Show WHA T to EAT EAM i and WHY 6 a out outon u j t an ao u ali j i ax tae causes of sd food allergy well known food authority names the foods that cause trouble by C HOUSTON GOUDISS 6 east st ne v york city A NEW phrase has crept into daily usage in recent years f has lias m fact become so common that comedians use it in jest and draw laughs from their audiences when they mimic im pm allergic I 1 but the words have deep significance for perhaps 30 to 60 per cent of the population who have cause to agree with the old saying that one mans meat is another mans poison they are victims of the curious phenomenon kanoun as food al bergy and have an abnormal deac tion to the proteins in certain foods and other substances As a result foods which are beneficial in themselves and which usually have an important place in a normal balanced diet cause a variety of unpleasant effects these may range from hives or a skin rash to a gastric disturb ance with spells of nausea the individual may suf fer from migraine headache or an at tack of hay fever or asthma or he may have a tend ency to what appears to be bron chial or head colds it has been de ter mined that these symptoms in an in who is al lervic are due to intolerance of certain proteins even when the offending foods are fruits and vegetables it is the pro tein that is responsible it has been suggested that the sensitize tiza tion results because at some pre time an or protein in some way passed through the membranes lining the digestive tract and entered the blood stream this acted very much like a foreign substance and sensitized body cells in some way so that whenever the same food is eaten the disturbing symptoms occur as a sort of defense ism heredity a factor A tendency to allergy seems to be inherited but the substances which caused a disturbance differ with each individual and the type of reaction also differs for exam pie a mother may be allergic to milk her child inheriting the tend ency may be allergic to fish drinking milk may give the mother an attack of asthma eat ing fish may cause the child to break out with hives K trouble making foods it is difficult to generalize re garding the foods that cause trou brou ble because they vary so widely among individuals who are sized and often one person is sen to a number of foods it has been jound that the foods most fre causing allergic lymp toms include wheat milk eggs chocolate pork fish and shellfish tomatoes cauliflower cabbage strawberries and oranges skin rashes are believed to be caused most frequently by hyper sensitiveness to milk cereal or pork hives are reported to occur often from eating strawberries chocolate fish and band tomatoes wheat is frequently an offender in migraine headaches asthma seems to be common in persons C who are sensitive to milk eggs and butter br other Offend offending mg substances foods are not always response res ble for allergy and the symptoms may be produced by contact with wool feathers dust pollen dander from horses or other animals or even the sting of a bee A Discover discovering mg the offenders the ideal procedure for the al bergy victim is to find out the of fending tending foods or substances and avoid them for early recognition of a tendency to allergy may pre vent discomfort and trouble there are two ways to discover the trouble makers one is to learn by experience either by keeping keep ing a record of the foods eat en and noting the appearance of symptoms or by eliminating from the diet first one and then another of the foods that are suspected of causing difficulty the other is to let your doctor conduct simple skin tests small scratches are made on the arms and legs and each scratch touched with a tion made of the protein of a food or substance known to cause trou brou ble if it a person is allergic to that substance the skin around the scratch swells and becomes in flamed the inflammation digap pears after a few hours and causes no pain or inconvenience br other foods must be used once the offending food or foods ake are determined they should be eliminated either for all time or until the individual becomes de sensitized if the trouble maker is an uncommon food such as lob ster or clams the allergy presents no great problem but when chil dren react to necessary foods such as milk eggs and wheat the homemaker faces a difficult task when milk is the offending food it must be avoided not only as a beverage but in bread cakes and puddings sometimes dried or evaporated milk goat s milk or soy bean milk may be used in stead when wheat heat is the trouble maker the alternatives include cornstarch rice flour potato or rye flour rice and corn cereals tapioca or barley when hens hen s eggs are injurious duck s eggs can sometimes be used with success or meat or fish may be substituted sometimes after a period of ex elusion an immunity is built up so that later the foods may bere introduced gradually into the diet 9 don dont jump to conclusions it must be borne in mind hat that many of the symptoms produced by food sensitivity may also result from other causes for this rea son it is unwise to decide that one is allergic without due investing a tion hon nor must the imagination or 01 the current widespread discussion of the subject be allowed to cause adults or children to mask their unwillingness to eat certain foods with the false notion that they are unduly sensitive on the other hand homemakers should be sympathetic with both children and adults who say with good cause I 1 I 1 can t eat that and it would appear that there may even be some compensation in this unpleasant situation for a group of scientists who have studied the subject announced a few years ago that those who belong to the allergy group appear to have a definite capacity for becoming intellectually superior thus the child who suffers from a skin rash or stuffy nose today due to food sensitivity is apt to be full of energy when he reaches manhood and exhibit unusual abil ity for cultural leadership a anu C houston goudiss 1938 23 |