Welcome to the Food Intolerance and Food Allergy Newsletter (August 2009).
This newsletter is produced by Sharla Race who is the owner of the Food Can Make You Ill web site.
Healthy Eating
I have started a new category in the Links section called Healthy Eating - all the sites are UK and you can buy a range of organic and health foods directly from them.
I have also added an introductory article on Healthy Eating and one on Bread:
Bread
Is it what it should be?
To make bread you really only need flour, yeast, a small amount of salt, water and... time. The element of time is the ingredient that has been removed in mass produced bread – it quite simply costs too much. Back in the 1960s a new method (the Chorleywood Bread Process) was introduced that involved incorporating air and water into dough and mixing it at high speed in mechanical mixers. However, it was not quite as simple as that – double the quantity of yeast were needed to make it rise, chemical oxidants were needed to get the gas in and fat had to be added to provide structure – without the fat the bread collapsed.
Your bread label may mention ‘vegetable fat’ but as it is used as a processing aid and may be part of a mixed ‘flour treatment agent’ you may never see it on a label.
In 1998 the use of flour bleached with chlorine compounds was banned but chlorinated flour made life easier for the mass bakers as it allowed higher levels of water to be added. The bakery industry turned to the use of enzymes as processing aids.
These enzymes are destroyed in the baking process so, at present, do not appear on your list of ingredients. They, like some other substances used, are classed as processing aids and the law does not require that the manufacturer even tells you that they have been used let alone what they are.
Research Updates:
Nuts and Food Labelling
Noimark et al carried out a study to try understand and quantify the attitudes of parents of children with nut allergy towards labels informing them that the product could contain nuts.
They found that 80% of parents would not purchase a product labelled 'not suitable for nut allergy sufferers' or 'may contain nuts'. However, other labels including 'this product does not contain any nuts but is made in a factory that uses nuts', 'cannot guarantee is nut free' and 'may contain traces of nuts' were avoided by only around 50% of parents.
Full Details
Reactions to Chicory
Pirson et al reported that a person working in a factory producing inulin from chicory developed rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma to the dust of dry chicory roots and oral allergy syndrome to raw fruits and vegetables.
Full details
Food Allergy and Food Intolerance Tests
Despite the first documented case of food allergy to cooked food back in 1921 (by Prausnitz and Kustner), all commercial food antigens, which are used to test for food allergy, are prepared from raw food. Most tests for IgE (allergy) and IgG (food intolerance) reactions are also measured against raw food.
Vojdani argues that one of the reasons traditional food sensitivity testing fails is that it does not reflect a real world non raw food diet.
The problem is not only that a food can change when processed but that the affect it has in the body can also be different when it is combined with other foods. So, a person “who is allergic to ketchup may not have an immune reaction to raw tomato”. Normal testing methods would not identify or resolve that person’s problems.
Full details
The new revised and updated Food Diary is now on line. The Print for Yourself Food Diary is in pdf format and is free to download, share and even distribute from other sites. If you are new to the concept of using a food diary start with my introduction. If you are familiar with the concept then you are welcome to go straight to the download page.
Antioxidants: The truth about BHA, BHT, TBHQ and other antioxidants used as food additives.
Information on a wide range of food intolerance subjects can be accessed from the main library page:
http://www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk/library/index.html
Charity seeks end to lunchbox ham
Parents have been urged not to put ham and other smoked, salted or cured meat into their children's lunchboxes to help them reduce the risk of cancer.
Hot dog manufacturers sued over cancer risk!
Food Allergy Researchers Find Links, But Mysteries Remain
Scientists are uncovering links between food and other allergens, such as pollen and dust, by looking at “regional anomalies” among allergens and the connections between allergen proteins.
Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease
Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America. It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.
The Food Standards Agency in the UK:
New purity criteria for food additives open for consultation
They also have a consultation process on regulations applying to
food enzymes
Allergy and multiple sclerosis: a population-based case-control study
AAbstract of a study showing that a history of atopic allergies seems to confer protection against MS
Scientists solve mystery of ‘green oats’
The appearance of an undesirable greenish hue on cooking oats and oat products may be related to leavening agents and the water used, say new results from the US.
Food manufacturers are continuously looking at ways to enhance foodstuffs. The links below are to a few of the latest ideas circulating:
New blend makes antioxidant rich chocolate easier to create, says Wild
Wild has launched a blend of plant extracts to help chocolate manufacturers create antioxidant rich products without needing to buy special quality cocoa beans.
GRAS opens functional food road for curcumin antioxidant
Sabinsa has received GRAS status for its curcumin antioxidant ingredient, opening up its use in certain food and beverage applications in the US, including baked goods, snacks and dairy products.
Disagreement over why food packing additive application withdrawn
Moves to include the chemical triclosan on a European list of additives that could be authorised for use in food contact materials have been abandoned by the Swiss-based manufacturer of the substance.
Sugar Stacks
An interesting visual look at just how much sugar there is some foods (and
drink).
Real Bread Campaign
An interesting look at what is in bread that perhaps we don't want there.
Am I lactose intolerant?
Information on lactose intolerance including an elimination diet to help in
identifying the problem.
Check out my section on Healthy Eating for lots of UK companies that sell organic and/or health foods online.
***************
You are welcome to send this newsletter to others but please send it in its entirety and let them know that it has come from you.
Any comments or feedback to sharla@foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk
Copyright: Sharla Race 2009
All rights reserved
Food Can Make You Ill
Your Complete Guide to Food Intolerance and Food Allergy
www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk