100 PIECES OF INFORMATION

DEPICTING THE INFORMATION FROM RESEARCH I INTEND TO USE IN MY BOOK

Opinions of going on a free from diet

1. 1. “Dunno whether I would go without dairy unless there were really, really, good alternatives.”
2. 2. “I would be kind of miserable on a free from diet…”
3. 3. I would learn to make better alternatives.”
4. 4. It’s a taste free diet to be honest, you would just have to find good food.’

Taste tests – Comments made during

1. 5. “The colour really put me off, it was quite bitter. But with cereal I bet I wouldn’t even be able to taste it.”
2. 6. “Just a weird taste really, nothing horrible.”
3. 7. “Tastes just like normal milk basically.”
4. 8. “I wouldn’t mind switching to the diet if I had to.”
5. 9. “If you like brown bread then it’s ok.”
6. 10. “I actually really liked it, when I toasted it, it went so crisp.” 
7. 11. “Nothing different really.”
8. 12. “It’s quite rich, I like it.”
9. 13. “The cereal seemed very ‘healthy’, I’m more a fan of choco wheaties, but if you eat stuff like bran flakes it’s no different I guess.”
10. 14. “ The pasta was really starchy. You would have to rinse it off once cooked.’
11. 15. “ I think it will only taste nice with some kind of pasta sauce.”

Useful Books

1. 16. ‘Allergy-free cooking for kids: A guide to childhood food intolerance with 80 recipes.
2. 17. ‘The complete guide to Food allergy and intolerance’
3. 18. ‘ The complete guide to Gluten-fre and Dairy-free cooking: over 200 delicious recipes.
4. 19. ‘ Dairy-free, lactose-free diet plan’
5. 20. ‘ E for Additives ‘
6. 21. ‘ Food for all: Gluten, Dairy, Egg and nut free cookbook’
7. 22. ‘ Hidden food allergies: Is what you eat making you ill?’
8. 23. ‘ Lets eat out! Your passport to living Gluten and Allergy free’
9. 24. ‘ Living with food intolerance ( overcoming common problems)
10. 25. ‘ More from the sensitive gourmet: cakes, cookies, desserts and bread without Dairy, wheat or gluten’
11. 26. ‘ Easy wheat, egg and milk free cooking (recipes for health)’
12. 27. ‘ The sensitive gourmet: Imaginative cooking without wheat’

1. 28. Food that contains wheat

• • 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.

1. 29. Alternative names for wheat used in ingredient lists

• • 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

1. 30. products which contain dairy

• • Milk powders
• • Milk drinks such as milk shakes and smoothies
• • All types of cheese
• • Butter
• • Margarine
• • Yogurt
• • Cream
• • Ice Cream

1. 31. Alterative names for dairy used in Ingredients lists

• • Casein
• • Caseinates
• • Hydrolysed Casein
• • Skimmed milk
• • Skimmed milk powder
• • Milk Solids
• • Non-fat Milk
• • Whey
• • Whey Syrup Sweetener
• • Milk Sugar
• • Lactose

1. 32. Alternative names for egg used in ingredients lists

• • 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

1. 33. 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.

1. 34. When eating out.

-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.

- 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.

1. 35. Main symptoms of food intolerance

• • 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

1. 36. Personal stories – 1

“My food problems or food intolerance symptoms started some 14 years ago when I suffered severe stomach, ulcer-like symptoms. The doctors I consulted could not tell me what was wrong with me, not even after a gastroscopy. After conducting my own food research,  I learned what not to eat to make the  food problems go away. I was still a bit baffled as to what was causing the food intolerance symptomsbut the fact that I no longer experienced pain, was enough to keep me ignorant and happy for some time.”

1. 37. Personal story – 2

“I have had my food intolerances and allergies for over 10 years. Before they developed I enjoyed a varied diet, eating out with friends and always had an adventurous palate. This has not changed, accept now I have to be a little more cautious when choosing ingredients, dishes and new culinary experiences!

My food allergies are severe and include: nuts, fish, shellfish, fresh citrus and tree fruits, wheat and coffee. My intolerances are limited to dairy produce and chocolate. As dairy produce is sometimes hard to avoid, I am able to cope with a small intake of milk in tea and the odd helping of cheese, but if i overdo it, I certainly know all about it! I can feel very sick, have low energy levels and headaches.

