Food Allergies

[lcrider]

I would like to start a forem for those folks that have food allergies. I am celiac and it can be a challenge. My captain had devised a system aboard for those who suffer food allergies. any takers?

[Talbot]

I am not officially a coeliac (note UK spelling difference!) because I had avoided glueten and dairy for four years before the doctor decided I should be tested! Following a low antibody reading, the recomendation was that I should stuff on gluten and dairy before being retested - I decided I just would not bother with a re-test

In Europe, the shops have significantly increased their sales (and their selections) over the last decade, and resources on the net as well.

Recommend for recipes

Coeliac UK

[Deck Scrubber]

Due to surgery gone wrong around 10 years ago i can not have anything with nut and Garlic.... makes it really hard.

[ClearHorizons]

Great idea - I have a wheat allergy and I am worried that when we start traveling on our boat that it will be a problem. Fortunately in Australia, there is a large selection now in the shops of Gluten Free foods so I was considering stocking up and then having food shipped out if I can't find appropriate food. I would welcome knowing where it is easy to find and where I will have problems. Also any good recipes would be welcomed!

[lcrider]

So Deck scrubber do you wear a bracelet indicating peanut allergies? My captain is an allergist and had his patients wear the bracelets and carry the epi pens when ordering food. Celiac isn't dramatic like peanut allergies. The after effect are difficult and until you recover, lets just say you need access to the head until symptom quite down and your insides heal.

When I order a meal out in American Samoa , I tell the wait person that I can't have flour or soy sauce, Then I go on to say I can't have anything that contains wheat products.

Sometimes it is a leap of faith to go out and eat.

I have been going through the pantry and have put check marks on gluten free supplies. I write gluten on those products that have gluten in them.

i was surprised that a salt mix had gluten in it. Also check for gluten in pre packaged potatoes. Some mixture have wheat in them. I brought aboard my own gluten free soy sauce

When we provision the boat, label reading is a must.

I have been crewing on a sailing vessel and going to extend my stay.

I am going home for three week. I will buy many products that are gluten free (like soy sauce and pancake mix) to provision the boat for extended traveling. I have learned that I need to freeze grains and vacuum wrapped them. I believe that gf pasta will rare and very expensive in some of the port of calls

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Good topic.

While I'm not allergic to any food item (that I've found out so far), I have heard of some interesting ones. I remember when I was a kid, nothing was ever heard about allergies to nuts and now it's everywhere.

While I was in Afghanistan in 2010, I met someone who is allergic to honey and another person allergic to carrots. My step-mom is allergic to Monosodium Glutamat (MSG) and Dill (both of which, deathly allergic).

There's others I've heard of recently but these are the ones I could think of.

[Deck Scrubber]

no it's more an intolerance than allergy. I get severe pain...which I could end up in hospital after eating either of these....i've lived with it a long time now.

[lcrider]

Clear Horizon...Yeah I am not alone. It is tricky reading all the labels I would really provision up things like soy sauce and things to marinade. I think you are SOL to find gf bread I am going to have look like medic bracelet made when I go home Be sure and have enough of you gf supplements aboard as well
In American Samoa, we found rice noodle very reasonable priced. Rice is readily available but you need a break. Also, freeze left over rice and it will be ready to pull out for meals I eat rice also daily for breakfast, cheaper than cereral. I carry snacks in my bag as well. I have powdered rice milk ordered as well I can't have dairy if I have had an outbreak. I use rice milk, soy milk and almond milk for coffee and cereal.

[forsailbyowner]

some interesting reading and recipes can be found here,

Breaking the Vicious Cycle - The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

and here

pecanbread.com

[boden36]

I am wheat allergic and recently spent 6 weeks travelling through non english speaking countries. In each country I typed a message using my laptop outlining what I could eat and not eat and then translated it into the appropriate language with Google.
At each restaurant it was shown to the waitstaff and worked like a charm.
Regards,
Richard

[webejammin]

I have lots of alergies : all grains except refined bleached white wheat (pastries ) , all nuts except cashues, all vegitables and beans except aspargus,potatoes that's it.
I can eat all the red meat I want and have low cholesterol, I can have true cod it's the hightest in cholestrol.

[olaf hart]

Lets be specific.
Most of the examples so far are food sensitivities, not allergies.
Allergies lead to rashes, asthma, and angioneurotic oedema ( swollen throat and face)
such as those reactions due to peanuts.
They sometimes require immediate, urgent treatment.
Food sensitivities lead to malabsorption, gut symptoms, or headaches and blocked noses with dietary amines.
They are not emergencies.

[sailcruiser]

Our boat is a MSG free zone as well as shellfish. The MSG is an intolerance causing miserable cluster migraines. The shellfish allergy is a deadly one for both of us. I've had an anaphylactic reaction to food prepared on the same surface as shellfish and wasn't cleaned properly. I always have several epi pens, benedryl and corticosteroids on hand. This allergy is present on my bracelet that never comes off. I am fortunate my allergies are pretty easily managed. My risk is more eating out and MRIs. And yes the bracelets are worthwhile IMHO.

My nephew is allergic to almost everything. Dairy, wheat, barley, eggs, nuts and a laundry list of other things that is effectively a full time job for his mom to keep him fed with quality nutrition and healthy. I hope they figure out what has caused this sudden avalanche of allergy patients. I don't remember a single child when I was in school having a peanut allergy. Now one generation later there seems to have been an explosion of new cases. One theory I read was that we have become too clean as a society. It will be interesting if they ever figure it out.

If I had a crew member with these specific needs I would allocate space in a particular area labeled for that persons' provision as well as mark clearly any products that we're a danger to said crew. I can't imagine trying to provision in a foreign country having to read labels. Yikes! SC

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by olaf hart

Lets be specific.
Most of the examples so far are food sensitivities, not allergies.
Allergies lead to rashes, asthma, and angioneurotic oedema ( swollen throat and face)
such as those reactions due to peanuts.
They sometimes require immediate, urgent treatment.
Food sensitivities lead to malabsorption, gut symptoms, or headaches and blocked noses with dietary amines.
They are not emergencies.

So how do you explain me ending up in hospital in an emergency admission?

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Talbot

So how do you explain me ending up in hospital in an emergency admission?

Talbot, if I understood Olaf correctly he was just clarifying the difference between an intolerance or sensitivity and an allergic reaction that can take your life in minutes.

I don't think he was minimizing your issues so much as trying to be accurate with wording. I would guess he's in the medical field or quite familiar with it. The term allergy is over used from hay fever to anaphylactic shock. Allergies are generally an oh shpoopt kind of scenario where 5 minutes later you may be dead and everything else is an intolerance or sensitivity.

Ive never known Celiac to be an immediately life threatening allergy ( as defined above) have you? I've always seen it referred to as an intolerance. I'm not saying they may not need the supportive care of a hospital after exposure but not so severe that death is imminent without intervention in the next 5 minutes.

To put this in a real life sample my nephew will go into anaphylactic shock eating peanut butter with his allergy to peanuts. When he is around a dog or cat he gets hives, mucous, needs a nebulizer and Benadryl. That I believe is what Olaf refers to as an intolerance.

Does this make sense? SC