Trans fat, sugar, carbs, red meat ... the guilt, the guilt ... what can we eat?
Guilty is how I felt the day after my baby spent eight hours in the emergency room with an allergic reaction. Isn’t mother’s milk supposed to be the best thing for her? Then why did she swell up like a balloon? Is there something wrong with my milk? The colic and spitting up ... was it my fault? (If you missed Part 1 of this story, it’s here.)
Teary-eyed and distraught, into the specialist’s office we go. Diagnosis: Probable food allergy. Next step: Blood test. Mom: Avoid eggs and dairy. Oh...and it’s not your fault. In fact, let’s have you feed your daughter here and the nurse will check in to make sure all is going well.
She’s fine. No hives. Still spitting up, but that’s ok.
I have heard and read countless times that parenthood is a life-altering experience. In our case we have also had to change how we choose, prepare, handle and think about food. At nine months old our daughter was diagnosed with allergy to eggs, dairy, peanuts and wheat. Her specialist recommended we continue nursing because she needed the benefits now more than ever. So I joined her in abstinence from all the offending foods.
“Yea. I’m in training to become a professional label reader.” I tried to make light of the shock, questions, criticisms, self-doubt and task of re-educating myself and my family about food. I was given a packet of information on allergies that included what to avoid, and alternate names for the offending foods.
Alternate names? It might surprise you to know that just seven years ago reading a food label was like trying to crack a secret code. In some ways it still is, but it was even worse then. Milk is not milk as we know it. It can be casein, lactic acid, etc. And it’s in so many products you can’t even imagine. Gum. Toothpaste. McDonald’s French Fries!
Or it might not be listed as part of the ingredients at all. Why? Regulations, lack of regulations, government red tape, loop holes, enforcement, manufacturing practices, cost. Ask the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), the FDA (Federal Drug Administration), or the manufacturer. And why do you want to know what’s in your food anyway? What are you ... some kind of radical?
It’s not about politics or a social cause. In my house we like all kinds of food, even meat. Last year at this time I was writing in the Food Forum about turkey at Thanksgiving, and the deer hanging in the barn.
It’s about information. I’m the parent of a child with food allergies. I just want to know what’s in that loaf of bread or package of cookies, so my kid doesn’t get sick ... or die.
NEXT: Cooking at home..)