Fortunately, dairy free produce is becoming much more widely available and also much tastier. There are a variety of milk alternatives on the market including soya milk, rice milk and oat milk. Lovely dairy free yoghurts, creams, ice creams and custards are widely available to buy from most supermarkets and health food shops and are often much tastier than the real thing. I have also found dairy free butter and cheese alternatives too. Many of the Free From ranges often make cakes and biscuits with dairy free ranges.

Living with my allergies and intolerances means taking responsibility for eating; I often phone ahead at restaurants to check the menu options and always let friends know what I  can and can't eat ( I often take food substitutes with me to help them out!) and finally, there are many fantastic cookery books available which offer lots of free from treats. If anything living with my allergies and intolerences has increased my range of cooking and the ingredients I use. I am healthy, happy and enjoy food enormously.

When first diagnosed I was confused and upset about what I could and couldn't eat, but once I became used to it and felt the benefits of an exclusion diet there was no looking back.”

1. 38. Personal story – 3

“All my life I have had a ‘funny tummy’ but I lived with it, accepting it as part of life. I would be reluctant to go out to dinner or social events because of my ‘funny tummy’.

Now I know what the triggers are that cause my problems I can manage it myself and life has totally changed. I go out to dinner with friends, go to the theatre without having to immediately look for the loo. Sorting out my food triggers has also, to my complete surprise, meant that for the first time for at least twenty years I sleep the night through.

Before I just accepted I was a poor sleeper now my brain is sharper and I have so much more energy. Only now feeling as well as I am, do I realise just how poorly I was feeling all of the time. I visited my Doctor frequently, he is very caring but food never came into the conversation. I just wish I had known about food intolerance years ago.”

1. 39. Personal story – 4

“My allergy/food intolerance started in my late fifties. I had been waking up with difficulty in breathing, a painful throat and an excessive thirst.

Nature dictated that I drink -- 4 or 5 pints of water brought about recovery.

After a few of these scary nights I visited my doctor who said I must have asthma, and prescribed Ventolin and Becotide inhalers. I used these for about 2 years. They relieved the condition but did not cure.

I did not like the idea of daily inhalations so I visited a homeopath, and took a course of drops. There was some improvement, and it was suggested I have a full blood/allergy test with York Laboratories. The results meant the exclusion from my diet ---wheat, corn/maize, rice, all dairy products and GARLIC!!

I abstained totally from these for 4 years, and then gradually re-introduced them in small amounts, every few days. I still take these in small amounts, only suffering slight catarrh, with the exception of GARLIC! Unless it is a miniscule amount garlic still hurts my neck and throat. This is sad, as I'm a real curry fan! So I bought some good curry recipe books and just make my own, minus the garlic. No problem -- and better than ready meals.

One wonders why there are more and more asthma sufferers these days. Is it most likely due to people's increasing consumption of ready meals, and sweets with additives and chemicals, plus poor air quality in and out of home.”

1. 40. Personal story – 5

“Following a virus, our fifteen year old daughter Rachel had been suffering from chronic stomach pains and regular bouts of diarrhoea over a nine month period. It was at times so serious; she had to stop eating midway through her meal to run to the loo to relieve herself from the excruciating pain, which resulted in unfinished meals and Rachel losing up to 1.5 pounds per week in weight.

Within a matter of time, Rachel became lethargic, had no energy, and looked extremely pale and was underweight for her age.

We were very worried and took her to the local GP, who gave her a blood test, but the results came back normal. We were told to simply keep an eye on her diet. After 9 months of suffering, I was recommended to have Rachel tested for food intolerance and was surprised to discover how many different foods she was intolerant to. Her results came back positive for wheat, gluten, egg, cow’s milk, cranberry, grapefruit, ginger, garlic and cocoa bean.

Rachel immediately cut out all of these foods, and amazingly within a few weeks Rachel’s health had dramatically improved.

Initially the sweets and chocolates were the most difficult to give up, but she realises, even at such a young age, how important her health is to her and how much better she was feeling.  I prepared many of her favourite dishes but without the foods that she is intolerant to so that she didn’t feel like she was missing out. Now after six months following the exclusion diet we have been able to reintroduce many of the foods that had been causing her problems and she is now tolerating them well.

Her appetite is now back and her weight has gone back to normal. Rachel’s skin is glowing, and we are happy to say that she is radiating more energy and life – like a normal 16 year old girl should be.”

