Reality Show on Food Allergies

The next two videos from Children's Hospital in Boston are in. My heart skips a beat every time I watch one of these because I think "Oh, we're getting close. We're getting closer to finding a cure!"

In this video installment, Ming Tsai, chef and owner of Massachusetts restaurant, Blue Ginger, and father of a son with food allergies talks about life with food allergies at home and at work.

He talks about "what a pain in the rear it is to travel with food allergies".

Yup, we can relate.

He also talks about how eating in restaurants is an important part of every child's life and that's why he has made a committment to create a safe restaurant. "I have moms crying tears of happiness when they watch their food allergic children eat a safe meal in my restaurant," Tsai says.

I know, priceless...

The second video is a trip to Brett's school during Food Allergy Awareness week. Brett is the boy who is participating in the milk allergy study at Children's. He educated his classmates and raised money for food allergy research. What a great idea to hold a gum and hat day!

The big reveal is in an upcoming video. Was the milk study successful for Brett. Will this dairy allergic child be able to eat dairy? This is one reality show I don't want to miss.

Stay tuned...

Food Allergy Twitter Party This Friday

Have you attended a food allergy Twitter party yet? They're fast, furious and fun. The next event is this Friday, October 2, from 9:30-10:30 PM, Eastern time (EST). Friday night's theme is everything Halloween. Come with your questions and your favorite Halloween tips. Here's what you need to do to get into this social event of the year:

Sign up for a Twitter account if you don't have one. It's free.
Register for the party.
Friday night at 9:30 PM EST go to Summize and type in "#foodallergy". Then click the search button. This will take you right to the party. Another way in is through Tweetgrid or Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck needs some advance plannning as it needs to be downloaded.
During the party, use the hashtag "#foodallergy" whenever you type something. That ensures your comments will be seen by others in the party.

Got it? Any questions?

Thanks to Jennifer B. and Ruth for hosting the grand bash.

Hope to see you Friday night!

Anti-Viral Medications for the Flu

There are two anti-viral medications that are used to treat both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 strain. Relenza® is an inhaled medication that has caused issues in some people with asthma. Relenza® does contain lactose from dairy. Talk to your doctor if there is a dairy allergy diagnosis. Tamiflu is an oral medication used to treat the flu. It does contain corn starch and gelatin.

Check out the ingredients in both medications before you or your child may need them.

iPhone App for Gluten Free

I don't own an iPhone, but I can't help being amazed by all the useful apps users can get. There are applications for working out, traveling, making dinner and managing your money. We're talking thousands of apps.

Now, for those who need to avoid gluten, ZEER has announced the glutenScan app. For a monthly fee, subscribers can get help with grocery shopping, while grocery shopping. Simply by typing in a name or UPC number, users get information about whether a product contains gluten. It even recommends gluten-free alternatives.

Now, if they would only come up with an app that does my work-out, handles the grocery shopping and makes my meals...

I can dream.

Monday Review: Earth Balance

This Monday Review is sponsored by Earth Balance natural spreads.

Finding a "non-dairy butter" for baking and spreading is no easy feat. It was important to me to find something our entire family liked. As a matter of fact, I wanted a product that would fool everyone. My non-dairy chocolate chip cookies needed to taste just as good as anyone's cookies. The butter on my table for our dinner rolls needed to taste just like any other butter. Our non-dairy butter would be my little secret.

Well, I found the right product and I can't keep it a secret. I've used Earth Balance spread for years, ever since my son outgrew his soy allergy. Our local grocery store just recently began carrying Earth Balance sticks. This gives me another option in baking*. And now, Earth Balance has come out with a soy-free version of their spread. I've never been able to recommend a soy-free, dairy-free butter alternative. Until now. It's arrived and it tastes good. No wonder it got the 2009 Best Chef's Taste Award.

Check out all the Earth Balance products as well as some great recipes.

*Fleischman's Unsalted sticks are also dairy-free.

Guidelines for H1N1 Vaccine and Egg Allergy

Egg Allergy

The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology has come out with their guidelines regarding H1N1 vaccine and those with egg allergy.

