Food Allergies For Dummies

by Robert A. Wood, Joe Kraynak

Are you constantly worrying about what you or your loved ones eat? Is every dining experience an episode of anxiety for you? Being allergic to different types of food not only ruins the experience of eating, it can lead to dangerous, sometimes lethal, consequences. With Food Allergies for Dummies , you can feel safer about what you eat. This concise guide shows you how to identify and avoid food that triggers reactions. This guide covers how to care for a child with food allergies, such as getting involved with his/her school’s allergy policies, packing safe lunches, and empowering him/her to take responsibility for his allergy. You will also discover: Food Allergies for Dummies also provides an in-depth chapter on peanut allergy and how to spot traces of peanut in your food. With this book, you will feel safer and more comfortable while you eat. And, with plenty of helpful resources such as Web sites and allergy-friendly recipes, you’ll hardly have to worry about your diet!

Genres: Health, Cookbooks, Ebooks

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into the book with certain goals: (1) learn alternative names for products, (2) learn what I have to do to keep kissing safe for my boyfriend, (3) learn if and how I could cook dinner for him in my kitchen, where my roommates would never give up his allergens.

This book is really aimed for parents of children with food allergies. It does have some helpful information for adults (e.g. the semi-good description of learning how to eat out - really hard) but it is not very easy to navigate if you want to just read specific chapters. If I really wanted to learn and study the whole thing, I bet I would have learned more and a fair amount (he explains allergies, gives lots of advice in finding the right professionals and care, etc.). However, with my dyslexia, busy life (like seeing food allergy boyfriend amongst, well, living), and the looming library deadline, I was not in a position to read this book from cover to cover.

So the best way to evaluate this book is how I accomplished my goals and was I enticed to read anything extra. First the allergen-contaminated kitchen or shared kitchen, I found that section to be fairly thorough and easy to navigate. It was so informative, I managed to write not only details notes but also a question list for food prep for places I would like to take him (restaurants, hotels, I even asked a "no allergies allowed" if it was just a legal thing and couldn't you follow these 5 simple rules for the class? With a release due to the troubles with other students, they could) and a cheat sheet for any time friends want to have us over. I revamped my kitchen (I only replaced a cutting board and 1 mixer, but everyone agreed I was overly paranoid about my immersion blender and may have been using that as an excuse for a new one). I am pretty confident that I can cook for him in my kitchen.

How do I kiss him? There is a small few paragraphs in the section on teaching your teenagers to slowly take over responsibility for their allergies. Now, I will grant him that there are a lot of differences in allergies so it is hard to come up with rules for everyone, this individual section is lacking. I may have gleaned more information if I read the entire thing. However, this section mostly just explained that teens will have to learn to ask (duh) and was insufficient for my desire to tell him one day "I know I must avoid the food for X and I want you to know I am, so this can be about when we're ready, not when you've trained me enough." Nope, I had to flat out tell him I was worried and I got this book, which did not help enough. Thankfully, he was touched that I put forth so much effort to keep him safe (and, let's face it, who isn't flattered that clearly a girl wants to kiss you?) and we kissed that evening, but it was from his explanation, not the book.

He once sent me a partial list of names of ingredients to avoid in an email rant on why he couldn't join my favourite cooking club with me, where he complained no one would would know these things. After searching the entire book, the only place I found alternative names was the cheat sheet in the front (which, as a library book, was tentatively taped back in). Then I compared that list to terms included in boyfriend's partial and there was plenty lacking from the book (I trust my boyfriend as he is in pharmaceuticals and works in chemistry review, so he is very familiar with chemical and protein names - and it is the protein people are allergic to). I still copied the list for assistance, and because it can be a starting point for those I am not as close with to avoid their allergies (a friend recent revealed a soy allergy that normally was not an issue with the stuff we eat). However, I would ask for a more expansive list from the immunologist.

I sound down on the book, but I do think it was a good resource. I did end up reading sections I had not gone searching for and learned extra information (like it is more than the grease that makes him love McDonald's and other fast food restaurants). I actually think it would be a great book to buy when your child is diagnosed, and you have too much information coming at you to remember it the once you are told. I just think it will need to be supplemented on occasion.

And I have yet to try the recipes, but I copied them out before returning the library book, along with the suggestions for substitutions.

Overall, it is a great starting point but I think you will end up adding more to your library.

EDIT: The rules I gleaned from this book worked well. I cooked for allergic boyfriend many times in my shared kitchen and never triggered or killed him. Unfortunately. Might have been helpful if I had. (See Beverley Engel).

[Anne Zavell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concise guide shows you how to identify and avoid food that triggers reactions. This guide covers how to care for a child with food allergies, such as getting involved with his/her school's allergy policies, packing safe lunches, and empowering him/her to take responsibility for his allergy. You will also discover: The signs and symptoms of food allergiesHow to determine the severity of your allergyWays to eat out and travel with allergiesHow to create your own avoidance dietWays to enjoy your meal without allergic symptomsHow to prevent food allergies from affecting your childThe latest research being done to treat food allergies

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely helpful. I learned the details of food allergies from not only a doctor's perspective but from someone who has lived their whole life with a life threatening allergy. Dr. Wood explains things in a way that are easy to understand. He also writes about what is or isn't helpful as far as treating food allergies and practical tips on how to live with it. The book contains as well some great recipes. It had a section about preschool and school which was really helpful to me as I have school age children.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is useful to the person beginning their quest for information on food allergies. I don't recommend the Nook version, as you can't read or print out cheat sheets and other valuable figures from the book. As an adult that just discovered she has food allergies I was dismayed by the huge amount of pages dedicated to children with food allergies, such as what to do at school, cafeteria, camps, etc. I'd say about 60% of the book was useful.

[Kate Krier · Rating 5 out of 5]

FINALLY! An allergy book that is written in plain English! LOVED it.

[Elizabeth]

I am finding this a bit tedious but still full of information

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best food allergy book I've read so far. It makes it all less scary, seemingly manageable, and simultaneously motivating since the author has severe allergies himself. ....He has great anecdotes!

[Lisa Geddes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great source of information for those whom have or know people with food allergies, some very useful recipes in the back!