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food intolerances

The Elimination Diet Workbook GIVEAWAY

July 30, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 30 Comments

The Elimination Diet Workbook Giveaway

Yesterday I wrote about allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. There is often confusion, dare I say frustration and misunderstanding when it comes to this world. Yes, those living with food allergies (and intolerances) often feel like they are in their own world that doesn’t make sense to those on outside.

food allergies food intolerances and food sensitivitiesBecause we live in that world I am always on the lookout for information and products that make living with food allergies easier. When I find things I like I try to tell you about it. I spend way too much time reading books, researching lunch boxes and medical ID bracelets along with lots of other items. If you find good stuff feel free to email me about it.

One of my recent discoveries is The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies by Maggie Moon. I was given a free copy to review and a copy to giveaway.

The Elimination Diet Workbook

This Book Is Not For

This book is not for someone who has experienced anaphylaxis or children! It does not cure food allergies but it can help you understand which foods may be making you sick. The author strongly encourages people to seek medical guidance and use this to supplement information from their doctor.

Allergies and Intolerances

I learned a lot about food allergies from this book. It goes into a lot of detail on the common food allergies (think big 8 plus nickel, corn, banana/latex) and food intolerances that I wasn’t really familiar with like sulfites, benzoates, tartrazine, monosodium glutamate, lactose, and others. Each item discussed is written as a stand-alone section (within a chapter) explaining the allergen and how and where you would come into contact with it, what typical reactions could look like, how to diagnose an allergy or intolerance, and how to get the nutrients you could be missing after eliminating the offending food.

The Elimination Diet

The book walks you through how to prepare for an elimination diet and helps you determine what type of elimination diet is right for you. It’s important not to rush the process. As you eliminate foods then later add them back in you should be able to get a clear picture of which foods are causing problems.

For example, I noticed when I would eat Italian food I would feel bad. Headaches, achy joints, and other random symptoms. I assumed I had a problem with wheat, after all my son had a known wheat allergy. I later learned that I have an intolerance to basil (among other things). Since I would eat wheat pasta and basil together I blamed the wheat without thinking about the basil. By eliminating wheat and still experiencing the same symptoms I can deduce that wheat wasn’t the problem.

Meal Plans and Recipes

This book stresses the importance of meal planning. You know I completely agree the Meal Planning is important and everyone can benefit from it.

They try to make it easy for you by including meal plans (and recipes) you can follow but they include a lot of meat and would not work for us. Since I’m a Meal Planning Extraordinaire (self-proclaimed) I can create a Meal Plan that would work for me but you may need a little help if you are a meal planning novice.

Helpful Tips and Worksheets

There is also a lot of helpful information to help you avoid foods that make you sick. For example, if you need to avoid corn this book has two pages of foods that may contain corn including cough drops, luncheon meats, spaghetti sauce, etc.

The Elimination Diet Workbook takes a lot of the guess-work out of navigating an elimination diet to discover food allergies. I think it is a great first step for those who have experience chronic systems with no known cause.

Win a Copy

You can win a free copy of The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies by entering this Rafflecopter Giveaway. This is open to residents in US and Canada. The winner will be notified by email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am not a medical professional and do not give medical advice. Seek help from a medical professional if you are ill.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to review. This page may contain affiliate links.

Filed Under: Allergies Tagged With: allergies, elimination diet, food allergies, food intolerances, food sensitives, Giveaway

Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities

July 29, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 5 Comments

food allergies food intolerances and food sensitivities

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, hives, eczema, digestive issues, painful joints, chronic headaches, reoccurring ear infections or a host of other issues you could have food allergies, food intolerances or food sensitivities.

food allergies food intolerances and food sensitivities

Food Allergies, Food Intolerances, and Food Sensitivities

Food Allergies are characterized by an abnormal or inappropriate response to specific foods that are triggered by the immune system. These range from mild responses to life threatening anaphylaxis. Food allergies can only be managed by avoiding the food.

Food Intolerances are generally less severe than food allergies but can cause similar symptoms. Typically food intolerances are thought to cause mostly digestive issues. Food intolerances are often related to the amount of food eaten. For example someone with a wheat intolerance may be able to eat a cookies but would become sick from a large bowl of pasta.

Food Sensitivities means a person has a negative reaction to a food but that reaction could vary with each exposure. Food sensitivities are largely misunderstood. Food intolerances and food sensitivities are usually grouped together.

Aren’t They the Same Thing?

People often use the terms food allergy, food intolerance and food sensitivity interchangeably.  Many people in the food allergy community get very upset if people say allergy instead of intolerance. While I understand that they are different I don’t get upset. I have a dairy intolerance, if I eat something that contains a lot of hidden dairy I could be in severe pain for days. Dairy won’t kill me but it will cause serious joint pain that will prevent me from taking care of my kids.

If you suspect a food allergy or intolerance it’s important to find a doctor and/or an allergist who can help you learn the extent of your issues. Medical professionals often take food allergies seriously but not all understand or believe in food intolerance. It’s important to find a doctor that will listen to you and help you make sense of your symptoms.

The Giveaway

Tomorrow I’ll have a very special giveaway for The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies. If you have a lingering feeling something in your diet may be making you sick check back for my full review and your chance to win your own copy.

If you are interested in allergy-friendly recipes check out my Recipe Page! All recipes are dairy and egg-free. Most recipes are wheat and nut-free as well.

Top 8 Allergen-Free Cookbook

Don’t forget that the Top 8 Allergen-Free Cookbook is available for only $2.99 for a very limited time. All proceeds will benefit Gabriel Schock who is at Mayo Clinic due to food allergies. This book contains 40 delicious recipes!

You can also read more about my son’s Adventure in Allergies. We see an allergist on Thursday so I’m sure we will be updating it soon.

Do you (or someone in your family) deal with food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities?

This post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Allergies Tagged With: allergies, food allergies, food intolerances, food sensitivites

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