According to HealthDay News food allergies are up 18% among US children over the past decade. They site eight foods; milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat, as accounting for 90% of all food allergies. That then begs the question, what foods are causing the other 10%? What is causing the increase food allergies in our children? And what does this mean for the rest of their lives?
As food companies and restaurants have become more aware of food allergies, they have increased the options. There are more foods labeled reading as allergy free; gluten free and wheat free products can be found in most conventional grocery stores. Bakeries are taking notice also and including allergy free products on their menus. There are many alternatives to foods that people are allergic to; from rice milk and almond milk, to the rice breads and pastas. Some stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have a wider selection of alternatives.
Wanting to always have options for my patients I was introduced to a wonderful online program called Meal Mixer. This program allows you to put in food allergies and then helps you to create meal plans for the entire year. Once you make a week plan, you print it out along with you grocery list, so you are ready to go shopping. For some of the more unique items listed in the meals, it gives you a link to the company's website places to either order the item or see where you can buy it locally. Meal Mixer has given me an opportunity to share this program with my patients for 20% off the yearly price by using this discount code - AVFPHV. If you would like me to be able to look at your food plan check the box to allow doctor to review plans. I am more than happy to help you create healthy meal plans for you and your family.
As a Naturopathic doctor I use food allergy testing with patients as a tool to get to the root cause of their disease, however, I do not use it with every patient. I prefer blood IgG and IgE tests over skin prick/scratch tests as there are more variables with the skin prick tests. Blood tests are not 100% fool proof either, if you are not eating a food a specific food, it could show up as not reactive when in fact you are allergic to the food. Using food allergy testing is just one of the factors that helps us understand what is going on.