I'm really torn about how to proceed with this. My son recently underwent an egg challenge in the allergist's office. It was not successful. Looking over the AAAAI guidelines, it appears that he would need several skin pricks (which he hates) and then if we proceed, he may require 5 vaccines at 15 minute intervals. If a medical issue arises, we face a shot of epinephrine and perhaps inhaled steroids. Ugh!

And that's just the H1N1 vaccine. This whole procedure is repeated for the seasonal flu vaccine. For the past few years, the rest of the family has received the seasonal flu vaccine. I get mine this afternoon. Our egg allergic son has not gotten the vaccine. Swine flu makes me more nervous.

What are the rest of you with egg allergies or egg allergic children doing? I know that I need to contact our allergist, but I'm not sure we want to go down the road that will be recommended...

Children's Hospital in Boston

I recently posted videos from Children's Hospital in Boston where they are conducting a milk desensitization study. The latest installment is a grocery shopping trip with the mother of 11 year old Brett who is participating in the study. Brett has 15 different food allergies, his brother has 16- Yikes! People often say to me, "How do make food without dairy, nuts and eggs?". I've gotten to the point where it's pretty easy to avoid those foods, but when I hear about people needing to avoiding beef, chicken, turkey, nuts, eggs, soy, and so on...well, wow! Where do you begin to find good protein sources with all those restrictions?

The shopping trip shown in the video takes place at a Whole Foods Market. Take a look, you may learn a few things. I learned that Rice Dream®, a non-dairy alternative to cow's milk, contains barley which would be unsafe for celiacs and others. Who knew?

Food Allergy Family Fun Event and Expo

North Wales, PA, just outside of Philadelphia was the location for a fantastic event for families with food allergies. Yesterday's Expo featured singer Kyle Dine along with vendors, raffles, coupons and lots of free allergy friendly food. The highlight of my experience was watching my food allergic son and his non-food allergic sister enjoying chocolate lollipops they got from Premium Chocolatiers. Priceless. It felt so freeing to move among vendors where our WHOLE family could enjoy the samplings.

Some of the vendors we visited yesterday:

Whole Foods

Enjoy Life

Cherrybrook Kitchens

AllergyFree Foods

Pamela's Products

Sunbutter

Cookies for Me?

So Delicious Frozen Desserts

Angels in the Kitchen (e-mail: angelsinthekitchen@hotmail.com)

I.M. Healthy Soynut Butter

EpiPen®

Twinject®


A HUGE congratulations to Kids With Food Allergies for putting this event together. Great job!

Food Allergy: Truths and Lies

A post on Food Allergy Buzz got me thinking about common misunderstandings about food allergies. It's up to the food allergy community to set the record straight. I wrote an article for Suite 101, Food Allergy Myths.

Did I get it right? Did I miss any?

We can work together to get the right messages out there.

Flu Vaccine- Get it or Not- That is the Question

The flu vaccines have hit doctor's offices in our area. This is the seasonal flu, not swine flu or H1N1. The H1N1 vaccine is expected in limited quantities in the US in mid-October with more vaccine available each week. There is still discussion about how many H1N1 shots will be recommended in the US.

It's a personal decision whether to get the vaccine- seasonal or H1N1. Parents will also need to decide what is best for their children. Remember that both vaccines are cultured in chicken egg. Those with egg allergies should talk to their allergist about the possibility of getting the flu vaccine in slowly increasing amounts to avoid an allergic reaction.

Kyle Dine Tour Dates

I've posted about Kyle Dine before. He wries music about food allergies. Seriously. Have you heard "Epi-Man"? Hilarious!

He's coming to Philly Sept. 13 and our family is going to his concert. Check out his other tour dates to see if he'll be near your hometown.

Kids With Food Allergies is sponsoring the Sept. 12 event. Should be great fun!

Use Expired Epi-Pens®

Show Grandma, new classroom teacher, soccer coach, or scout leader how to use an Epi-Pen®. Use those expired pens and demonstrate (or better yet, let someone else try) how to discharge the unit in a lemon, orange or grapefruit. After carefully inserting the Epi-Pen®- needle end first- into it's storage tube, drop it off at your allergist's or family doctor's office for proper disposal.

Do a little gratitude dance that the Epi-Pen® didn't have to be used to treat an allergic reaction and pat yourself on the back for teaching someone else to use it.