribed a corticosteroid cream. This, however, was a case of the cure possibly being worse than the problem.

As has been proved, corticosteroid cream can have harsh side effects if used long term on large areas of the skin, especially on raw skin and in skin folds.

The particular cream David used, Fucibet, can cause the adrenal glands to decrease the production of natural hormones and also cause the skin to thin. After using the cream daily for 2 years, he began to experience side effects, including sore eyes and dry skin on his cheek bones.

David finally found a new doctor who correctly diagnosed the problem as DH caused by gluten sensitivity.

A gluten-free diet cured his 18-year condition.

DH can be cured. For immediate relief, doctors may prescribe drugs

- Dapsone, sulphapyridine or sulphamethoxypyridazine. All of these drugs are actually antimicrobials that were developed in the 1930s and 1940s. It is not understood exactly how they work on DH, but they act as agents to address the skin condition. Although the drugs control the rash within days, DH returns quickly when the drugs are discontinued.

In other words, these drugs are used to produce immediate relief from itching but do not cure the condition.

The cure for DH, like any other gluten sensitivity, is a gluten-free diet.

When the individuals mentioned in the previous cases went on a gluten-free diet, their DH disappered.

Best Regards

Paul Smith

glutenfreehealth.net

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Continuing my previous post about the relation gluten – skin disease – celiac

During the year he was exchange student in Germany, Eric ate a lot of bread and pastry. Shortly after he returned to Australia, he developed a small purple blister on his right buttock.

Within a year, the rash grew to include his other buttock and each of his knees and elbows.

The diagnosis his doctor made: a strange case of poison ivy, which he treated with prednisolone, a corticosteroid that can have serious side effects, such as upset stomach, stomach irritation, vomiting, headache, dizziness, insomnia, restlessness, depression, anxiety, acne, increased hair growth, aesy bruising, swollen face and ankles, vision problems ad muscle weakness.

After another year of unrelenting itching and pain and the spreading of the rash, which did not respond to the cream, Eric went to another doctor, who said he had a rare form of pustular psoriasis. The remedy-another type of topical corticosteroid cream.

He used the cream for 5 years, yet the rash continued to spread, and he developed a secondary staphylococcal (or bacterial) infection. Eric finally found a doctor who was able to diagnose the problem correctly –dermatitis herpetiformis. A gluten-free diet cleared up the condition.

According to the first doctor Bill consulted, the rash that began to plague him was shingles.

Shingles (herpes zoster) is characterised by an outbreak of a rash or blisters on the skin caused by a virus – the same virus that causes chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus.

Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of getting shingles, which is described as being intense and unrelenting.

The symptoms of shingles can be relieved, at least temporarily, by taking antiviral drugs, but the disease must run its course, usually 3 to 5weeks. The virus continues to be harboured in the body even after the condition has cleared up.

Bill didn’t have shingles, so the doctor’s prescription did him no good and the rash persisted. He then went to a dermatologist, who told him he had scabies!

Scabies is caused by a tiny mite that burrows under the skin and causes severe itching. The effective cure for scabies is a topical insecticide cream, which the doctor prescribed. Of course, the lotion didn’t work.

Bill consulted several different doctors over the course of months. More than one gave him the same scabies diagnosis. Frustrated, he finally returned to his original dermatologist, who this time did a biopsy and discovered that Bill didn’t have scabies after all.

He had dermatitis herpetiformis. He started a gluten-free diet, and his skin condition went away in 6 weeks time.

Best Regards
Paul Smith
glutenfreehealth.net

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No.
A person who suffers a food intolerance is not allergic to that particular food.
However, some people, particularly children, are allergic to certain foods.

Common culprits include:

• strawberries
• peanuts
• milks products
• eggs
• gluten

When someone eats a food to which he or she is allergic, there’s usually a fairly swift and obvious response. Allergic reactions can be caused by exposure to a very, very small amount of a substance; for instance, foods containing just a trace of peanuts or a minuscule amount of seafood can cause anaphylaxis in people allergic to them.

This is not the case in food intolerance.

