cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
How to dine out when you have severe food allergies—and how restaurants can help
I have food allergies. Much more than you care to know, but I’ll tell you anyway: Fish or shellfish send me to the hospital with life-threatening anaphylaxis, hives, and terrible swelling. Raw tree nuts such as almonds or cashews provide a similar but less severe reaction. Quinoa is a newly emerging allergy for me that caused a recent outbreak of hives. Same for a coconut-heavy yellow curry. My most developed muscles are my histamines.
This doesn’t even get into the food intolerances (there’s a difference). Red meat not braised or well done won’t stay long in me. Same for oats and many wheat breads. Certain raw fruits and vegetables in large quantities cause severe throat discomfort. I can’t drink a glass of milk, but I can have cheese and butter... as long as I’ve taken medication. Eggs must be hard boiled or over-hard to be eaten alone.
Those are just mine. The near-limitless combinations of allergies, intolerances, and severities make accommodating the 15 million Americans with food allergies tricky. To add complexity, all of these permutations should be treated as life or death situations if encountered. No pressure!
I have food allergies. Much more than you care to know, but I’ll tell you anyway: Fish or shellfish send me to the hospital with life-threatening anaphylaxis, hives, and terrible swelling. Raw tree nuts such as almonds or cashews provide a similar but less severe reaction. Quinoa is a newly emerging allergy for me that caused a recent outbreak of hives. Same for a coconut-heavy yellow curry. My most developed muscles are my histamines.
This doesn’t even get into the food intolerances (there’s a difference). Red meat not braised or well done won’t stay long in me. Same for oats and many wheat breads. Certain raw fruits and vegetables in large quantities cause severe throat discomfort. I can’t drink a glass of milk, but I can have cheese and butter... as long as I’ve taken medication. Eggs must be hard boiled or over-hard to be eaten alone.
Those are just mine. The near-limitless combinations of allergies, intolerances, and severities make accommodating the 15 million Americans with food allergies tricky. To add complexity, all of these permutations should be treated as life or death situations if encountered. No pressure!