food allergy links

[Shawn]

We are in the process of determining what foods Dc and I are allergic to. So far we know Dd#1 is allergic to: wheat, dairy, soy, corn, oranges, and cranberries. I'm know I'm allergic to wheat, soy, dairy. I also have problems with MSG and aspertame. Dd #2 had the red ring yesterday, and was unusually fussy, but I'm not sure why yet... :think

So, what are your favorite food allergy resources (websites or books)?

I'll go ahead an post this one, which Rachael (cobluegirl) already posted:

www.specialfoods.com

[lmgeenw]

I just wrote you a long reply and then lost it :banghead, and I don't have much time now. But, I really feel for you. My kids and I all have tons of food allergies and I feel like I spend 1/2 my life in the kitchen and the other half thinking about what we are going to eat next. My son have developed so many food allergies that I have started looking into ways to heal his body, rather than eliminating more and more foods. Have you read anything about leaky gut syndrome? Mercola.com also has articles on fish oil and probiotics and how they help allergies. They have definitely helped my kids a lot. WE recently saw a holistic Dr. who recommended we start my son on L-glutamine and quercetin which seem to be helping a little. He has only been on them a couple weeks though and the Dr. said it will take longer to see results. I'm not sure where you are in the food allegy process. I dont have a lot of links, I mostly have read books. Sorry, it doesn't look like the link is coming through, but this might be a starting point.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp

[findingjoy]

http://nutramed.com/

I feel for you! We have multiple allergies too.

[Shawn]

Thanks for the links ya'll...I sure have alot to learn!

[lmgeenw]

Hi Shawn,

I tried to email you privately, but the email came back to me. Here it is cut and pasted. :)

Hi again Shawn

I definitely know what you mean about people not
respecting your diet. My parents try to sneak my kids
candy and cookies when we are at their house and
everywhere we go, people are always offering us food
that my kids can't eat. It really isolates us
sometimes too. We have to bring our own food if we go
to potlucks and we don't even bother to go to people's
houses for dinner when invited. We invite people here
but it gets expensive and is a lot of work.
With my daughter, it was worse. Partly because I
wasn't as confident in the decisions I was making for
my family and partly because her allergies weren't as
severe. She mostly got rashes, cried a lot as a baby,
and had behavioral problems later. My son on the
other hand had all of the above plus chronic diarrhea
and terrible hives. We have taken him to the
emergency room over 5 times and once he even went into
anaphylactic shock. There is obviously no denying
that HE has allergies. I have basically just decided
that I have to make what I believe are the right
decisions for my family and that I am never going to
make everyone happy.

As far as leaky gut syndrome goes, it is a bit
confusing. Basicially, your body can't digest the
food you take in, even if the food is healthy, and your body
doesn't get the nutrients it needs. Allergies develop
because the food isnt' broken down correctly and it
kind of shocks your system. Your gut is full of good
bacteria to help digest food and there are a lot of
things in our enviroment that can disrupt this healthy
bacteria. One theory regarding why mothers with
auto-immune problems or allergies often have children
with allergies is that the mothers gut is directly
connected to the baby's gut in utero. It the mother
had allergies (and these are most often unknown
allergies) and has an unhealthy gut, then the baby
developes similiar problems.
Not sure if I am explaining this well or if it makes
sense to you. My kids are in need of attention, so I
can't write much more. I got most of my info from
Mercola, The Maker's Diet(which talks a lot about gut
health, not really specifically about allergies
though), and lot of other various sources over the
years. I really feel like it is something that God
has just slowly revealed to me again and again, over
time when I was searching for an answer to our
families health problems. Unfortunately, I have yet
to find a definitive answer for the cure. I have had
problems with my health my whole life, but I assumed
if I breastfed my children, ate healthy while
pregnant, always fed them healthy foods, avoiding
having them exposed to toxins, etc., then they would
grow up healthy. It gets pretty frustrating
sometimes! Feel free to email me if you have any more
questions or would like some support. :)

Leah