Common allergic reactions

These include a skin rash, often similar to hives. Other responses include asthma or hay fever. Very rarely, an allergic reaction to foods can be life-threatening, due to a severe response called Anaphylaxis.

How about Skin Testings?
Injections into the skin of proteins prepared from suspected causes of the allergy can help discover possible culprits. These tests should be administered by a doctor with a special interest in this area: This could be a GP, an allergist or an immunologist.

Best Regards
Paul Smith

GlutenFreeHealth.net

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Eczema afflicts possibly one person in five per head of population and up to one child in ten.

Eczema, and related afflictions such as psoriasis and dermatitis, can affect people of all ages from newborn, breastfed babies to elderly adults. In infants and toddlers more than 80% of eczema, some extremely acute, is caused by allergic food reactions to the proteins in dairy products, eggs, peanuts and wheat.

Gluten is a major trigger for eczema throughout the entire community.

Some children and adults also react adversely to certain seafoods, sesame, soy (about which I will say more in a future blog), chocolate, cabbage, curry, chilli, salicylates (naturally occurring in some foods and in aspirin), tree nuts, some fruits (citrus and others, particularly if not ripe) and vegetables, food colourings and additives including sulphites, tatrazine and M.S.G.. Animal hair etc and some plants also contribute to eczema problems. Eggs, peanuts, sesame and shellfish have also been implicated in anaphylaxis.

Removing the offending foods from the breastfeeding mother’s and a young child’s diets often quickly reverses the condition.

Eczema is usually more prevalent in children where one or both of the parents have suffered from asthma, eczema and other chronic conditions: i.e. there is genetic or hereditary predisposition.

One of the severest forms of eczema or skin disease is dermatitis herpetiformis which is an immune reaction to gluten deposits in or just under the skin: an extremely debilitating and chronic illness which can often linger for up to a decade from the change to a strictly gluten free diet.

Unfortunately, there is often reluctance on the part of some patients and their medical advisers to accept that food and gluten allergies and eczema may be directly related.

A change to a gluten free diet is often inconvenient and initially quite daunting: a voyage into the unknown, with many children also finding it alienating and many people concerned about the additional expense.

In young children, blood and skin prick tests are relatively painless, quickly and accurately able to identify immune responses and the responsible food allergens.

Usually, once the problem has been identified and the benefits begin to flow, both the children and their parents are relieved to escape the misery, discomfort and other unpleasant side effects, including tummy discomfort, crankiness, tiredness, poor growth, inability to concentrate etc., often associated with severe eczema.

The improved lifestyle and feelings of wellbeing soon more than compensate for the relatively small additional effort and expense of preparing gluten free meals.

It is not unusual to see a child placed on a gluten free diet improve quickly and significantly health and eczema wise but relapse if re-exposed to gluten.

Often the symptoms manifest themselves more quickly and virulently than prior to the adoption of a gluten free diet.

Once the decision to go gluten free has been made the person involved has to come to grips with the fact that this may well become a lifelong routine and commitment.

Thankfully, kids with celiac disease are quick learners.

I had a mum call me about the nut and egg contents of our products. She had two little boys, one aged four and the other two years old. Both had strong allergic reactions to eggs and were on a gluten free diet due to eczema and other problems.

She was relieved by my response

- that no egg, nut or other controversial ingredients were used in our F.G. Roberts products or present on site -

and went on to explain that her four year old almost instantly picked up the presence of any egg ingredients by the tingling feelings in his mouth if exposed to egg.

He would spit the offending food out discreetly without suffering any ill effects.

Unfortunately, his younger brother had not yet learnt to respond to the trigger warnings and there had been a number of incidents including a hospitalisation.

From primary school age onwards most of the egg and dairy problems seem to recede with dust mites and gluten becoming the primary culprits in eczema.

Most of the other factors, discussed above, still remain in the equation but tend to be secondary. Most people may be considered “gluten sensitive” if their symptoms respond positively to the removal of gluten from their diet and their symptoms flare again when re-exposed to gluten.

Regards,

Paul Smith

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