The Allergy Menu is a website dedicated to food allergies and food intolerances. If you have gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, nut allergy, intolerance to msg, nitrates, amines, salicylates, or fructose, then this site is for you. Our advanced search function enables users to sort recipes to avoid multiple allergens and find a wonderful selection of recipes that they CAN eat and enjoy. Bring variety back to the menu with www.theallergymenu.com!

1. Allergies and Food Intolerances are on the Rise!
This is something that all health professionals agree upon, although there is no real consensus
as to why. Allopathic (modern medical) doctors often speak about the hygiene theory in
relation to possible causes. They suspect that the modern obsession with killing germs has
meant that our bodies immune systems have not had to fight enough legitimately harmful
substances - and therefore have started to mount attacks from within.
Holistic Doctors and Integrative medicine practitioners theorise that our immune systems
have become overburdened with an onslaught of wide ranging pollutants, including pesticides
and artificial additives, prescribed medications, chemical based cleaning products and
personal care products. They say that even though we have plenty of food, our general
nutrition is poor, due to our food being grown in mineral depleted soils, stored for long
periods and because we rely too heavily on nutritionally deficient convenience foods.
Holistic proponents believe that our bodies are not sufficiently supplied with the basic
requirements to enable strong immune functioning and that the toxic damage is manifested in
different ways in different individuals. Any condition may be caused by an interaction of
many factors, such as genetics, environment, damage due to medications etc. These
manifestations may include food allergies and intolerances.
Whatever the cause, food related health issues cause anxiety, frustration and grief for the
afflicted and their nearest and dearest!
Though this sounds melodramatic, it cannot be understated how difficult it can be, to adjust
to a potentially life threatening condition, or a sensitivity that seriously impacts upon your
quality of life.
It can be very overwhelming when you realise that avoiding harmful ingredients is not as
easy as reading a food label. The risks associated with making mistakes causes great anxiety
to newly diagnosed sufferers and to those ‘old hands,’ who may be forced by circumstances
to trust someone else to prepare their food.
It is also difficult to come to terms with the fact that socialising will never be quite the same.
Many people with allergies and intolerances become increasingly socially isolated over time.
Potential hosts may find it frightening or burdensome inviting people to social events, who
are at risk of food reactions. For those with these conditions, it can be hard to relax and trust
that their food has not been accidentally contaminated, or to avoid feeling like a nuisance to
their host.
Often sufferers get around the problem by taking their own food to social events, but this can
sometimes cause socially awkward moments, especially if kitchen facilities are required at
all. Other guests may want to know why someone is consuming different food and so the
conversation focuses on the food problem, instead of lighter topics. This in itself can lead to
further self-consciousness. It is often easier for those with allergies or intolerances to just
politely refuse invitations and privately deal with the grief of feeling like a social leper.
Traps for new players include:

2. • Not knowing about food labelling laws which allow manufacturers to avoid declaring
certain ingredients if the quantity is below a certain percentage.
• Not realizing that certain substitute ingredients may contain substances that are also
harmful, though for different reasons. E.g. Gluten free flours often contain sulphites
(preservatives) and many food sensitive people react badly to sulphites.
• Not knowing that manufacturing processes can undermine the purity of a food item
that you might assume was okay. E.g. many cooking oils (especially cheap
generically labelled ones) are a mixture of different oils and may contain nut oils or
other oils or to which people may be allergic or sensitive.
• Not realizing that it is not longer possible to use certain condiments, due to the
thickeners, artificial additives or the oils contained, or because they are too high in
natural food chemicals, to which some people are very sensitive. Commercial Stocks
and cubes, gravy and custard mixes, mustards, soy sauces, tomato sauces, pastes etc
are usually best avoided.
• Not knowing that common ingredients are labelled with uncommon names. E.g. Eggs
are included when you see the following: Albumin, Globulin, Livetin, Lysozyme,
Ovalbumin, Ovomucin, Ovovitellin, Simplesse, etc.
• Not realising that certain food preparation practices may cause food contamination.
(known as cross contamination) E.g. using a toaster that has toasted gluten based
bread to toast gluten free bread. For some people even a crumb of glutinous bread is
enough to provoke a significant reaction.
So, if you have just been diagnosed with a food allergy or intolerance, go easy on yourself! It
is natural to feel upset, overwhelmed and anxious. As time goes on you will become a master
at managing your condition, but in the meantime seek as much moral support and
understanding as you can find.
The internet provides a wealth of information and support. Join groups and forums to find
others who know what you are going through. Just be wary of accepting medical advice
without first consulting your healthcare professional, as there is a lot of misinformation out
there as well.
So often, what is missing from health care protocols though, is the recognition of the
emotional impact of dealing with these problems. Sufferers are often labelled as being
anxious, obsessive, etc, but these states of being usually arise, when physical, emotional and
adequate medical support and understanding are lacking.
Experiencing compassion and emotional validation can greatly help the newly diagnosed, to
adjust quickly to their diagnosis and management program. It is therefore important to seek,
emotional support if you are the sufferer and to give it, if you care for someone in this
predicament.
Featured Author: Pauline O’Sullivan
Pauline recently Co-Founded www.TheAllergyMenu.Com with her friend Michelle
Kazukaitus. The Allergy Menu is a free membership, recipe website for foodies with allergies
or intolerances. Pauline had a career in Social Work prior to starting a family and her
daughter’s food intolerances inform her awareness of the issues faced by those with allergies
and intolerances. Pauline and Michelle aim to provide practical support to those with food
related health concerns using their site based software.

