Book Review

Food Allergy Survival Guide
by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD, Jo Stepaniak, MS Ed and Dina Aronson, MS, RD
Review by Cathe Olson

For those with food allergies, maintaining a vegan diet can be challenging. Soy, nuts, corn, and glutinous grains are in so many foods that it is difficult to avoid them. Food Allergy Survival Guide will help you to figure out what foods you are sensitive to and how to replace them with healthful, plant-based ingredients.

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The book starts with an explanation of what food allergies and intolerances are and what they are caused by. If you ever wanted to know in detail how your digestive system works, you will get a full description in this book. Food Allergy Survival Guide also provides information about many medical conditions like arthritis, asthma, ADHD, candida, celiac disease, depression, dermatitis, fatigue, and migraines that can be caused by or worsened by certain foods. For each condition, there are suggestions of possible food culprits and suggestions to manage the condition.

If you are not sure if you have food allergies or what foods you are allergic to, you can find out what tests can be used to find out. The pros and cons of medical invasive and non-invasive tests are discussed as well as some do-it-yourself methods.

Once you know what foods have an adverse affect on your well-being, the trick is avoiding them. As the authors point out, foods like dairy, soy, corn, egg, and wheat are hidden in labels under all kinds of different names. For example, egg may be listed as binder, emulsifier, or coagulant. Corn can be listed as caramel coloring or dextrose. Food Allergy Survival Guide tells you what foods most often include common allergens and provide detailed lists of labeling terms that may be allergenic foods.

The best method of dealing with multiple food allergies is to cook most of your own meals. Fortunately, Food Allergy Survival Guide provides over 100 delicious recipes free of dairy, eggs, fish, wheat, gluten, soy, peanuts, and yeast. Very helpful is the gluten-free flour mix, which can replace wheat flour in any recipe, and a corn-free baking powder substitute.

I tried a couple of the recipes from the baking section for my holiday entertaining. The Ultra-Fudge Brownies and Pumpkin Spice Bread were a big hit. Besides baked good, the book also includes seasoning and spice mixes, breakfast cereals and smoothies, dips and spreads, salads and dressings, soups, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. Don't worry if some of the ingredients are new to you. The book explains unfamiliar ingredients, and suppliers are listed in the resource section. I had no trouble finding any of the foods at my local natural foods store.

Food Allergy Survival Guide is an excellent book for those suffering from food allergies but it is also a great resource for vegans. You'll discover ways that animal products might be hidden in processed or restaurant foods, and how to avoid them. And you'll love the wonderful vegan recipes. Best of all, you can find out how to thrive if you are both vegan and have food allergies.

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Cathe is a freelance writer and the author of Simply Natural Baby Food: Easy Recipes for Delicious Meals Your Infant and Toddler Will LoveSimply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole Foods To Nourish Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women - And Their Families. She has studied vegetarian, macrobiotic, and whole foods nutrition and cookery. Cathe cooked at natural foods restaurants and delis in the San Francisco Bay and Central Coast areas of California before settling down with her husband Gary to raise a family. She works at home while caring for her daughters Aimie and Emily. Read Cathe's blog

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