Manage Your Allergies With an Allergen-Free Diet
By Victoria Groce, About.com Guide to Food Allergies
Food allergies are among the few chronic conditions where patients are primarily responsible for managing their conditions, through a combination of diet to avoid allergens and medication to combat reactions when they occur. Different allergens pose different social, nutritional, and food safety challenges. You'll also find information here about common food intolerances, which are managed -- like allergies -- by avoiding problem foods.
- Reading Labels and Allergy Food Safety
- Dairy Allergies (Milk Allergies)
- Egg Allergies
- Peanut and Tree Nut Allergies
- Soy Allergies
- Seafood Allergies (Fish and Shellfish)
- Wheat Allergies
- Other Food Allergies
- Food Intolerances and Sensitivities
Reading Labels and Allergy Food Safety
No matter how many or which kind of allergies you have, reading labels and practicing good food safety skills are critical to preventing reactions. Here are simple steps that can help you stay safe.
- How to Read Labels for Allergens
- Sources of Hidden Allergens
- How to Sign Up for FDA and CFIA Allergy Recall Alerts
- How to Avoid Allergy Cross-Contamination
Dairy Allergies (Milk Allergies)
Dairy allergies are the most common allergy in young children, although many outgrow them by the time they reach age five. While milk is often touted as essential for good nutrition, be assured that people with dairy allergies can easily replace the nutrients in that glass of milk with other common foods.
- Dairy Allergies: Your Quick-Start Guide
- Dairy Allergy Basics
- Foods to Avoid on a Dairy-Free Diet
- How to Balance Your Diet Without Dairy Products
- Milk Alternatives and Dairy-Free Beverages
- Dairy-Free Butter Alternatives
- Infant Milk Allergies and Milk Protein Intolerances
- Dairy-Free Recipes
Egg Allergies
Egg allergies are especially common in children, and are closely associated with eczema. Here are tips for baking with egg allergies, figuring out which vaccines are safe, and recognizing eggs in packaged foods.
- Egg Allergy Overview
- Foods to Avoid on an Egg-Free Diet
- Using Egg Replacer in Baking
- Egg Allergies and Vaccines
- Egg-Free Recipes
Peanut and Tree Nut Allergies
While peanuts are not, strictly speaking, nuts, these two allergies have a good deal in common. Many people with peanut allergies are advised to avoid tree nuts (and vice versa) because there is a fairly high risk of cross-reactivity between the two --- that is, people with one of these allergies are at increased risk of the other.
- Peanut Allergy Overview
- Foods to Avoid on a Peanut-Free Diet
- Where to Buy Peanut-Free Products
- Tree Nut Allergy Overview
- Eight Alternatives to Peanut Butter
- Why Is My Child's School Nut-Free?
- Should I Avoid Soy if I Have a Peanut Allergy?
- Quick Peanut-Free Snacks
- Eating Pumpkin, Sesame, and Sunflower Seeds with Tree Nut Allergies
- Almond Extract and Tree Nut Allergies
- Coconut and Tree Nut Allergies
- Can I Have a Reaction from Smelling Peanuts?
- Peanut-Free Baseball Game Directory
- Peanut-Free Recipes
- Tree Nut-Free Recipes
Soy Allergies
While most people don't immediately think of soy as a staple food, soy is in a tremendous number of prepared foods. It's also a staple food in its own right for many vegetarian families, and in East Asian cuisine.
Seafood Allergies (Fish and Shellfish)
The most common allergy among adults and the most common cause of anaphylaxis in the United States are one and the same: shellfish. Fish and shellfish are both frequent triggers of allergic reactions. While they're somewhat easier to avoid in packaged food than some other common allergens, both of these allergies can be quite severe.
- Foods to Avoid on a Shellfish-Free Diet
- Dining Out with Shellfish Allergies
- Fish Allergies and Omega-3 Supplements
Wheat Allergies
Wheat allergies are a major cause of severe allergy symptoms, including asthma and anaphylaxis, although they get less press these days than celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder which prevents the body from digesting certain proteins found in wheat and several other grains.
- Wheat Allergies: Your Quick-Start Guide
- Wheat Allergy Basics
- Foods to Avoid on a Wheat-Free Diet
- Foods to Avoid on a Gluten-Free Diet
- Using Wheat-Free Flours
- Play Doughs and Wheat Allergies
- Communion and Wheat Allergies
- How to Buy Wheat- and Gluten-Free Pasta
- Drinking Vodka and Other Spirits with Wheat Allergies
- Wheat-Free Grain Alternatives
- Wheat-Free Recipes
Other Food Allergies
While the "big eight" food allergies are the most common, virtually any food can cause an allergy. Find out how to live with and manage a variety of other food allergies.
- Sulfite Allergies
- Alcohol Allergies and Intolerances
- Chocolate Allergies
- White Chocolate and Chocolate Sensitivities
- Oral Allergy Syndrome
- Cooking Without Onions or Garlic
- Gustatory Rhinitis: Runny Noses and Spicy Foods
Food Intolerances and Sensitivities
Not all adverse reactions to food are allergies; the term "allergy" refers to a specific reaction of the immune system. Some common non-allergic reactions to food are the result of the lack of enzymes in the digestive tract, like lactose intolerance. Others, like celiac disease, are autoimmune (meaning that the body, in essence, attacks itself in response to the presence of a certain food). Others are of diverse or unknown origin.
