John does it very well in response to the comments after the CBC artical “CBC News – What teachers and parents should know about severe food allergies“ I posted about earlier.

Found here http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/08/19/f-vp-smith.html

John says:

This article by Gwen Smith of Allergic Living Magazine gives an important message for everyone with children in the school. Whether you are a parent of an allergic child, a parent with a child attending the school with allergic children, or a teacher at that school, you need to read this article.

It goes through many important points to consider for snacks and lunches. Outlines a few facts and dangers associated with food allergies and how we can all get along together if the allergic and non-allergic make a few adjustments.

This is a Canadian site, but these apply to wherever you are.

via CBC News – Canada – What teachers and parents should know about severe food allergies.

Illustration by John Ueland for TIME

Joel Stein has a knack for writing articles that raises the hair on the back of people’s necks.  (See his article “Have Americans Gone Nuts Over Nut Allergies?”

This time he gets his own, though not in a way I would wish on ANYONE.

A Nut Allergy Skeptic Learns the Hard Way

By JOEL STEIN Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010

Years ago, sitting on an ear doctor’s examining table after causing my inner ear to bleed for days by puncturing it with a Q-tip, I looked up to see a framed copy of a column about how stupid it is to put Q-tips in your ears. It was a column I had written. When you publish hundreds of obnoxiously self-righteous proclamations, some of them are going to cause you embarrassment. Which doesn’t seem all that big of a deal when you also have blood leaking from your ears.

At the beginning of last year, I wrote a column that questioned whether the increase in food allergies among children was a matter of overreporting. It began with this carefully calibrated thought: “Your kid doesn’t have an allergy to nuts. Your kid has a parent who needs to feel special.” After that, I got a little harsh.

(See nine kid foods to avoid.)

The column was not the first thing that came to mind after my 1-year-old son Laszlo started sneezing, then breaking out in hives, then rubbing his eyes, then crying through welded-shut eyes, then screaming and, finally, vomiting copiously at the entrance of the Childrens Hospital emergency room an hour after eating his first batch of blended mixed nuts.

via A Nut Allergy Skeptic Learns the Hard Way – TIME.

Here are some details. The rest can be found on their Facebook page.

DELICARDO Foodcards, a very helpful little card that contains your dietary dos and don’ts, is having a scavenger hunt.

To go into the draw to win a pack of 50 DELICARDO Foodcards of your choosing (go tohttp://www.delicardo.com to see the range of cards available) answer the questions below:

1. What rating did Rosanne give “The Bell Jar” café at http://www.glutensavvy.com?

2. What is the secret word in the magnifying glass on the “Disney with Food Allergies” travel page at http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com? (Tip: You can find the pages here http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/travel.htm)

3. Who is the founder of www.mallergies.com and what is your favourite post there? (Tip: You can choose any post found at the website)

4. What is the name of the trail mix recently reviewed athttp://www.foodallergyqueen.com?

5. Which allergies and intolerances are mentioned in the founding story of DELICARDO? (Tip: Check the story page at http://www.delicardo.com)

Send your answers and your choice of cards to Delicardo Foodie via facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000358462929) or email bosson@enomis.dewith the subject line “facebook competition”.

Competition ends 24 August 2010.

For more details go to the “Eating Out: Allergies and Diets” facebook group pagehttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=340959892390. Remember all entries must be sent to Delicardo.

Have fun!

Allergies Attack!

The game follows a boy during his dreams in which he goes on the offensive against all types of allergies; pollen, bees, peanuts, dust, pet dander, you name it.

Fly a ship and shoot the baddies out of the sky as they come flying towards you.

I bought the game and found it to be fun and managed to get through a few levels of play. I’ve been told that there will be an update to introduce a more child-friendly settings so that even the little ones can enjoy it to its fullest!

At only .99 cents you too can support the awareness campaign! (links to Itunes.com)

Enjoy!

Game Intro screen

Game screen

http://bit.ly/videodetails will take you to their Facebook page.

Sadly it does not seem to be open to Canadians.

So are you going to enter?

Here’s a lowdown on what they want and what you get:

If they can create a peanut that is low allergy, when will they be able to create one that is NO allergy?

I know there is the camp that is against the whole genetic manipulation of food, but it’s very cool and promising.

Besides, genetically modifying food and plants may lead us to some very important medical discoveries!

Researchers are working on peanuts that are low allergy, which could put an end to the problems the popular seed can cause.

Through mixing varieties, the US team has managed to remove or reduce key proteins thought to spark the allergy.

They stress the resulting peanuts are not genetically modified but the product of conventional cross-breeding.

Peanut allergies are relatively common and usually cause breathing problems.

But at their most serious, they can lead to a potentially life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

Read on…

via BBC News – Hopes rise for low allergy peanut.

Hi Kat’s own words:

“…the Medic Alert bracelets arent particularly attractive and many people after purchasing one don´t have the desire to wear them on a daily basis as they should, especially women and children. The Keeps Me Safe bracelets certainly are beautiful and trendy, they are made from natural stones /Swarovksi crystals / leather, making them something beautiful rather than something to be ashamed of, and they are not expensive, meaning that people could buy one tag and various bracelets to swap on a daily basis depending on how they feel.”

Check out Keeps Me Safe at www.keepsmesafe.com and is available in both English and Spanish.

Sample tag:

Check out some of these bracelet designs.

A special congrats goes out to Sarah D. of Matthews, North Carolina. She will be receiving her free pack of Gluten Foodcards in the mail!

For those who did not win, watch the web and especially the Delicardo Facebook page. They sometimes have special offers and contests so you may yet win!

Until then get your comment in as soon as you can! You still have a chance to win!

Spread the word!