Food Intolerances.

[Grauntie Mag]

Moaning Minnie here again. I would just like to know how you handle other people's food intolerances. The reason being I have recently discovered that wheat is a cause of certain symptoms which make me feel rotten.
I have been lactose intolerant for donkey's years and when out I have lemon tea or similar. It's not too bad if I have a little butter or a very small amount of cheese, I can deal with the effects, but milk, cream, yoghurt or ice cream crucify me.



Why oh why is this so hard for my friends to deal with? I have been out this afternoon and been served with Belgian buns, black tea you could stand a spoon up in. This friend buys in gluten free for another friend and dairy free for her daughter. Two other friends completely ignore us awkward people and we are offered nothing to eat at all while others eat cake and I find it hard to believe they don't have a lemon!
I have decided I will take my own lemon slices when I go out and a packet of GF biscuits. It's a jolly good job I'm not a vegetarian.
I don't find it difficult to feed myself or anyone else with food intolerances, there is so much choice in any supermarket.
I apologise for the rant, but I am fed up (ha!) with being made to feel I'm being difficult.

[Nana]

Slightly off on a tangent but DD2 is currently trying out different milk as her baby is Dairy intolerant. He's been on Soya milk for two days & she says he's in agony. At least we can understand as adults but that poor little soul has no idea why his tummy is hurting so much. Grauntie, I'd take my own supplies too.

[Oma]

I am allergic to shell fish molluscs and certain fish but im also intolerant to cucumber skin , Bananas , spring onions , .i just take cucumber out if in a sandwich or take spring onion out of salads and avoid Bananas although i love them i would be in agony if i had even a tiny bit , I have epipens for my shell fish allergy but the amount of times people have said for instance if its a prawn salad ,well can you not just eat around them !!! NO its cross contamination i cant even touch them i would be in trouble within minutes . lots of people just dont understand your needs do they

[Daisy]

GM - I sympathise! My GS1 is on a diary- and gluten-free diet and has been since he was 3. The hardest thing is eating out because half the time cafes and restaurants don't even know what goes into their food, ie it's not prepared from fresh on the premises. He also has to avoid most E numbers and I once read through every ingredient on every ice lolly at a children's attraction, trying to find something he could have. A glass of water was the only choice! He's now 12, and if he's going to a friends or anything like that, Mum sends food with him, and he's very good about checking if he's not sure about something.

It takes time for people to really take on board the fact that you really can't have certain things, and even then they often say 'well, just a bit won't hurt, surely' or as Oma says 'can't you just leave those bits'. I think things re slowly getting better and more people are aware of food allergies and intolerances - but there's a way to go yet!

[Mimi]

Grauntie Mag I know how you feel.
When DD was born we had no end of problems with her, she wasn't so much intolerance of certain foods but allergic to almost everything. ! You name it she had problems with it from mild reactions to cats, dogs, bananas, tomatoes to more serious ones like any sort of vaccine and the most serious of all nuts ! She went into anaphylactic shock after eating a nut and consequently her whole eating habit became very serious. There was no school meals for her she had to have packed lunch. The children in her class were told they were not to share any of their food with her. Christmas and birthday parties were interesting, she must have been the only child to take her own food and drink to parties she had been invited to.
I do understand how you feel , you would think friends would be more understanding and considerate to your needs . I was labeled a fussy mum when it came to my DDs diet back then (1980s) but now I think there is more awareness of food allergies and intolerance around and so your friends have no excuse not to be more thoughtful .

[Elisi]

I have many food intolerances which set off gout. This is a very painful and disabling condition and I cannot walk for up to two weeks if I get it. I have to avoid all shell fish, molluscs, peanuts and peanut butter, anchovies, liver, kidney, stout, or beer, and quite a few more. I've had this since 2007 and I've had to learn to be upfront about it and study menus very carefully if out. My family understand it now, although sometimes my friends don't, and I can't blame them as why should they remember? So if going to see a pal, I always send an email saying with a bit of a giggle what I can't eat, and that clears the way.

