Be Allergy Wise

Recipe: Greek-Inspired Salad

Monique — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:22:58 +0000

We love salads, but we do have some challenges. Dairy made from cow’s millk can be a problem. There’s also my husband’s stomach, which just won’t take onions anymore. Then there’s my new low carb eating plan. Of course, we need to stay gluten-free too. Oxalates are a new problem that has changed our eating. This makes for a long list of things to avoid.

What to do when the whole family loves salad and we have all these competing dietary requirements? Obviously, we aren’t going to be having a Cobb salad with croutons.

When allergies - or any other dietary restrictions - come along, you improvise and experiment!

Here’s the salad that has become a family favorite.

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Monique’s Greek-Inspired Salad

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber
1/2 fennel bulb
1/2 - 3/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1 red pepper
200 gm (7 ounces) sheep or goat feta

3/4 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons sweetener of choice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar

Instructions:
Take the first 5 ingredients and chop into your preferred bite size. I cut the cucumbers into four long strips and then chop into slices. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Chop the fennel fairly chunky - but not too big! Same with the red pepper. Either chop or crumble feta, as you prefer. Put all these ingredients in a large salad bowl so that you can toss the salad with the dressing.

To make the dressing, take the oil, sweetener, oregano and vinegar and mix well together. (We use erythritol for our low carb sweetener). Pour the dressing over the vegetables.

Ideally, you should let the salad stand in the fridge for an hour or two before serving. Toss frequently with the dressing while the salad is standing, to ensure a nice blend of flavors.

Enjoy!

Dogs To Protect People With Allergies

Monique — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:01:25 +0000

Everyone has heard of seeing eye dogs and other types of personal assistance dogs: have you heard of an allergen-finding dog?

These new dogs to protect people with allergies are called Angel Service Dogs. These dogs are being trained to smell traces of nuts in foods or in an area, so that a peanut allergic person can avoid their allergen.

The dog is viewed as a possible solution to better protect allergic patients who might not otherwise know their allergen is present.

So far, the project looks like a success. Sherry Mers, who founded Angel Service Dogs, is looking for puppy raisers in the Colorado Springs are. Three dogs have already been placed with people with allergies and six more are scheduled to go to their new owners in May.

Source: KKTV

New Drug For Celiac Disease

Monique — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:40:38 +0000

Celiac disease is a devastating condition: not only does it mean a huge change in diet, it can also result in severe damage to the small intestine, caused by gluten. It is also a life-time condition: there is no known cure.

There is now hope for patients suffering with celiac disease. A new drug called Larazotide Acetate which could help prevent some of the damage that celiac disease causes.

Dr R Fedorak has done three trials with the new drug. The results were promising: for patients who took Larazotide, intestinal damage was substantially lower.

While not a cure, it could help those with celiac who either plan to eat out (and could be exposed to a small amount of gluten).

Source: CTV News, Calgary

Undiagnosed Celiac Disease

Monique — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:23:19 +0000

New research shows that for every 1 case of celiac disease found, as many as 8 cases go undiagnosed! At the root of this issue is the phenomena of atypical celiac disease, which may present as a multisystem autoimmune disorder.

For instance, patients who appear to have hypothyroidism, liver enzyme elevations, Addison disease, and even Type 1 Diabetes could all be patients with an atypical celiac disease. This means that celiac disease goes undiagnosed because it no longer looks like a gastrointestinal problem; it looks like a completely different condition that requires a completely different approach.

This makes diagnosis of celiac much more difficult - and it also means that primary care physicians have to be as much detectives as diagnosticians.

Source: Consultant Live

Vitamin D Could Help Corticosteroid Effectiveness

Monique — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:05:13 +0000

One of the primary drug treatments for asthma is inhaled corticosteroids. New research indicates that vitamin D may actually improve the effectiveness of your inhaled corticosteroid.

The specific corticosteroid studied was dexamethasone. Taking vitamin D boosted the performance of dexamethasone more than ten times.

This could mean that simple vitamin D supplementation could mean better asthma control and a possibility to manage asthma with lower dosages of corticosteroids.

Source: Medical News Today