Monday 24 January 2011

INTOLERANCE INFO

Useful Books

Image of an apple next to a pile of books
Below is a selection of books which you may find useful. These are available via Amazon.co.uk and earn Allergy UK a small commission on every purchase if you use these links.
Any information found in these books is not intended to be a substitute for individual medical advice in diagnosing or treating a health problem. You should always consult a doctor about your healthcare concerns.
Highlight over any of these links for further details.


Wheat Intolerance

Image of Wheat
Wheat is one of the stapes of our diet and one of the hardest things to try and avoid.  Often it can be found in foods that we would least expect such as the communion wafers used in church. 
Most types of bread are wheat based; this includes “rye” and “corn” loaves which often contain some wheat. 
Other products that contain wheat are :
  • Pitta
  • Crumpets
  • Muffins
  • Doughnuts
  • Cakes
  • Cookies
  • Biscuits
  • Crackers
  • Croutons
  • Rusks
  • Waffles
  • Pancakes
  • Pizzas
  • Pretzels
  • Tortillas, and tacos (should be corn but mostly wheat in UK)
  • Breadsticks  
  • Pasta
  • Pastry
  • Yorkshire pudding
  • Packet snacks, such as crisps
  • Suet pudding and many other puddings and desserts.
Most varieties of cereal contain wheat with the exception being oats, rice crispies and cornflakes, so it is important to always read the labels.  Wheat is also used in many processed foods often in the form of breadcrumbs or rusk which is used as a binder in sausages and burgers. 
Other foods that may contain wheat are:

Meats

Rissoles, salami, corned beef, luncheon meat, liver-sausage, continental sausages, pates, meat and fish pastes and spreads, ham, fish and scotch eggs coated with breadcrumbs.

Vegetable products

Vegetable pates and spreads, vegetables coated in breadcrumbs, e.g. onion rings, vegetables tempura, tinned beans, tinned spaghetti, soups.

Sauces and condiments

Gravy, packet and jar and bottled sauces, casserole and “ready-meal” mixes, stock cubes and granules, ready prepared and powdered mustard, stuffing, baking powder, monosodium glutamate, some spice mixes (check label).

Desserts

Most puddings, pastry, yogurts containing cereal, ice cream, pancakes, cheesecakes and others with a biscuit base.

Beverages

Malted milk, chocolate, Ovaltine and other powdered drinks. Beer, ale, stout, larger, Pils lager, whisky, malt whisky, gin, most spirits and many wine.

Confectionery

Liquorice, chocolate, chocolate bars and most wrapped bars.

Medication

Many prescribed and over the counter drugs contain wheat. Check with your pharmacist but do not stop prescribed medication without discussing with your doctor first.

Alternative Names

Wheat is often listed under other names, the following ingredients should also be avoided:
  • Wheat bran
  • Wheat germ
  • Wheat gluten
  • Farina
  • Rusk
  • Semolina
  • Semolina Flour
  • Wholewheat flour
  • Wheat starch
  • Starch
  • Modified starch
  • Hydrolised starch
  • Food starch
  • Spelt (triticum spelta),
  • Kamut (triticum poloncium)
  • Durum wheat,
  • Couscous
  • Bran
  • Edible starch
  • Vegetable starch
  • Vegetable gum
  • Vegetable protein
  • Cereal filler
  • Cereal binder
  • Cereal protein
Most of the flours that we use in everyday baking are made from wheat, however it is possible to buy alternatives in health food shops.  Maize (corn) flour, potato flour, rice flour, Soya flour, millet, buckwheat, sago, tapioca, quinoa, sorghum, arrowroot, gram (chickpea) flour, lentil flour.  Unfortunately because these flours are lacking in the gluten that normal wheat flour contains, they cannot be used in the same way so you would need to adjust your usual recipes to allow for his.


Milk Intolerance

Image of 2 pints of milk
When cutting milk from your diet you must remember that it may be present in many foods, so you must become a detective when doing your shopping.  Milk proteins can be found in:
  • Milk powders
  • Milk drinks such as milk shakes and smoothies
  • All types of cheese
  • Butter
  • Margarine
  • Yogurt
  • Cream
  • Ice Cream
Milk derivatives are to be found in many foods, the following ingredients should also be avoided:
  • Casein
  • Caseinates
  • Hydrolysed Casein
  • Skimmed milk
  • Skimmed milk powder
  • Milk Solids
  • Non-fat Milk
  • Whey
  • Whey Syrup Sweetener
  • Milk Sugar
  • Lactose
There are many foods that contain milk or its derivatives and it is not always the foods that you would imagine.  Be vigilant when buying breakfast cereals, soups, processed meats and sausages, pasta and pizza, instant mashed potato, sauces and gravies, bread and baked goods, readymade meals and desserts even crisps sometimes contain milk. (Think cheese and onion)
Cow’s milk is of course an excellent source of calcium and is essential for the growth and repair of bones, when removing all milk and milk product from your diet it is important that you make sure that you are getting your calcium from another source.  Alternative sources of calcium are green vegetables, such as broccoli and kale, fish with soft, edible bones, such as salmon and sardines, are also excellent sources of calcium with nuts such as almonds and brazils and sesame seeds, tofu, and dried fruit  all being good sources of calcium for vegetarians.
Fortunately there are many milk substitutes on the market, and although they may take a little getting used to most of them are quite palatable.  The most common milk substitute and the one most people immediately think of is soya milk, this can now be found quite easily in supermarkets both in fresh chilled and long life form.  Soya yogurts and desserts are also available and are a delicious alternative to the usual cow’s milk variety.  Other types of milk include rice, oat, potato, even pea milks can now be found in supermarkets and health food shops.
These milks do taste quite different to cow’s milk and it is worth trying several to find one that you enjoy.  They are very good substitutes in cooking and on cereals but may take a bit more getting used to when taken in tea or on their own. It is worth persevering with them as many are also fortified with calcium so helping to replace some of that lost from cow’s milk. 
Goats milk and sheep’s milk are found to be good substitutes by some people however as the proteins in these milks are physically similar to those found in cow’s milk not everyone is able to tolerate them. However they must not be used as a replacement for those allergic to cow’s milk as the body will recognise them as cow’s milk because of the similarity in the protein make up and may cause an allergic reaction.


