Dec

7

Soya

Filed Under Food Allergy | Leave a Comment

Soya allergy is a common childhood allergy. Most children with a soya allergy outgrow it by two years ago. However, there are some who has a life long condition with soya allergy. For those with a , avoidance of several types of manufactured foods containing soya such as baked biscuits, sweets, drinks, ice cream and various seasonings, is advised.

Unfortunately, soya may be described in a variety of ways by manufacturers in food labelling. For instance, soya can be described as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, vegetable oil and lecithin. Hence it pays to be aware of these other food labellings.

Manufacturers often use soya flour to increase the shelf life and to improve the color of pastry crusts. Textured soya protein, which is sometimes known as textured vegetable protein, is made from compressed soya flour. It is used to improve the consistency of meat food products.

Refined soya oil should generally be safe if you have a soya allergy, since the proteins that cause allergic reactions are removed during processing.

Symptoms of include rashes, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and breathing difficulties. Some people with soya allergy might also react to milk. Very rarely, soya allergy reactions are often mild but they can cause anaphylaxis.

Very often, those who have a milk allergy, turn to soya milk instead. This is often the case with young children and highly hydrolyzed milk or casein formulas are often consumed as alternatives. However, it is advisable to check with the doctor about possible soya allergy as it is not necessarily true that your child will not have a soya allergy as well.

If you have a soya allergy, you may also react to foods such as peanuts, green peas, chickpeas, rye and barley flour. So do take note of any adverse reactions!

Nov

20

Food

Filed Under Allergy Attack | Leave a Comment

A peanut allergy is often lifelong.  There are some rare cares whereby young children with a peanut allergy outgrow this condition.

Having a peanut allergy warrants a lot of care and attention.  It is a very common food allergy and is one of those that can be fatal, causing severe reactions include anaphylaxis. Coming into contact with traces of protein can also set off a whole series of reactions. Hence, it is important to check that even the utensils used to serve the food have not been used for food containing peanuts.

Raw peanuts or cooked peanuts do not make a difference to allergy sufferers.  Peanuts contain a number of allergens that are not destroyed by cooking or roasting.

Some amounts of refined peanut oil are thought to be safe if you have a peanut allergy because the proteins causing the reactions are removed during processing.  However, refrain from using or consuming cold-pressed, or unrefined/unprocessed (crude) peanut oil as these contain small amounts of peanut allergens.

If you have a , you may also want to check if you are sensitive to legumes as they contain similar allergens to peanuts.  Legumes are foods such as soya, green beans, green peas kidney beans, and lupins.  Other types of nuts that you may also need to test include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts.

If you have a school going kid with a , you should advise teachers and the school as well about your kid’s condition as well.  You may consider packing your kid’s own meals to minimise the chance of your kid coming into contact with peanuts.  Most definitely, ensure that your kid does not eat any chocolates, cakes or deserts that contain peanuts in them.

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