Food Allergies: The Numbers and How You Can React with Respect!

My knowledge of food allergies and the importance of being sensitive to those with food allergies has increased exponentially since my husband was diagnosed with a shellfish allergy and my son was diagnosed with allergies to eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts years ago. We unfortunately learned about some of their allergies the hard way, whereas others were diagnosed in a doctor’s office. As a Registered Dietitian, I had received training and counseled those with food allergies prior to these diagnoses, but there’s nothing that deepened my awareness, understanding, and compassion more than personally experiencing food allergies in my family.

This week is Food Allergy Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is “React with Respect.” The goal of Food Allergy Awareness Week is to help inform the public about the serious consequences of food allergy reactions, as well as how to identify symptoms and respond in case of an emergency. If you are a parent, child, friend, co-worker, school teacher or administrator, employer, friend, roommate, or caregiver, you need to know about food allergies and how to react with respect.

So let’s talk about the numbers when it comes to food allergies and how, in light of those numbers, you can react with respect and sensitivity to individuals with food allergies…

Food allergies affect up to 15 million Americans.

That includes nearly 6 million children.

React with Respect

Learn how to recognize the symptoms of allergic reactions and how to respond in case of emergency.

A reaction to food can range from a mild response (such as an itchy mouth) to anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially deadly reaction. Every 3 minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room in the U.S.

Here’s a personal story…

When my little boy was diagnosed with his food allergies, he was only 8 months old. I was eating a graham cracker with peanut butter at the kitchen table when he started getting fussy. Without hesitation, I picked him up and put him in my lap to soothe him and continued to finish my snack. Soon after, it was time for his nap. My husband took him upstairs and began rocking him to sleep, but our little guy was crying and fussy. His lips began to swell, and he broke out in hives. Recognizing this was likely an allergic reaction (and admittedly totally unprepared), we immediately took him to the emergency room for treatment and to an allergist soon after for testing where he was diagnosed with his other allergies. We were only one of those emergency room visits, and we were so fortunate that our son recovered has been healthy ever since.

React with Respect

Refrain from eating your friend’s/coworker’s/classmate’s allergen when you are around them.

8 foods account for 90% of all reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish. Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.

React with Respect

When planning celebrations, meetings, outings, etc. that involve food, be sure to ask about food allergies to ensure each person will be able to eat safely.

According to a study released in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children increased approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011.

React with Respect

Understand that food allergies are not a choice and that individuals and families who are affected must take special precaution to protect themselves and their loved ones. Be patient and flexible as those affected by allergies must ask lots of questions and be careful about eating out.

1 in 13 children has a food allergy. That’s 2 in every classroom! Prevalence is increasing, so more kids have allergies than in the past.

React with Respect

Support other parents by asking about food allergies before sending food to the classroom, and respect school rules regarding food allergies.

Memphis Nutrition Group is excited to have partnered with the Food Allergy Alliance of the Mid-South (FAAM), an organization that promotes food allergy awareness year ’round! My partner and fellow Registered Dietitian Brigid Kay and I now serve as Nutrition Advisors to this fabulous organization, and we’d love for you to join the FAAM!

Here’s a little more information…

FAAM’s goal is to make resources available to our food allergy community that focus on:

• the immediate support needs of the newly diagnosed
• ongoing support and education for food allergy families
• community education and training
• advocacy on local and national levels

FAAM plans on reaching these goals by:

• hosting community support meetings for food allergy families
• connecting newly diagnosed families with resources
• working with local resources to host special events
• creating and maintaining relationships with local board certified allergists, health professionals, schools and community organizations
• maintaining FAAM’s relationship with community members through this website, our email list, and social media
• joining forces on local, state and national levels to advocate for those affected by food allergies

Are you interested in joining FAAM? Head over to FAAM’s website, simply share a little about yourself, and you’ll receive regular emails about meetings and events, newsletters. FAAM will also notify you about volunteer and advocacy opportunities as they become available.

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Practicing Weight Neutrality in a Weight-Biased Healthcare System

In recent years, our society has become more open and understanding regarding peoples’ differences, but it seems weight is one area in which our culture has miserably failed to become more accepting. When it comes to size and weight, people continue to be judged against unrealistic and arbitrary ideals. Where is weight neutrality in this picture?

