Why do children suffer with life-threatening food allergies? What's the purpose, the reason, the big picture? Why does my son have to deal with this? Why does my whole family have to deal with this? The 'why' questions can drive you straight to insanity if you linger there too long. The truth is that we [...]
Valentine’s Day is an entire day set aside for expressing your love for others. It’s a day of showing appreciation, love, and sometimes a little romance. For twenty-four hours, we set out to spread happiness and cheer in the lives of our loved ones. What could be bad about that? For someone with food allergies, [...]
Winter is a tough season for our food allergy family. Coming off the heels of multiple food-centered celebrations, we are literally exhausted. With only a few weeks of breathing room between the two seasons, our family needed a break!
Fundraisers often involve 5K runs or being held in "jail" until you raise enough funds to be released. Recently, I came across a fundraiser (the Top 10 Challenge) for food allergy research funding that was quite different. Instead of the usual 5K, the participant is to avoid food allergens for one meal or for one [...]
In 2006, "top eight" allergen labeling became mandated by the United States Food and Drug Administration in all packaged foods manufactured and marketed in the US. The top eight food allergens are milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans. At that time it became easier for consumers to identify what packaged foods [...]
Holidays can take a food allergy sufferer and their family to a whole new level of anxiety. A time that is meant to be joyous and festive is wrapped in fear, trepidation and discomfort for food allergy families. For us, food centered gatherings are no time to relax and enjoy the company of friends and [...]
Food allergies isolate children and their families. That's the truth. It's painful, difficult and defeating all in the same moment. Those are pretty powerful emotions for a child or adult to feel in one concentrated burst, often daily. Children with food allergies have a difficult time participating in all the activities that other children take [...]
Imagine you walk into a room at one of your favorite places, maybe a restaurant in which you've enjoyed many meals or a park at which you've spent many afternoons daydreaming. You notice that this time your favorite place is different. Something feels off...it feels dangerous. You look around trying to identify what is different. [...]
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