Intolerances for Food
Hello fellow sufferers. I believe my intolerances are as bad as many an allergy. Apart from medicines, I have two main food problems soya and lactose i.e. all milk products from cows and goats. It took years of suffering before I realised my problem when my doctor was actually visiting as everying swam around and around at that time. This past week I got caught out again and I thought I had got all things nailed. In a public house - I am English - I had a dessert of blackberry and apple crumble and as the custard was off for me, it was suggested the ice cream was okay ... oh Nooooo it certainly was not and after many hours I developed the ultra hot feeling, tummy pains and bathroom rush. This lasted several hours and once over the worse, I was exhausted. I find the reaction can commence just minutes or maybe 24 hours later! I learned that it was an intolerance when I was the sweet age of 61 after a few years of suffering and I am now 92. I have learned that I can eat most cakes and biscuits but avoid any cream with them, In those days, I could eat goats cheese and I have always been a lover of cheese. These days, many items are offered "free from" but you need to read the ingredients carefully - glace is usually soya based etc. Restaurants and pubs are getting a little more conscious of us with intolerances but sadly only offer a limited menu for us. If I can help in any way, please respond. Ann
Dairy is a killer allergy. So many allergies are adult onset as our food gets more and more distorted from what nature intended for us to eat.
I completely agree. Navigating a dairy allergy is so challenging, especially when it's adult-onset. It’s tough when you're suddenly forced to be a detective about everything you eat. Sending thoughts your way. Erin (team member)
Hi,
(Ann)!
I know I replied to a previous comment you made about your experience at a public house, but I thought I would pop in here as well. I do hope you get some feedback from other community members with some helpful suggestions. I wanted to share some articles written by our health leaders on the topic of eating out with food allergies. I hope you are able to glean some possible ideas to try so you can eat out with less fear of adverse reactions. Here's one that is a little more geared towards individuals with life threatening allergies, but I wanted to include it, just in case you might find it helpful -- https://allergies.net/living/chef-card. And here's one that have some more tips that you can consider -- https://allergies.net/food/dining-out. Some of the best advice I have come across is to plan ahead and to maybe find some tried and true restaurants and go to those as much as possible. Read the menus online ahead of time (this may not be as easy with small mom-and-pop type establishments) or even talk to the kitchen staff. All of these tips work better when you can do these things ahead of time or when a restaurant is not super busy. And, while this article is geared towards eating gluten free, I found her suggestions helpful for other food allergies -- https://allergies.net/living/restaurant-gluten. The best you can do is plan ahead and communicate with the staff. Some of it is up to trusting the restaurant and I know that didn't work out so well for you on this most recent dining out experience.
Again, I hope you get more helpful suggestions and that your nnext dining out experience is much more enjoyable!
Best, Erin, Team Member.Thank you so much for your data dear sufferer. I remember a year or two ago, when family took me out on a surprise visit to the Cotswold villages. Such a beautiful place to be and many tourists were there. Beforehand, they checked out various eating places for my soya and lactose free meals and one did this. However, when we went there, they double checked and found that the person answering our phone call had been lying and at best guessing and so we went to numerous places but finally found a hotel who gave me boiled ptatoes with fish, When I think of it, I wonder why so many establishments had such chefs who could not put a few items together for the likes of me. Makes one wonder what qualifications they actually had.
This week, I dined out with family after having my COVID jab and the same public house group offered the same soya and lactose free meals - to where we usually went - but my family made yet another alternativ suggestion which meant Chef putting together sea bass, baby new potatoes with brocolli and green beans =- no fancy butter for me of course. I wondered why Chef had not included such in his selection - it only takes a little imagination and I have to do this when shopping all the time.
I hope other members here may take up my family's idea and suggest a menue suitable, but they must bear in mind that fried food often is fried in oil containing soya. Gravy also. Best wishes to you and all fellow sufferers. Ann(Ann), this is a great idea! You think chefs would just have a couple recipes like this kind of on stand by just for situations like yours. But, I am glad your family has no trouble advocating for you and offering solutions. I know you are quite capable of handling this on your own, but it can be exhausting to always have to speak up for yourself and it's nice when someone who cares can take the lead on occasion.
Thanks for sharing this!
Best, Erin, Team Member.