Too often, larger people are criticized, shamed, and misunderstood because of their weight. Furthermore, the perception of many healthcare providers remains that “if people would just lose weight, they could be healthy.”

Where’s the weight neutrality?

How ridiculous it is to think we can begin our lives with entirely different sets of genetics and end up looking the same or staying healthy at unnatural weights for our bodies!

Non-diet dietitians are already like fish swimming upstream in a river of 61-billion dollars-worth of diets, and the current becomes even stronger when practicing weight neutrality, especially when serving as the only weight neutral provider on an interdisciplinary team.

For several months, I worked with a woman (we’ll call her Beth) whose goal was to manage her diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. She wanted to be healthy and to live longer, and she initially assumed the way to do so was through dieting. Our first sessions were spent reviewing and discussing research about diets versus intuitive eating, and Beth emphatically vowed, “I’m definitely not going back to dieting EVER!!!” stating she loved the newfound freedom she had with eating.

Eating intuitively, moving mindfully

In the meantime, through learning to eat intuitively and incorporate movement mindfully, Beth managed to cut her triglycerides in half and bring her cholesterol down to a normal range. She gained incredible insight into her relationship with food and recognized how satisfied she felt when she ate healthy AND tasty foods.

Giving up the scale

But there was one major challenge she continued to face: giving up the scale. After much discussion, Beth recognized how the scale was blinding her to the progress she was making toward health. She reluctantly agreed to put the scale in the attic for a while and contact me if she felt the urge to weigh herself.

Changing the view of progress

Beth acknowledged her need to change her view of progress. She began to accept the possibility (which was becoming a reality) of being healthy in a larger body and to recognize that her size did not change her worth and value in life.

She moved away from…	She moved toward…
·  Focusing on a number on the scale that she could not directly control	·  Focusing on behaviors that lead to health
·  Focusing on weight first and foremost	·  Concentrating on actions she could control
·  Asking: “How many pounds did I lose?”	·  Noticing her increased trust in herself with food
·  Questioning: “How do I look?”	·  Questioning: “How do I feel?”
·  Priding herself on having good willpower or self-control	·  Priding herself on recognizing inner body cues

(Adapted from Intuitive Eating, Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch, 2003/2012)

At her next check-up with her primary care physician, the first topic addressed related to weight loss. The physician praised Beth, exclaiming, ”You’ve lost 9 pounds!” Immediately, her mind wandered back to the number she originally had in mind that might make her “healthy” again.

Already feeling ashamed and discouraged, Beth hesitantly told her doctor, “I’ve been feeling exhausted lately.” Her physician responded by stating, “You’re still carrying around lots of extra weight. Imagine carrying around your 10-year-old son all day. You’d feel exhausted, wouldn’t you? That extra weight is keeping you tired!”

Validate the patient’s concerns

In one conversation, Beth’s physician not only fueled her recent fantasy of weight loss as a magic bullet to solve her health problems, she also failed to validate her patient’s concerns. Rather than taking inventory of the lifestyle, psychological, or medical conditions that could be causing her fatigue and offering a plan of care to reach the root of the problem, she gave the simplistic answer: “Lose weight.”

Make evidence-based recommendations

According to the research, 97 percent of diets fail, and most people regain their lost weight in 1-5 years (Puhl, 2008). Combine dieting and weight cycling, and you have a recipe for a physical and emotional health disaster.

Leslie Schilling, MA, RDN, CSSD, LDN puts it this way: “If you were prescribed a drug with such a high failure rate, would you fill the prescription?”

People trust their providers to administer quality, evidence-based care; however, when they receive different messages from different providers, how do they know whom to trust?

It’s time all health professionals learn that the number on the scale does not define a person’s health, worth, or value. Our patients are human beings, not human bodies, and they deserve evidence-based guidance, rather than judgment, shame, or “easy answers.”

Equip people to advocate for themselves

Perhaps as you read about Beth’s experience, you felt anger, sadness, and frustration bubbling up. It is my hope that the feelings you experience throughout Weight Stigma Awareness Week will be used as fuel to begin to educate other providers and equip those with whom you come in contact to advocate for themselves.

Ignoring weight bias does not increase awareness or lead to change, but here are some practices that can:

• Derail “fat talk” or weight-biased conversations and deflect them using research to support your case.
• Engage in body activism and encourage body acceptance.
• Focus on functionality versus appearance in your practice.
• Listen to your patients and seek to validate their concerns.

