It seems that many of us these days are find that we have intolerances to certain foods or perhaps even allergies. If you look around your family or people that you know, I bet there are a handful of people that avoid dairy or things like gluten and nuts. Though the causes of these can’t always be identified, we need to be more wary of what living with a food intolerance is like. So if you think you might have the signs of a food intolerance or have a family member that does, then you need to be clued up. It can feel overwhelming to start with, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few ways to cope and get on with living a normal life.
Avoid Processed Foods
Where possible, it is best to start avoiding buying processed foods. Quite often they will be filled with various other things that don’t need to be on there. When you are having to start checking labels all of the time it can get tedious and irritating. So start cooking your own meals and snacks as much as possible. It makes it easy to know what is in the ingredients and you won’t find nasties like you would in processed foods. There can be added wheat and dairy in a lot of things. Even in things that you didn’t even think would contain them!
Find Safe Recipes
It might seem like you are forever checking labels. So when you embark on cooking from scratch, it is a good idea to gather up a collection of safe recipes. Recipes that you know you will enjoy and ones that are completely safe for you to eat. Then it can make the whole cooking from scratch thing much easier when you don’t have to think about it as much. For example, you could find a collection of pancake recipes that contain safe ingredients, such as being made from sweet potato or use nut milk instead of cow’s milk. The same could go for pasta dishes, breakfast ideas and snacks and desserts. It will take the stress out of having an intolerance or allergy when you spend the time to gather up recipes that will work for you.
Dine Out With Caution
We all like to eat out from time to time, right? But with an allergy or intolerance, it can be much trickier. You don’t want to avoid it altogether, though. You just need to be sensible and use caution when ordering. These days restaurants will have lists of the allergens that are in their foods. So ask to see it and speak to your server. If you are unsure, then don’t risk it. Choose something that you know will be fine, such as a soup or salad.
Make an Action Plan
You and the people around you, need to know what to do in case of an emergency. So having an action plan is a good idea. Do you carry an EpiPen? If you don’t, what should you or someone else do if you have a shock or reaction? Answer those questions now to save time later.
Tyler Meredith
Wednesday 8th of March 2017
I like what this article recommends about avoiding processed foods. It makes sense that even when dining out if you avoid processed foods you'll have an easier time knowing what the ingredients are. It's something to keep in mind when going out to eat with my wife because she has a lot of food allergies we need to be mindful of.