Sandra Beasley: "Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-08-04/sandra-beasley-dont-kill-birthday-girl-tales-allergic-life
Twelve million Americans suffer from food allergies, with reactions ranging from annoying itch to death. The incidence of multiple food allergies is on the rise. We all know someone with a food allergy, but misunderstandings abound. New mothers get conflicting advice on when to feed children peanuts. Someone who thinks he is allergic to milk, might just be missing the enzyme to digest lactose. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But one woman with more than a dozen food allergies says those who suffer don't have to be victims. Diane and her guest discuss how to live and thrive with food allergies.
Guests
Sandra Beasley
author and poet
Read an Excerpt
Excerpt from "Please Don't Kill the Birthday Girl" by Sandra Beasley. Copyright 2011 by Sandra Beasley. Excerpted here by kind permission of Crown:
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Diane:
Good for you and your guest on bringing attention to this issue. I am in my sixties and spent most of my adult life with undiagnosed Celiac Disease (an autoimmune disorder due to an inability to digest certain proteins in wheat, rye and barley). Specialists never looked at this until recently, even though I presented classic symptoms in my twenties. My sensitivity to wheat gluten caused me extensive illness, interfered with relationships, and caused me to lose several jobs, before nearly killing me.
One of the few good things Congress did in the 2000s was the allergy labeling law. The law, however, still does not cover what are considered "proprietary seasonings and flavorings. We need to toughen up the law to require ALL packaged foods to reveal any contamination with allergens.
Keep up the good work.
--Frank O'Barski
Diane:
Good for you and your guest on bringing attention to this issue. I am in my sixties and spent most of my adult life with undiagnosed Celiac Disease (an autoimmune disorder due to an inability to digest certain proteins in wheat, rye and barley). Specialists never looked at this until recently, even though I presented classic symptoms in my twenties. My sensitivity to wheat gluten caused me extensive illness, interfered with relationships, and caused me to lose several jobs, before nearly killing me.
One of the few good things Congress did in the 2000s was the allergy labeling law. The law, however, still does not cover what are considered "proprietary seasonings and flavorings. We need to toughen up the law to require ALL packaged foods to reveal any contamination with allergens.
Keep up the good work.
--Frank O'Barski
Around the age of 10 I started having allergic reactions to peaches, apricots, nectarines and sesame seeds. They were mild at first, becoming more severe as I grew into adulthood. Eventually allergens included walnuts and pecans. I had many episodes of anaphylactic shock. I learned to detect and/or avoid foods that contained or I suspected of containing my allergens.
The interesting thing is that after menopause, I no longer have allergic responses to most of the foods listed above. I still avoid sesame because I have a psychologically adverse reaction to it, perhaps becomes it was the worst of all of them.
Is there any research addressing a possible link between allergies and the reproductive cycle?
Actually, if you are listening to the interview, you will hear that the author is far less alarmist than the allergy fear-mongers that we hear on other media outlets. She, in fact, speaks to a far more sane reaction to allergies -- she knows she'll have reactions, and does not expect the world to fix her contact problems.
I find your response shrill and offensive, Z_Harris. Also, you kind of sound like an idiot. That's okay. There are a lot of idiots in the world. You're just one more.
I am allergic to nickel, found in multiple foods. It is not an anaphylactic allergy, however when I eat foods with nickel, I develop a severe rash on my neck and face. Foods with nickel include nuts, leafy greens, chocolate, soy, grains, oats, pineapple, raspberries, beans, shellfish, seeds, and more. I was diagnosed at the age of 24 and it has taken me nearly 2 years to enjoy eating food again as I have had to learned different ways to navigate my allergy.
Christy
Salt Lake City, UT
Do doctors overreact? My son, who ate almost all nuts until a few months ago, recently had a severe allergic reaction to hazlenuts. The doctors recommend that he stay away from ALL nuts, even though he's been eating them for 8 years.
I wonder if it's just easier for the doctors to recommend not eating any nuts as a precaution, where it really affects my son's life.
.