3. Anyone diagnosed with such medical conditions (or suspected as having such), should
be under the regular care of a doctor or specialist. It is vitally important for people with food
allergies to identify all of their specific allergens (under medical supervision) and avoid the
foods they are allergic to.
Due to the inadequacy of food labeling laws, people with food allergies also need to establish
the degrees to which they are sensitive. For example, many people are so sensitive to certain
foods that they may have an anaphylactic reaction to the slightest trace of the food allergen.
Manufacturers are under no legal obligation to provide a warning on a label, if there is the
slightest chance that a product has come into contact with an allergen. Many do with
messages such as ‘may contain’ or ‘contains’ warnings. Therefore, you must establish with
your doctor your allergy risks and receive an allergy management plan.
Many children outgrow allergies and it is important for them to be re-tested appropriately by
an allergy specialist or medically qualified practitioner. Restricted diets can lead to nutritional
deficiencies if not properly managed, which in turn can lead to further health problems,
including increased sensitivity to other foods and substances.
Gluten intolerance is never outgrown and individuals with celiac/coeliac disease (an auto
immune disease involving intolerance to gluten) must avoid wheat, rye, barley, oats and their
derivatives for life. Many people with undiagnosed Celiac/coeliac disease have taken
themselves off gluten and then found it very difficult to get a formal diagnosis. People who
self-diagnose and treat themselves by removing gluten from their diet, will often have normal
blood test readings and may even have a normal biopsy (depending on how long they have
followed a gluten free diet). Without a diagnosis these people cannot access specific
healthcare services for this disease.
Celiac/coeliac disease has also been linked to other serious health conditions (including,
osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, intestinal cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid
problems, fibromyalgia and diabetes). It is therefore very important to get a diagnosis as early
as possible, to reduce the risk of developing other related conditions.
The symptoms of food intolerance, could be the symptoms of other serious medical
conditions, so it is extremely important that individuals, access medical advice about their

4. symptoms before self-diagnosing and treating them, as a food intolerance. Food intolerance
cannot be diagnosed by a blood test, as it is not an immune response but an inability to digest
particular foods (often related to a missing enzyme or a chemical sensitivity). There are skin
tests that can help to determine a possible sensitivity, but these are not definitive. False
positive test results may result in unnecessarily restrictive diets which in turn increases the
risk of nutritional deficiencies.
It is generally accepted, that the best way to identify food intolerance, is through a medically
supervised elimination diet. Before undertaking such a process it may be beneficial, to first
determine your general health status, especially examining whether or not you already have a
vitamin or mineral deficiency. Elimination processes, if not carefully managed, can lead to
increased reactivity which is why some experts recommend in certain cases, that
individuals build up their nutritional status before embarking on an elimination diet. For some
individuals symptoms may also resolve themselves when nutritional deficiencies are
addressed.
For these reasons, among others, accessing proper medical supervision before using this site
for dietary management is essential. Please read the Terms of Use before using this site. Your
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