My 3 year old has battled with eczema since she was born. Sometimes pretty severe, sometimes mild, but always there. After visits to pediatricians, dermatologists and applying every sort of skin cream (OTC and Prescription) available, we finally have our answer. Allergies.
I suspected so much a while back when she got a mild rash after eating some peanut butter (which I immediately cut out of her diet along with all other nuts) but my first visit to an allergist proved useless. The skin test came back negative. She showed no allergies what-so-ever. So I spent the next year continuing my search to end her awful, itchy skin condition.
A few weeks ago, I decided to take her to a different allergist. Aside from my gut telling me that the first test could not have been correct, we've been wanting to get a pet for the girls, so I
I left the doctor's office in shock and relieved to finally have an answer...along with a prescription for an Epi pen - lucky me.
What I didn't realize at that time was how our eating habits were going to be significantly altered with this new found knowledge.
Forced to read labels now, I soon found that soy is pretty much used in almost everything...especially processed foods. This is a soup label.....
- My entire family will be cutting out most processed foods (which I've been wanting to do for a while anyway)
- We will be making our own bread (which the kids prefer)
- Snacks will consist of mostly fruits and vegetables
- Desserts will mostly be home-made, not store bought (terrible, right?)
- We will all become vigilant label-readers
- I will be packing lunches and snacks for all outings.
- Birthday Parties will be the most difficult....since most store-baked cakes contain soy, I will have to bring a cupcake for her....and pizza parties at places like Chuck-e-Cheeses will require me to bring some home-made pizza too.....
The main changes I made to cut down on soy were, as you say, more home cooking with coconut oil or lard instead of shortenng. I also switched mayonnaise brands. Fortunately, I don't have allergies, I was just cutting down on the over-processed (and maybe gmo) soy products. Check out some of the books by Nina Planck.
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was 14 he was diagnosed with allergies to wheat, soy, corn and pork as well as many environmental allergies. He was suddenly going in anaphylaxis from eating bread or pizza. He almost died I think seven times in one year, but the last time was on Christmas day two years ago. I have learned TONS. Scrambling for any foods that were safe that he would eat. He is almost 19 now. I would love to share some ideas with you. I also found out that soy oil and soy lecithin has the protein removed making it safer to consume. A woman I ran into with a handicapped little girl severely allergic to everything told me that. However, I still hate chancing it. My son has just started getting psoriasis now, which means something has shifted and his diet needs to be reevaluated again. I also learned that all the meds the doctor put him on, are made with a binder made from a vegetable starch usually made from soy or corn! We went off the meds except for in his asthma season he will take albuterol as needed and singulair for a few months. But the side effects he has from the meds are rough for him too. Acupuncture was his best therapy ever.
ReplyDeleteMy little one had an allergy to soy in addition to being lactose intolerance. We always found foods at Trader Joe's (like crackers) did not trigger her but name brand ones would.
ReplyDeleteNow that she is 9 she is showing she has outgrown the soy but ultimately I believe it was the GMO Soy that her body reacted to and not regular soy. I wish you well and yes, making everything from scratch is how to survive this.