At one point, my son was allergic to 40+ different foods. Due to all of our hard work and the grace of God, it’s now down to gluten, dairy, nuts, eggs and fish as well as sensitivities to preservatives, artificial colouring, artificial flavouring, other additives). We are experts at dealing with food allergies!
Some tips if you suspect a food allergy or sensitivity
One of the biggest challenges about having food allergies and/or sensitivities is finding out what your child is allergic/sensitive to. In addition to seeing a traditional allergist, I think it’s also worth it to get IgG food sensitivity testing through a naturopath. In the meantime, you can also try some of the following:
- Try a milk-free and gluten-free diet (most people are sensitive to dairy and/or gluten and most people feel better on dairy-free and gluten-free diets). Ideas for simple glutenfree, dairyfree meals here.
- If you are on a milk-free (casein-free) diet, it may take at least one month to show any improvements.
- If you are on a gluten-free diet, it may take at least six months to show any improvements.
- Keep a food journal.
- If you’re not sure which foods are triggers (and you’re still waiting to see an allergist), try an elimination diet, a few foods diet, or pendulum testing (dowsing). Another crude at home allergy test: You can also take a small piece of the food in question, moisten it and tape it to your child’s inner wrist for 30 minutes and see if a reaction occurs. (Or to test milk, or another liquid, you can put it on a cotton ball and then tape it to your child’s inner wrist. It really works!). More DIY food sensitivity methods here.
If you or your child has food allergies:
- If your child is allergic or sensitive to certain foods, even trace amounts of this type of food can lead to an allergic reaction. Avoid cross-contamination. For example, read here when my son reacted to a cross-contaminated toy.
- My favourite allergy-free cook book: Melina et al.’s Food Allergy Survival Guide.
- If you are introducing new foods, only introduce one new food every four days. (This is something that is obvious, but we often didn’t follow this advice and then it was difficult to know exactly what the trigger was).
- If your child has been tested for a certain food or environmental allergen and it comes back as being “low”, but your child hasn’t been exposed to this particular food or environmental allergen, she/he may still be allergic to it. Our story here about how Moses developed an allergy to dogs after his original allergy testing said that he wasn’t.
Some of my allergy posts
Easy GFCF meal ideas – also soy free, preservative free, tree nut free, egg free and fish free
My son’s allergies are healing as a result of homeopathy
Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) – Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride discusses food allergies in terms of gut and psychology syndrome (GAPS), and the GAPS nutritional program (i.e., fermented foods, probiotics) that can be used to treat allergies, autism, etc.
Allergy Kinder – a co-creative community publication for family and friends of children with food allergies
Cooking Allergy Free – useful website with allergy-free recipes (based on your personal allergies)
Glutenfree Pantry – yummy GFCF recipes
Keely’s Kitchen – great recipes for Keely, who once had 35 food sensitivities
Kids with Food Allergies Newfoundland – Yahoo group for parents of kids with food allergies in Newfoundland
The Allergic Kid – great recipes free of nuts, eggs, dairy, shellfish and red meat
Went to Farmer’s Market – blog about feeding “a meat n’ potatoes hubs, a vegetable loving mama with hippie tendencies (and phobias), a picky food allergic 4 year old, and a toddler foodie with a chocolate habit”
