Food Allergies?
May 12th to 18th is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Living with any dietary restriction can be difficult, and the thought of voluntarily reducing or eliminating additional foods might be daunting. But if you found yourself here because you want to make more food choices that benefit your health, the planet, and animals, we are happy to help! We want to share some tips and motivations for eating plant-forward with food allergies.
About six percent of people in the U.S. have a food allergy, totaling 20 million people. Millions more suffer from intolerances and diseases like Celiac or have religious restrictions. Of the top nine most common food allergens, four are animal-based, including the most common, milk, making a plant-based diet easy! And the staples of plant-based diets - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes - are either not among this top allergen list at all or include only small parts of them.
Being diagnosed with a food allergy can quickly make someone feel like they’ve learned a new language, spending hours in the store reading labels and navigating the right words to explain their needs when eating out. Luckily, all that hard work pays off when eating more plant-based, as it is already second nature. Keep an eye out for sometimes sneaky ingredients such as honey and gelatin. For cooking at home, you already know how to search for the right recipes and make substitutions to create delicious, nutritious, and safe meals. Some examples include swapping flax and water for eggs and using non-dairy milk and butter.
Many people react to products that have come into contact with their allergen, even if the food item does not directly contain it. Remember, when you voluntarily change your diet to eating more plants, cross-contamination is not an issue, bringing a sigh of relief to those who know the worry all too well. Give yourself some grace and know, at least here, it’s okay not to be perfect.
And because it’s never too early to think about the important stuff in life, The Teal Pumpkin Project is a great resource to find allergy-safe homes for Halloween, and many of the allergen-free treats you see in grocery stores today are indeed vegan, like Skittles and Sour Patch Kids. And though we believe it is okay to let kids indulge in trick-or-treating, healthier choices include raisins, mandarins, Solely, and non-food items like stickers or bubbles. For birthdays, you might be surprised how many store-bought mixes are already plant-based and can be made using egg and dairy alternatives. There are also safe mixes to order online, desserts like Better Bites in some stores, and several top allergen-free bakeries around the country, some of which ship if you are not local.
Learning to live with an allergy or intolerance is hard, and no matter how old you are, it can feel like a burden. Choosing to make changes for your health, the environment, or animals should never feel that way. By remembering that it is a choice and not an obligation, you can set yourself up for success even with food allergies.
~ by Alisa Marvel