I'm enjoying today's show.. I have suffered from airborne allergies (grasses, animals, trees, etc) for years, though they've gotten much better as I have become an adult.. I find this subject very interesting. I actually have a dog that suffers from severe food and airborne allergies and it has been difficult to grasp with her issues and trying to overcome them..
Do food allergies also change over time like airborne allergies can?
- Trey (Denton, TX)
I have had lower GI problems for about 6 years. My doctor was baffled. I went through a LOT of testing--yeast, parasites, the works. In despiration last winter I suggested that maybe it is allergies. I had the rast test done. It told me I was allergic to garlic. after about a year of avoiding garlic, I went to an allergist who did the skin tests and found that I reacted to dairy, egg, corn, yeast, and coconut. Not garlic. I have found that I can tolerate all the foods except dairy, which I am really very sensitive to. My doctor administers dilution drops to help de-sensitize my system, and put me on a rotation diet (where I should not eat a food more than once every 4 days) to help me tolerate the foods I'm sensitive to, and prevent additional allergies from developing.
Barbara Lurie
This is an interesting topic. I wonder if your guest has ever heard of the BAX method of treating allergies. My husband had food allergies (milk, wheat, etc.) and he and my son both had terrible seasonal allergies. A local holistic physician treated them both using a BAX allergy machine. As I understand it, the machine uses a laser frequency to tell your body not to react to certain substances. It is completely non-invasive and has not had any side effects. My husband can now eat dairy foods without consequence, and he and my son are both free of seasonal allergies. It has changed the quality of their (and consequently my) lives dramatically.
I've been gluten free (as much as possible) since I was 26 years old. My digestion went awry at the same time that I started having partial complex seizures. I have mentioned this to doctors many times, but there has been no suggestion that the two are connected. I eventually was diagnosed with IBS and my seizures were accounted for by a small capillary leak in the brain. I have been treated for my neuro. issues, and avoid gluten and food with heavy fats to keep my stomach happy. Adjusting my diet and taking probiotics seems to help.
On the bright side, I am forced to eat a healthy diet and have learned more about cooking as a result of my finnicky digestion.
:)
I'm glad you've been fortunate never to have dealt with food allergies. I can assure you they are very real. My three-year-old granddaughter also has multiple food allergies, including peanuts, gluten, eggs and cow's milk. She is very good about knowing what she can and cannot eat, but her birthday wish is to be able to have dairy again! It is not a a lifestyle anyone would choose.
I developed multiple food and environmental allergies after taking several vaccinations when I was in my late 30's. A friend told me about a chiropractor who treats allergies with a wholistic therapy called "NAET" (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique). It's saving my life- and greatly improving the quality of my life.
I've also heard of health care workers re-inventing their own form of this treatment, with poor results. So it's important to go to a doctor who is officially registered under www.naet.com where you can see how much coursework the person completed and whether they are continually attending training sessions.
Carla
Ann Arbor, MI
Please do have a celiac show! Also, gluten is a protein not a starch. Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease, not an allergy though as your guest rightly pointed out we share many of the same concerns even though the mechanisms of our problems are different.
you are so right! It's a shame too that the allergy labeling law includes wheat but not gluten. We also need a law that makes a legal definition of 'gluten free' - right now things labeled 'gluten free' may not be
Diane -
Thank you for having such an intelligent guest shed light on this growing dilemma. One question - how much research is being conducted on preservatives? Copper Sulfate is sprayed on many of the grains, nuts, and fuits to inhibit mold,, and nitric oxide is sprayed into the packaging for most processed foods to inhibit bacterial growth.
Thanks,
Sandra H
I'd just like to add that I used to work at a super-healthy Japanese restaurant, and many of my customers were "foodies" or people with food issues or preferences. I thought they were all crazy. I now know that my own food sensitivities are a direct karma response, because I used to make fun of those people.
wow, I'm happy for you that you have never had to deal with a food allergy, but sorry that you feel so antagonistic toward someone with a valid problem
Hey Sandra, I look forward to reading your book. My first anaphylactic reaction was as a child in the 1970s to a peach; my most recent a few years ago to broccoli (the dreaded mustard family), in all about two dozen nail-biting trips to the ER. It seems that very little seems to have changed/advanced in the field of allergies since I was a kid, a misfortune for what seems like the increasing number of children with allergies.