And remember to start with yourself. Examine yourself, looking for weight bias in your own life. Though the previous case study only addressed weight bias from a physician, I think we’ve all been taught or heard ideas that perpetuate weight stigma in our training. I know I have.

Practice weight neutrality

As providers, let’s stop believing that differences in weight and size define a patient’s health or worthiness of quality care. Let’s practice weight neutrality. Continue to remove weight stigma and bias in the provider community by changing the view of progress, validating the patient’s concerns, making evidence-based recommendations, and equipping professionals with knowledge and people to advocate for themselves.

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It was an honor to contribute this post to Binge Eating Disorder Association’s Weight Stigma Awareness Week 2015. See the original blog post here.

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Easy to Make, Exciting to Eat School Lunches

For many families, “Back to School” means back to packing lunches. Though parents have had a summer-long vacation from sorting through the Tupperware containers to find matching tops, and kids have had a break from that same ole turkey sandwich and chips, the idea of packing lunches (and eating them) still leaves much to be desired.

This morning on ABC’s Local Memphis Live, I shared some of my favorite tips for serving up creative, nourishing lunches that are easy to make and exciting to eat. The best part: Though I might pack these lunches for my little boy, you don’t have to be a pro to make lunches children will love! Here’s a clip of the Local Memphis Live segment (and a recap below) in case you missed it…

I packed up all of these lunches in Easy Lunchboxes…order some here and save yourself the nightmare of sorting through tons of tiny plastic containers…with the 3 compartment, single-lid lunchbox, packing lunches is that much faster (who doesn’t love that?)!

Peanut Butter & Banana “Sushi” Served with Greek Yogurt and Raw Veggies

For the “sushi,” take a whole wheat tortilla and spread a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter* over the entire tortilla. Place a whole, peeled banana close to the edge of the tortilla and roll. [Sidenote: This would be such an easy way to get your children involved in packing their own lunches!] Once the banana is all wrapped up, use a serrated knife to slice into 1 – 1.5 inch pieces.

*Many children (including my son) have peanut allergies, and schools are not allowing peanuts or peanut butter in school lunches. If this is the case for your child, no problem! Sunbutter made from sunflower seeds is a nice alternative…it’s still creamy and delicious like peanut butter…no Epipen needed!

Caprese Skewers Served with Sliced Apples and a Hardboiled Egg

To make the caprese skewers, roll up a slice of turkey and cut it into bite-sized pieces. On a 6-inch skewer*, place a small ball of fresh mozzarella, 1 basil leaf, 1 grape or cherry tomato, and 1 piece of the turkey. Repeat if you have room.

*Worried about sending your little one to school with a sharp, pointy object? Me too. Instead of using wooden skewers, try cocktail stirrers (which come in a variety of bright, glittery colors kids will love), skinny straws, or small popsicle sticks.

Greek Pita Pockets with Orange Slices and Cashews/Dark Chocolate Trail Mix

These Greek pita pockets provide a way to use leftovers in a way that tastes new and different. Take a whole wheat pita pocket and spread hummus all over the inside of the pocket. Next, sprinkle the inside with feta cheese. Add a few cucumber slices, shredded carrots, or raw veggies of your child’s choice along with bite-sized pieces of last night’s chicken, pork, or beef. Better yet, go ahead and pack this lunch before you clean up dinner so it’s ready to go for the next morning.

Bonus Tip!

Do you have leftovers that wouldn’t be appetizing in a pita but would be excellent simply rewarmed? Did you know thermoses are good for more than just soups and hot chocolate? I didn’t either until recently! Here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Take a small thermos and fill it up with hot water for about 5 minutes while you’re making your breakfast.
• Then, heat up the leftovers you need for lunch that day until they are piping hot.
• Pour the water out of the thermos, add your leftovers, and screw the top back on tightly.
• When lunchtime comes, no microwave needed…just a fork or spoon!

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Remember: You don’t have to be a pro to pack an awesome lunch…Guess what? You also don’t have to be a child to enjoy one of these balanced and “non-boring” lunches. Go ahead and get 2 of those Easy Lunchboxes out of the cabinet! One for your little one, and one for you! Enjoy!