Hi all,

After a long road with various symptoms I've been told I have a wheat and dairy allergy. OK, this will be a major life change! I understand that there are plenty of good substitutes and am not terribly concerned about the meals I prepare at home. However, I have to travel a good deal and eat in restaurants. Can anyone suggest what I can eat out? The only thing I could come up with is salad, but what about dressings other than oil & vinager? Advice about delis would really be great-I can see dinner wouldn't be as hard, just meat/fish and veggies, but lunch is really stumping me. Also, are there any frozen meals for wheat/dairy allergies? Any advice appreciated! Thanks so much, Skylar

Skylar, deli meat can be contaminated with the cheese (with hand contact with both - most delis use seperate slicers for meat and cheese). I have heard that you can give some restaurants your wheat-free pasta and they will cook their meals with it. Maybe eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant with corn tortillas? Bring your own wheat-free bread and eat at a Middle Eastern restaurant, hummous and baba ghanoush. Search out info on the net with Celiac disease. They have a lot of wheat -free ideas.

Thanks for the ideas! Going wheat and dairy free will be a major life change for me, but if it helps me feel better, then I'll try! Also, I've heard that after you remove something from your diet you may be able to slowly add a little bit back in the future-is that true? My response is not anaphalytic, I get sinus irritation, headaches and digestive problems. Thanks everyone!

Skylar, yes, this is true for some people. Eat the food for a while until your symptoms return and then give your body a break again for a month or two. Or you might be able to eat the food a few days per week and be able to tolerate that. Have you looked into taking probiotics? The acidophilus, etc. improves the normal flora in your gut where your immune cells are and you might be able to tolerate the foods better (and it would be good for your gut problems).

Thanks Sannah, I hope I'm one of those people who can tolerate at least a small amount-of wheat especially. I just found out I have this problem yesterday. Should I go totally off wheat and dairy cold turkey or is it better to wean off? I don't know if you can develop more pain if you quit cold turkey (like caffeine withdrawl?). And once I'm off, how long should I stay off before trying a little to see how it goes? Thanks for the tips, Skylar

Skylar, I would go cold turkey. I have never heard of anyone having any sort of caffeine-like withdrawal with removing foods. Actually, your body should like the abrupt withdrawal if you are having reactions to these foods. I have heard that a month is a good time to stop eating the foods and then try to add them back one at a time (maybe eat the wheat for a week and then add back the dairy?).