[ZIZI]

Oma I also cannot eat cucumber skin. I thought I was the only one! I can eat cucumber if it is peeled though. I have IBS and have a range of things that will set me off. I love bananas and sometimes I can eat them but they have to be very firm, if they are anywhere near soft they will upset my tum. Sometimes I will have an attack when I had eaten or even drunk something which has never affected me before. The other day for instance I bought a small can of low cal fizzy orange, not something that would normally upset me but fifteen minutes later I was grateful to be home, if you know what I mean........

[Grauntie Mag]

Hmmm. Very interesting. It must be so hard with children with allergies and intolerances. I have a friend who is alergic to any part of an egg. Even touching the shell has dire results. We went to a dinner once and although she had phoned ahead, her pastry had been brushed with a brush that had been dipped in egg previously and not washed properly. The result was instant and she was ill for a few days after. She is also a gluten free person now and tends to have supplies in her bag just in case.

[Nanto2girls]

My sister in law is on a gluten free diet.She was diagnosed with coeliac disease about 3/4 years ago. It was difficult for her when first diagnosed, but she has got used to it now.
I always make sure mam and dad have got some gluten free cake/biscuits in, so sister in law can have something when we have a cuppa.
If relatives are coming to visit parents, I make a buffet,and keep the gluten free stuff separate and stick a label on.Sister in law says, there are more items in supermarkets now that she can have, so she doesn't feel as though she is missing out.

[Oma]

Zizi I'm ok with cucumber as long as it's peeled too isn't it strange and I can eat spring onions as long as they cooked like in a stir fry ,Mamar when I went through the menopause my Dr recommended Soya milk , I was ill with it the tummy pains were awful and it went straight through me I was never far from a toilet so Soya isn't good for everyone , baby may not be able to cope with that either

[ZIZI]

I tried very hard to like soya milk believing it might help reduce my "toilet time" but I have to say that it is horribly disgusting and if I am going to have to suffer that taste for the rest of my life I would rather go without although I love milk especially if I am feeling emotional, warm milk with McVities dark chocolate biscuits to dip in mmmmmm. Not good for me but gives me comfort for a while...........

[Daisy]

My sister in law is on a gluten free diet.She was diagnosed with coeliac disease about 3/4 years ago. It was difficult for her when first diagnosed, but she has got used to it now.
I always make sure mam and dad have got some gluten free cake/biscuits in, so sister in law can have something when we have a cuppa.
If relatives are coming to visit parents, I make a buffet,and keep the gluten free stuff separate and stick a label on.Sister in law says, there are more items in supermarkets now that she can have, so she doesn't feel as though she is missing out.

Nanto - it certainly is much easier now - the supermarket with orange bags are particularly good and even stock a gluten- and dairy-free 'ice cream'. I buy GF self-raising flour and "free from" spread for cakes, and have Xanthan gum for pastry. I use rice flour to thicken gravies, sauces etc. Most things are do-able, although Ih ave had some spectacular failures to start with!

Mimi - it must have been really hard for bothyou and your DD when she was little. I know GS1's mum even went to the trouble of taking ingredients into school so he could have school dinners, because he felt he was being left out! His school was very co-operative about it. But when your DD was little food allergies weren't very well understood. I hope she finds it much easier now.

[Enfys]

We are very lucky as a family as no-one has any food intolerance or allergy but a friend of mine has a wide range of problem foods, quite random things really. When she comes to lunch I always make sure she is well catered for, even ring her up to double check, it wouldn't be fair on her any other way. I know she has problems eating out, such a shame.

I just check the sugar and salt content of things for us but that's it.

[Daisy]

Enfy - the world would be a better place if all friends were like you. It must be bad enough having these problems without all the other hassle!

[Gemini]

The only milk I have is soya! Only on my cereal, as I have my drinks black. I dislike cows milk. I started taking soya products for menopausal symptoms years ago, but have stuck with the milk.