what is it?
Some people develop symptoms when they eat or touch a certain food or foods. These symptoms could include diarrhoea or vomiting, abdominal pain, skin rashes or reactions, swelling of the eyes or throat with blocking of the airways and breathing problems. In some cases a severe reaction can involve the whole body causing shock and even death. In people with food allergy even a very small amount of food containing the allergen could be enough to trigger a reaction and they need to avoid these foods and any food products that could contain the allergen. For some types of food allergy, there is a good chance that a person can outgrow the allergy if a suitable diet is carefully followed.

Foods most likely to cause allergic reactions include peanuts, nuts, fish and seafood, egg, gluten, soy, dairy and sesame products.

Food intolerance is different to food allergy in that response to the food does not involve the immune system. Usually symptoms are less severe and could be related more to the amount of food eaten. For some people it is possible to continue to include small amounts of the food in their diet without any problems.

what can I do if I suspect I could be intolerant or allergic to a food?
If you suspect that you may be allergic or intolerant to a food, then you must seek professional advice. Diagnosis is made using several pieces of information. A careful history of your symptoms and reactions to foods is taken and clinical examination and tests such as skin or blood (RAST) tests that determine the immune response of your body to proteins in the food can be used to confirm food tolerance or food allergy.

If it is found that you do have an allergy then foods containing the allergen/s must be excluded from the diet. Care needs to be taken if whole food groups such as wheat and dairy are removed from the diet. Foods in these groups are rich in nutrients and must be replaced by suitable foods that will supply the equivalent nutrition. You are advised to do this under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian. Use this link to find a dietitian in your area.

how menumade can help you
If you or one of the members of your household have been diagnosed as having an allergy or intolerance to dairy, egg or gluten you can use Menumade to plan meals and snacks that will be suitable.

We have adapted as many of the meals as possible to make them suitable by substituting allergen free ingredients.

You can either set your preferences to create meal plans that are allergy friendly or you can use the 'search by criteria' option on the recipe search once you are logged in to find suitable meals on a day by day basis while creating your meal plan.

Each recipe work plan has been labeled after their title to indicate their suitability e.g. Spaghetti Bolognese (gluten free).

When shopping it is essential that you check food labels of the products you buy to ensure that they are free of the allergen/s you need to avoid. Be aware of ingredient names and hidden allergens e.g. whey and casein are dairy ingredients.

Useful resources for people with Food Intolerance or Allergy

• The Manufactured Food Database (MFD) is a resource funded by the NZ Ministry of Health that has lists of manufactured products suitable for people needing to avoid wheat, gluten, milk/lactose, soy, peanut, eggs and legumes. These lists may be viewed free of charge at http://www.mfd.co.nz/. For example if you are dairy free and want to know which salad dressings to buy, the dairy free list on the MFD website will list the brands suitable for you. While the MFD is a good starting point, it is important to remember that the information contained in the database is based on data supplied by manufacturers themselves. MFD relies on this information being supplied accurately. Please refer to the disclaimer on the MFD site before using the database.
  
• Allergy New Zealand is a non-profit organization for people who live with food tolerance or allergy. Providing valuable support, resources and advocacy for allergy sufferers, the quarterly magazine Allergy Today and their website www.allergy.org.nz are well worth checking out.