#OhhMoments - Bethany shares her struggle growing up with Food Allergies

July 03, 2019

 

"My name is Bethany and I’m 19 years old. I’ve been anaphylactic to dairy and allergic to nuts since I was born. Also, 4 years ago I went gluten-free because of digestive issues" 

Growing up with food allergies is hard. I missed out on treats at school, I have to be selective of who’s house I eat at, I only eat at 1 restaurant I know is safe for me, I bring my own food when I go out and when I go on holiday.

My Mum’s closest friends make an effort to see what I can and can't eat when I go to theirs. This makes me feel included and means I can enjoy social activities.

People who are supportive and accommodating are key. Safe food and snacks make it easier to eat out.

Food Allergies Not Being Taken Seriously

There is one time that really stands out to me regarding my food allergies not being taken seriously. I was at secondary school (year 8 (UK) or 7th grade (US)). We went over my allergies and they said they understood and all the lunches would be fine as I would get a different meal.

Then one day I was given a bake-well tart that they said was dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free. I checked with them and they rechecked the packet and they said they were safe for me to eat. So, I ate it.

At the weekend, we went to get some of the bake-well tarts. When we checked the ingredients, they contained almonds. When I went back to school on Monday, we had a meeting with the school cooks and the nurse/first aider. The cooks didn’t take it seriously.

After that, I always took a packed lunch. This was good as I knew the food would be safe. But it was also bad because I was the only one in the entire school doing it. It made me feel embarrassed and singled-out. To this day, I still struggle with eating my own food when I go out.

Lessons Learned

Always check the packet yourself even if it seems silly and you’ve eaten it a thousand times before. A good way to do this is to check the ingredients when you buy it and when you go to make it.  Only recently, I ended up checking the recycling to check the ingredients on potato waffles. I’ve had them all my life but I still check them each time I buy and eat them. They were safe and it gave me such peace of mind knowing I could eat them without any problems.

In The Future

In the future, I would love to see…

• People with food allergies to feel included when they’re eating out and eating at home.
• People with food allergies to enjoy eating, cooking and baking food.
• People to have knowledge about food allergies.
• People with food allergies to be able to buy food on the go and safe snacks that they can take with them.

This is why I’ve started my blog Allergy Bakes. So that I can help people with food allergies enjoy baking again and feel included.

How You Can Help

You can help by:

• Asking people you know who have food allergies or celiac disease how you can help them
• Educating yourself on food allergies, there are lots of great information on all these sites:
• FARE - Food Allergy Research & Education
• Allergy UK
• Anaphylaxis Campaign (UK)
• Allergy Facts (Australia)
• Food Allergy Canada

If you want an allergy baking substitutions guide for eggs, dairy, gluten and nuts, sign up to my newsletter here.

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