Living with allergies or eating for an auto-immune diet can be tough when traveling & even when at home. My goal here is to offer some encouragement and to share a few practical tips and recipes that cater to the allergen community. Hope you enjoy!
Hi! If you're new here you might see my recipes and wonder why I eat the way I do.
"I grew up in a southern family who loves cooking and baking! Unfortunately, food allergies were in the cards for me from a young age."
My mother never seemed to consider this a great burden though. She just carried on cooking and became accustomed to using alternative ingredients. As a child, my list of allergies was quite extensive. I feel so blessed to say that over the years many of these food allergies have lessened or gone completely.
In 2013 my mother was diagnosed with Celiac disease (an autoimmune disease which causes the patient to have to avoid gluten). Unlike a traditional allergy, autoimmune driven responses can actually cause long-term damage to the body. As a result, my mother began a strict gluten-free diet. In fact, several years later she and my father opened their own gluten-free baking mix company! Quickly following were an exciting and successful few years that I got to be right in the middle of. The picture above is from one of our many baking days! I worked for the business right up until I got married.
My husband Michael and I married in April of 2020. Yep, right at the beginning of Covid. We actually had a drive in wedding where everyone watched from their cars! After two years of marriage Michael was diagnosed with EoE (Eosinophilic esophagitis), an autoimmune disease that can cause damage to the esophagus if not properly treated.
"The treatment for EoE - a change in diet or medication. We chose the diet route and here we are!"
I eat the same diet that Michael does and can honestly say, after so many months of eating this way, we both feel better. it's honestly been a fun thing - getting to learn a new way of cooking and getting to create new recipes.
What is EoE?
EoE (Eosinophilic esophagitis) is an autoimmune disease - a chronic immune system disease. In other words, your body is attacking itself when certain foods enter your body.
The result is a build-up of a type of white blood cells called Eosinophils. This build up is located in the lining of the esophagus. Over time the build up can become worse, resulting in inflammation or damage to the tissue in the esophagus, further long term effects can include esophageal narrowing. These are often times what cause patients to have difficulty swallowing or the feeling of food being stuck when eating.
How are EoE & Celiac different than traditional allergies?
While traditional allergies do fall on the immune side of the chart, autoimmune disorders are unique in the severity of the long-term, internal damage they can cause to the body. True allergies will cause an immediate or nearly immediate reaction, and while they can be life threatening, the body's response is not quite the same.
Reactions to allergens is similar to reactions to viruses, bacteria or parasites. It is the immune system's reaction to foreign substances.
Autoimmunity is a system of responses by the immune system against healthy cells and tissues. This is where the difference lies and where the damage to the esophageal tissue comes from in EoE and the damage to the small intestine comes from in Celiac.
I hope you've found this helpful and that you find my recipes helpful as well! Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
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