Egg Intolerance

Image of 6 Eggs
Although it is relatively easy to avoid eggs if they are served on their own, it becomes more difficult when they are a disguised ingredient in prepared and manufactured foods such as in cakes and ready meals.
As with the other foods you will need to be aware of the names of egg derivatives so that you can look out for them on the labelling.
They are:
  • Albumen         
  • Globulin 
  • Ovomucin
  • Egg powder
  • Livetin
  • Ovalbumen
  • Egg protein
  • Ovoglobulin    
  • Lecithin – E322 (Soya Lecithin is egg free)
  • Egg yolk
  • Ovovitellin
  • Pasteurised egg
  • Egg white
  • Dried egg
  • Frozen egg
  • Vitellin
It is possible to buy egg replacements for use in baking and cooking, these can be found in good health food shops.  Again it is worth trying recipes from a specialist cookbooks but often it is quite possible to use your own favourites and adapt them with the replacements that you have found for your particular intolerance.
Experiment and be inventive, don’t be tied to what you have always done just because it is familiar, as they say ’Necessity is the Mother of Invention’ you will be amazed at how quickly you can get used to eating in a different way and foods can be just as delicious.


Eating Out

Image of a café's specials board
With more and more people either suffering from food allergy or food intolerance, restaurants are now becoming more used to catering for special diets.  However never underestimate how important it is to ask the right questions when you make your restaurant booking and try and visit the restaurant to have a look at the menu before you eat there for the first time.
Always ask when booking if they can cater for special diets, explain exactly what it is you must avoid.  For example if you are milk intolerant asking for a dairy free meal may cause confusion, explain that you must avoid all milk cream, butter, yogurt and foods containing milk such as biscuits and cakes to be certain that you do not have a reaction.  This not only avoids disappointment at not being able to find a dish that you can enjoy but saves the embarrassment at having to leave the restaurant without eating.
It is worth asking if you can speak to the chef rather than just a waiter and build up a good relationship with them, many people find that they have a favourite restaurant that they return to time and again because they know that the chef can prepare a meal for them without too much hassle.
A new website that can help you find a restaurant that can cater for you in your area is www.leaveitout.com


How to Shop
Image of a shopping list
When you are first diagnosed with a food intolerance it can be a very confusing time.  What do you need to avoid? Where do you go to get the right types of foods you need? Can you still join in at dinner parties without seeming to make a fuss over what you can or can’t eat?  Shopping for yourself or others with a food intolerance can be very frustrating, here we can give you a guide as the best way to cope. Once you get the hang of where to shop and how to cook you will find that  coping with your intolerance will become much easier.

Supermarkets

Firstly we would recommend that you research all your local supermarkets for their specialist range of foods, in the last few years the variety of foods available has increased dramatically, Soya ice creams, spreads and yoghurts, gluten free pasta, breads and biscuits, dairy free cheeses, cooking sauces and condiments such as egg free mayonnaise are just some examples. Many supermarkets now carry a list of products that are ‘free from’. This is a regularly updated booklet that contains lists of brand name foods that are suitable for your particular diet. Listings usually include; milk free, egg free, wheat free, gluten free, soya free, nut and peanut free, preservative free, vegan, vegetarian, etc. and are available by contacting the customer services department of the store.
Nowadays it is much easier to find specialist foods as they usually have a dedicated area within the store, sometimes they will be with similar foods, so wheat free breads will be in the normal bread section, if you can’t find them easily look in the ‘organic’ section, they may well be there.
Due to recent legislation in allergy advice on food labelling it is now very easy to find out exactly what is in a food. You will however need to become an expert when looking at labels on foods when shopping, make sure you know all the alternative names for foods so that you are not caught out.  Always check when a product say’s ‘new’ or ‘improved’ recipe as often this may mean that the product may contain a food that you are intolerant to that previously it was free from. Remember to take your free from list with you.

Health food Stores

A visit to your local health food shops will often give you a source of the more unusual food replacements that are more difficult to find such as egg replacers and Xanthan gum for use in wheat free bread making. Often they will also be able to order products for you that are not on the shelves. Many health food shops now have a book section of recipe books and seasonal items dedicated to specialist diets.

Mail order

There are now many sites on the internet where you can purchase foods mail order, from ordinary everyday foods such as wheat free breads to specialist birthday cakes, giving you so much more choice that you needn’t feel left out.  There are also many excellent sites that you can find recipes on.

The symptoms of food intolerance can be many and varied.  Here are some of the symptoms that are often associated with food Intolerance. Sufferers can also experience more than one of the following symptoms.
  • Abdominal pains
  • Aches and pains
  • Asthma
  • Arthritis
  • Bloating
  • Constipation
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Diarrhoea
  • Eczema
  • Fatigue
  • Fibromyalgia
  • IBS
  • Fluid retention
  • Headaches
  • Lethargy
  • M.E.
  • Migraine
  • Nausea
  • Rashes
  • Restless Leg Syndrome
  • Rhinitis
  • Sinusitis
  • Skin problems
  • Stomach cramps
  • Tension
  • Urticaria
  • Weight loss
  • Wheezing




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