Food Allergies

The dentist appointment yesterday went exactly as I expected.  My blog was right on the money all the way down to the speech about flossing.  At least the results were positive so I have that to be thankful for.  This is blog number 2 for the day.  The first one I wrote was going to be too controversial so it was shelved for some day when I’m really feeling like stirring the pot.  Today’s blog is centered on food allergies.  We discovered a short time ago that my oldest daughter was allergic to wheat.  Not only gluten makes her sick but anything that comes into contact with wheat.  Do you realize how many products have wheat in them?  Products I never expected have it.  It is in things like chocolate, instant rice, french fries, soup and meatballs.  Looking at label after label I see “Contains wheat” on it.  The gluten free foods seem to go down ok for her but the selection of products is not great.  I am told Europe is more evolved in their dietary options.  Before this I had never heard of a wheat allergy.  I only thought gluten was a problem.  Hopefully the choices will expand for my daughter and those like her.  There is not much selection at the grocery store.  My son is lactose intolerant.  He is a different creature all together.  He knows pizza will make him sick but he eats it anyway.  The special pills for his condition make life more tolerable but it is still hard on him.  Then you think of all the foods with lactose: milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream.  Those are hard things to take from a diet but thankfully, the food industry has been better about providing lactose free substitutes.  While they are more expensive there is little choice but to buy them.  At least they have some variety.  So now when we have dinner we have to know what children will be there so we can make the proper foods.  I have been told that there didn’t used to be so many allergies and that it is something about society.  There may not have been a diagnosis years ago, but I am sure a lot of people had these allergies in the past and there was simply no definition for it.  Food allergies simply don’t appear.  They were just not understood correctly.  Society may be changing but I have a feeling these problems have been here all the time.  Let’s hope more food options become available to give my children more variety to eat.