Food Allergies In Europe?

Britain, america, australia etc all speak english so do the same as at home 1) read labels, 2) ask if the food has milk or tree nuts (you may need to be more specific on this) in it.

Ummm, yes, I was aware that britain speaks english. Reports of swollen american heads have been exaggerated, I promise. Stupid americans.


However, every place has its quirks and peculiarities, so I was hoping someone might have a more profound revelation....


Hermione

Caution, reading labels, asking people in shops/cafes/restaurants - & tell them why you're asking so they don't just ignore you cause they think you're trying to be a pain or something!! Also if you're staying with people you have to explain it to them & explain why you're checking labels etc, if you're staying in a college or youth hostel & meals are included you may have to do (with more life/death cause!!) what my daughter who has ibs does - take your own - cans etc as often sauces have god only knows - certainly alot of the servers (not sure the cooks do either) do!!

Good luck

Most products here are now labelled as to whether they contain nuts. The trouble is that manufacturers and stores are so paranoid that just about everything that has been within 200 yards of a nut says it might contain nuts! Good supermarkets often now have sections of foods specifically designed for people with particular intolerances -- nuts, gluten, dairy, whatever.

In general nuts probably aren't used as widely in foods here as they are in the us. Milk is probably even easier to avoid. Most supermarkets sell soya-type milk substitutes, as well as goat's milk. One is even selling buffalo milk! You can also get non-dairy ice-creams, etc. There are quite a lot of vegans here, maybe that helps.

I would also recommend that you think about getting some vitamin d supplements here, or at least taking a good multi-vitamin. (it seems that vitamin d may help to regulate the immune system, and allergies are after all an excessive immune response.) anywhere in england is actually a lot further north than any place in the us except alaska, so there is a lot less sunlight, and it can be impossible to get enough vit d from your diet.

Very interesting article:
http://slate.Msn.Com/id/2105560 /