Food allergy is the wrong over-reaction of the body immune system to certain food that it thinks is harmful for the body. People can develop an allergic reaction to any kind of food at any age. But they are most common among babies and kids.
Doctors have recorded over 120 types of food that has caused allergic reaction. The food that causes an allergic reaction is called an allergen. The symptoms of allergy can range from mild to severe such as stomach cramps, vomiting, wheezing, swelling of tongue, dizziness, color change in skin, rashes or even severe breathing issues. Sometimes children outgrow allergies.
Top 9 food allergens are:
- Milk
- Wheat (Gluten)
- Eggs
- Tree Nuts
- Shellfish
- Soy
- Fish
- Peanut
- Sesame/Mustard Seeds
Managing Food Allergies
The best remedy for food allergies is to AVOID the allergens. Just don’t eat the allergic food. It is comparatively easy to avoid the last 5 allergens as it can be easily identified. However, the first 4 allergens (milk, wheat, egg and nuts) are almost present everywhere. It forms part of many food items and you may not realize that you are consuming it. In this post, I would like to share more details about those 4 major allergens and some popular recipes that can be made excluding these.
Totally Free Of Allergy Recipes
These recipes are free of milk, wheat, egg, nut, soy, peanut, etc.. allergies.
Dairy Free (No Milk Products) Recipes
Milk allergy is an adverse reaction to any type of animal milk, but most commonly with cows milk. It is different from lactose intolerance, which is not an allergy but the inability to digest lactose that if found in milk. Most children with milk allergy get out of their symptoms by their 3rd birthday but some do not.
In India, milk is consumed on a daily basis as such or in the form of curd or cheese. Milk and milk products play an important role in Indian sweets and desserts since more than 90% of them either use milk product directly or indirectly. So here is a list of dessert options that can be made dairy free. You can also substitute cows milk in all kheer (payasam) recipes with coconut milk, soy milk, rice milk or almond milk.
Gluten Free (No Wheat) Recipes
A gluten free diet is recommended for people with gluten intolerance, which is to exclude the protein gluten from the diet. Gluten is found in the grains wheat, barley and rye. This also means staying away from all wheat products that we get in India such as atta, maida, rava, broken wheat, bulgar, wheat bran, cereals, pasta and some noodles. The wheat products available in western countries include semolina, farina, durum flour, graham flour etc. People with gluten allergy cannot have cakes, cookies, crackers etc. unless they are specified as gluten free.
In India, there have not been many reported cases of wheat allergy till today. However, among the Indians living in western countries wheat allergy is prevalent. Luckily, we have lots of Indian dishes made with other grains like rice, ragi, corn flour, arrowroot etc. that are gluten free.
Egg Free (Eggless) Recipes
Nut Free (No Tree Nuts and Peanuts) Recipes