Facts

1. 41. It is possible to react to a food without being allergic. Lactose intolerance is an example of a non-allergic reaction.
2. 42. A 2007 study has shown that milk allergy may persist longer in life than previously thought. Of 800 children with milk allergy, only 19 percent had outgrown their allergy by age 4, and only 79 percent had outgrown it by age 16.
3. 43. There is no cure for food allergies
4. 44. Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.
5. 45. Food allergies are life-altering for everyone involved and require constant vigilance.
6. 46. Although 25 percent of people think they're allergic to certain foods, studies show that about only 6 percent of children and 1 to 2 percent of adults have a food allergy.
7. 47. Bad reactions to food dyes are rare. They may occur in less than one of 100 children and in less than one of 500 adults.
8. 48. Food allergy can be fatal if it causes a reaction called "anaphylaxis" (say: anna-phil-ax-iss). This reaction makes it hard for a person to breathe.
9. 49. You can develop food intolerance to almost any food. Commonly eaten foods such as milk are most likely to cause problems, but you can also be intolerant to a food you only eat occasionally.
10. 50. Some people are intolerant to ten or more foods.
11. 51. Even a tiny trace of the offending food can cause a severe reaction by the immune system.
12. 52. Most people who are food-intolerant to get over the problem eventually, as long as they avoid the food for a time.

Myths and misconceptions

53. People with food allergies are allergic to many foods.

Fact: Most people with food allergies are allergic to less than four foods.

1. 53. What is a food allergy?

Food allergies involve the body’s immune system. The body reacts to certain allergens in food by producing antibodies, which can cause immediate and severe symptoms such as swollen lips or eyes, vomiting, skin hives and, in the most extreme cases, difficulty breathing and a severe fall in blood pressure (anaphylactic shock). Foods that may cause an allergic reaction include nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, wheat and soya.

1. 54. What is food intolerance?

This does not normally involve the immune system, and symptoms may not be as immediate or severe as in food allergies. Symptoms may include headache, fatigue and digestive problems. An example is lactose intolerance, in which certain people cannot digest the sugar in milk. Food intolerance is harder to diagnose than allergy. The only reliable way to diagnose it is to cut out the suspected food from the diet to see if symptoms get better. If symptoms improve, the food should be reintroduced and monitored for signs of the symptoms returning. This process should only take place under the supervision of a registered dietitian.

Stores and their free from products

1. 55. Waitrose has 429 free from products in it's range (The most out of most stores)
2. 56. Tesco has just 58 free form products
3. 57. Asda has 250 free from products in its range
4. 58. Sainsburys has 148 free from products in its range
5. 59. Waitrose has more products for a combination of food intolerance's than just one or two.
6. 60. Sainsbury website contains a list of all its food products showing what the products free from. 
7. 61. Sainsburys website has very useful information about its free from products

Recipes

1. 62. Devils on horseback
2. 63. Pea and potato soup
3. 64. Honey mustard drumsticks
4. 65. Rice paper rolls
5. 66. Chicken, watercress and quinoa salad
6. 67. Beef stir fry
7. 68. Chicken parcels
8. 69. Bacon rosti
9. 70. Chicken satay
10. 71. Mild chicken curry
11. 72. Tofu and spring onion quinoa curry
12. 73. Fruit flapjack
13. 74. Lemon polena cake
14. 75. Chunky chocolate chip biscuits
15. 76. Blackberry and apple crumble
16. 77. Fried banana and maple syrup
17. 78. Pancakes
18. 79. Sage and onion stuffing
19. 80. Tuscan white bean soup
20. 81. Thai beef salad
21. 82. Vegetarian Pizza
22. 83. Sausage casserole
23. 84. Prawn noodle dish
24. 85. Asian fish cakes
25. 86. Sweet potato and aborigine curry
26. 87. Penne and crispy breadcrumb topping
27. 88. Hot cross buns
28. 89. Treacle tarts
29. 90. Summer pudding
30. 91. Posh fish and chips

Info graphics

1. 92. Price comparison (Most popular food products in diet) comparing prices in four stores
2. 93. Most popular foods in a stable diet
3. 94. Taste testing results
4. 95. Waitrose food products – (Number of free from dairy, wheat and gluten.)
5. 96. Asda food products – (Number of free from dairy, wheat and gluten.)
6. 97. Tesco food products – (Number of free from dairy, wheat and gluten.)
7. 98. Sainsburys food products – (Number of free from dairy, wheat and gluten.)
8. 99. Food stores supplying free from range nearest to Leeds.
9. 100. Recommendations - Store food products (found through research) the cheapest, best tasting