When Food Can Kill You: What The World Needs To Know

By Gabrielle Zimmerman

Living in a world with autoimmune diseases or food allergies is too often like walking out onto a battlefield without knowing who your opponents are or where the next attack will come from.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gabrielle Zimmerman
• Release date: May 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641374989

Gabrielle Zimmerman

Gabrielle Zimmerman is passionate about nutrition and dietetics, which she studied at New York University. When she is not exploring gluten-free restaurants, Gabrielle spends her time reading. It was the combination of her love for reading and her enthusiasm for diet and nutrition that inspired her debut nonfiction book, When Food Can Kill You. Through her writing, Zimmerman wants to increase awareness about the importance of accommodating dietary restrictions. She encourages people to learn from her life's experiences as well as from others in the hope that people can work together to improve the quality of life for those with special dietary needs.

Book preview

Part One:

Introduction

My life did not always revolve around my proximity to gluten. It did not always scare me to have a bread crumb within an inch—heck, even twelve inches away from me. It’s funny how a daily basic human need can surprisingly become so much more complex than ever imagined. Maybe you can say that when life hits you hard for the first time, there’s no going back except to realize that the things you take for granted can be short-lived. I’m still amazed at how one instance could change my entire life forever; how easily things could suddenly be taken away from me, like legs going numb and no longer able to support me.

***

Do you spend most of your days and nights thinking about food?

What meals you’re going to eat the next day? 

What restaurants are safe for you to eat at? 

What places are open after midnight during finals week? 

Perhaps, you’re on a road trip with your friends and they want to grab a quick-bite to eat at a nearby pizza place, but you know it will be too risky for you.

What do you do? Maybe, you’re going out on a first date with someone, and they pick a restaurant that you can’t eat at, but you’re afraid of telling them the truth. What do you tell them? Similarly, maybe you’re traveling outside of the country for a family vacation, but the airlines typically serve on-board snacks that you can’t have, or possibly, be near at all. 

How do you handle this? Perhaps, it’s your turn to bring in snacks for your school’s sport team, but you don’t know what foods everyone else will like that you can have too. 

What do you decide to bring? 

***

In recent years, the United States has particularly seen a growing number of families facing daily challenges and anxieties that come with having food allergies. Today, an estimated thirty-two million Americans suffer with them, including one in thirteen children, or about two students per classroom, and more than one in ten adults. Currently, there are eight common foods or food groups (often referred to as The Big 8) identified by the law that account for approximately ninety percent of all food allergy reactions in the US. They are: milk, eggs, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod), Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp), wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans).¹

But first, what is a food allergy? What are the symptoms? Food allergy is an adverse response to a certain food, particularly to the protein found in the specific food, that is triggered by the body’s immune system. While the immune system normally functions to protect the body from foreign invaders, such as harmful bacteria and viruses which can lead to various illnesses, it mistakenly identifies a certain food in the same way and produces symptoms. 

The symptoms and severity of food allergic reactions can differ between individuals and can also be different for one person over time. For some, an allergic reaction to a specific food may be uncomfortable but not severe, also known as mild symptoms shown in Figure 1.

For others, an allergic food reaction can be serious and potentially life-threatening, as shown in Figure 2.

Similarly, one or more of the symptoms provided in Figure 2 can be indicative as some of the early signs of anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction involving at least two or more systems in the body, such as the skin and the lungs. It often begins within minutes or even seconds after a person has been exposed to an allergen or problem food. Less commonly, symptoms can also arrive hours later. Anaphylaxis requires immediate attention and emergency treatment. If left untreated, it can cause a coma or even death.

Administration of intramuscular epinephrine at the onset of anaphylaxis is essential. Epinephrine works by preventing or reversing airflow obstruction and protecting against cardiovascular collapse (the sudden loss of blood flow due to cardiac or vascular factors), which are the chief causes of death from anaphylaxis. Currently, all patients at risk for recurrent anaphylaxis are advised to carry an injectable epinephrine with them at all times. Typically, this comes in an auto injector device, such as the EpiPen, which is available by prescription. It is recommended that patients carry two of these devices in case one malfunctions. 

In addition, up to twenty percent of patients can have a second wave of symptoms hours or even days after their initial symptoms have subsided. This is called biphasic anaphylaxis. In these instances, administering injectable epinephrine is once again needed.

Considering that there is no cure for food allergy except the strict avoidance of specific allergens, this surely puts food allergy suffers at greater risk for experiencing undesirable consequences, such as accidental exposure to the problem ingredient or food. Indeed, with a growing prevalence of people with food allergy in the US, this has become an increasing and inevitable food safety and public health concern. 

However, considering the severity and prevalence of food allergies in this country, it is profoundly important that everyone—not just those with food allergies—understand how to deal with them. Increased education and awareness about these allergies will, in turn, lead to fewer avoidable health emergencies.

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1 What You Need to Know, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 2017.

Part Two:

Introduction

What if you don’t spend most of your days and nights thinking about food in the way that food allergy sufferers do? 

In other words, perhaps you have no problem going to that nearby pizza place with all your friends or eating out at that restaurant your date picked out. Maybe you can order from any of the airlines’ in-flight snack box items. Perhaps food is never even a second thought—you can eat whatever you want.

While this type of food-freedom or flexibility to consume any type of food may reflect your daily eating habits and current food lifestyle, have you ever thought about the possible ways that food allergies may still impact you? Your friends? Coworkers? Family members? Even the type of energy that is brought into the room, or felt at the table?

Indeed, this impact can be certainly equated with the notion of assuming responsibility in response to certain situations, such as encountering or dealing with those who have food allergy.

For example, perhaps you work as a chef at a restaurant and you receive a special request to prepare a specific meal for a customer who has a severe gluten allergy. Although, you may not be the one with the food allergy, you now assume responsibility for that customer’s health and safety by having to proceed with the necessary precautions to cook their meal. In turn, these steps may require more of your time, attention, and inevitably, the liability for anything that could possibly go wrong.

Besides this, another scenario might be that you are someone who works in business or finance. You decide to invite a new client out to some sporting event, in this case a baseball game, but they have a severe peanut allergy and politely reject your invitation. Wanting to make a good impression with your client, as it will likely set the tone for working with them in the future, it is now up to you to figure out how you will proceed with the situation, essentially, assuming responsibility for the new client who has the food allergy. Whether it be choosing a safer venue, finding an activity that they like to do that could be a good option as well, or doing a business lunch or dinner