Allergies not just hay fever anymore.

    A man decides he's going to have something different for dinner and goes to the store to buy a tuna stake. Gets home and cooks it thinking "wow that smells delicious". After getting all the side dishes together he sits down to have dinner. He takes the first bite and loves the way it tastes and the texture is sublime; however...

Pic found at  http://www.missnutritionist.com

    He starts to have a hard time breathing. Being a medic, he knows he probably has an allergy to the food and goes to call 911, but finds he can barely breath, let alone talk. Thankfully his roommate gets back from doing 24 hour duty and gets him to the hospital that they both work at, just 2 miles down the road from the barracks they live in. That man was me back in January 1994 when I found out I was deadly allergic to tuna. Too bad too, because I loved the way it tasted. Fast forward to December 2011 and without thinking I order some salmon sushi at my favorite place here in Oklahoma Go-Go Sushi without telling them I am allergic to tuna. If I had they would have taken precautions to make sure I had a safe meal. Thankfully I didn't end up in the hospital that time. My Mother-in-law is allergic to shellfish (a more common allergy), and even more common is a gluten allergy. Gluten is in so many products, but even many chain pizza places are making gluten free products and going to great lengths to keep contaminants out.   "15 million Americans—including 1 in every 13 children—have at least one food allergy", according to the Food Allergy Initiative. But more and more restaurants are taking precautions to help people with food allergies be safe. If you would like to know more read the full article by the Wall Street Journal HERE.

Well until next time...

Love, Peace, & Chicken Grease. 

DJ

(aka: the Noodle Ninja)