Don't Let Allergies Limit You

"The more I give myself permission to live in the moment and enjoy it without feeling guilty or judgmental about any other time, the better I feel about the quality of my work."

-Wayne Dyer

WEBSITE: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/cardio/treadmill/burn-2000-calories-on-the-treadmill/ Max the calories burned on the treadmill!!

For whatever reason it seems that food allergies are on the rise. I am no stranger to the world of trying to figure out what food made me sick. I spent close to a year taking various things out of diet as trial and error. For a long time it was gluten (which is in pretty much everything) and lived off rice cakes and peanut butter. When this was not making me 100% I tried to go dairy-free and am a million times better since then.

Food allergies don't need to be a source of resentment. Think outside the box and try new things!

The problem with food allergies isn't avoiding the food, although this can be difficult when it is something you enjoy, but rather the nutrients that you miss by not having it in your diet. I broke down some of the common ones to look on what what nutrients you are missing and some food options to help replace these. Make sure, especially when missing out on a food group, to commit to taking a multi-vitamin!

Dairy (i'm a milk fanatic so this was hard for me but check out my lactaid post...it has saved my life!!)

-Calcium: replace with fortified cereals, lactaid/soy milk/almond milk/rice milk, orange juice, okra, kale, and collards

-Vitamin D: replace with fortified juices and cereals, sunlight, avocado, beef liver (ha!)

-Magnesium: replace with meat, poultry, fish (tuna), pumpkin/squash seeds, quinoa, spinach, brown rice, and artichoke hearts

-Potassium: replace with potatoes/sweet potatoes, prune juice, carrots, winter squash, bananas, orange fruits and melons

Eggs

-Vitamin E: replace with avocado, broccoli, mango, spinach, corn oil, nectarine, kiwi, peanuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds

-B12: beef, fortified cereals, pork, and chicken breast

-Folic Acid: Fortified juice and cereals, banana, spinach, avocado, rice, broccoli, tomato, papaya, cantaloupe, and asparagus

-Vitamin D: replace with fortified juices and cereals, sunlight, avocado, beef liver

Wheat

-Thiamine: pork, beef, leafy green vegetables, berries, and fortified cereals

-Niacin: chicken, beef, liver, and fortified cereals

Fresh Fruits/Vegetables

-With this allergy, it becomes a trial and error as to what fresh fruits and vegetables are able to be eaten

-Try cooking, micro-waving, baking or buying frozen and canned

-Some can handle processed such as applesauce or dried fruits

-For mild allergies, peeling the fruit/vegetables skin and eating them unripe can help ease some discomfort

There are a million of allergies out there but these are a couple bigger ones. Try to be creative and know what your body can handle. Having an allergy does not need to severely limit your diet!!

Megan