To the commenter who thinks allergies are hypochondria: I hate being a pain in the neck at friend's houses, restaurants and special occasions. I will sit through a meal and pretend to eat rather than inconvenience the cook, if I have to. I apologize profusely to servers when eating out. I can sense when friends and family think I'm just being picky.
Having said that, nothing makes me more uncomfortable than being told my meal is mustard family-, peach- or nut-free, only to find out after a trip to the emergency room that -- oops! -- there was one of those allergens in my meal.
P.S. Diane, panic and a feeling of dread is listed as a symptom of anaphylaxis, says my physician.
Sandra, would your DC pediatrician have been the exceptional Arthur Kreischer?
Diane,
Thank you for covering this topic on your show.
Last year I was diagnosed with "Adult Allergy Syndrome" and my allergist told me that prevalence of this problem is increasing. Have you heard of people with this syndrome?
Thank you Diane for discussing this topic. I am the mother of two toddlers and my son (< 2 years old) is experiencing reactions as those described by an earlier caller. It has been a rocky road in trying to figure out what is causing him to break out in hives. My son attends a childcare sponsored by the Department of Defense and we do not have complete control of his diet in order to eliminate foods from it (food is supplied and follows the UDSA program). This makes our crusade ever more difficult. Once again, thank you for this show. I will get the book!
I recently had the ALCAT test, and the results came back with a few severely intolerant foods, a few moderately intolerant foods, and a pretty long list of mildly intolerant foods. I know that there is a big difference between intolerance and allergies, but I was wondering if there's anything you can tell me to help me approach dealing with foods now that I am seamlessly intolerant to a whole slew of them.
I recently had the ALCAT test, and the results came back with a few severely intolerant foods, a few moderately intolerant foods, and a pretty long list of mildly intolerant foods. I know that there is a big difference between intolerance and allergies, but I was wondering if there's anything you can tell me to help me approach dealing with foods now that I am seamlessly intolerant to a whole slew of them?
Re: the question about what happened to children in the past who had allergies from birth--my mother had an older sister born in 1918 who died after she was weaned because she was unable to tolerate any foods. The allergic response affected my mother, my siblings and my children to various extents. In the 1960s, my brother benefited greatly from treatment provided by Dr. Theron Randolph, a pioneer in environmental medicine.
A man called in about a new allergy to beer. Some people's allergic response is to the fresh yeast found in some beers and fresh-made pizza. These people often have no problem with frozen pizza and beers that have a lower level of fresh yeast.
A man called in about a new allergy to beer. Some people's allergic response is to the fresh yeast found in some beers and fresh-made pizza. These people often have no problem with frozen pizza and beers that have a lower level of fresh yeast.
Diane:
I would like to mention that with celiac, the celia in the intestines is actually damaged; consequently, the body is unable to absorb the nutrition of foods. Thus, unlike an allergy, celiac is an autoimmune disease and it has a continuous and long lasting effect.
I heard Sandra say that currently doctors say it is ok to give babies all food and not avoid allergenic ones when the baby is 4-6 months of age. I'd like to point out that the American Academy of Pediatricians recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. This has been recommended by W.H.O. and some European for some time and now the AAP recommends it too. This is supposed to be good not just for minimizing food allergy risk, but also risk of obesity.
Thank you so much for discussing this topic! My 4 year old son has multiple food allergies. At first I saw his food challenges as a frustrating, but now, thanks to blogs that share allergen-free receipes, Bob's Red Mill and Enjoy Life products, baking has become exciting for me. Just this morning I successfully made allergen-free waffles for my son. His only reaction was a smile and the word "yummy!".
I'm wondering if Sandra has knowledge of an "energetic" system of treating allergies called "BAX-3000", which is said to reprogram the nervious system to over 100,000 different allergies and sensitivities. It is said to eliminate or dramatically reduce symtoms . . . . by not addressing the "symptoms", but the source so that the body can then respond to whatever allergen normally. The stressors are removed by this protocol . . . . Jane