[.ca] Five Years Without Food: The Food Allergy Survival Guide (ISBN 188762404X)

being clear about allergies and foods:
i must respond to the negative review posted. goat's milk does NOT contain the same allergen as cow's, and IS often tolerated by many. the same holds true for spelt - it is an ancient, and therefore non hybridised, grain, and hence often less likely to provoke reaction. therefore, TRYING new alternatives is always worthwhile, in order to maintain a broader range of foods in one's diet. to try a food, caution is always in order, and special safer procedures can and should be used. i write this, because i feel the book in question needs to be seriously considered by all allergy sufferers. there is not enough written on the subject - and the suffering of those who have such profound difficulty with foods is immense. please do not be put off by one review - such a wealth of information is worth serious consideration. every body is different, every allergy condition varies. just proceed with any changes with caution, and move slowly.

always check with your allergist:
This is a good book for people with food allergies to read. However, people with very severe food allergies should check with an allergic before trying anything new. This book provides good ideas and information but some people will have to be careful. My son has a severe, life-threatening allergy to cow milk protein. Very small amounts of cow milk protein can kill him. The protein in goat's milk is very similar to the protein in cow's milk. I gave my son some goat's milk many years ago and it almost killed him. His allergist would never have advised me to give him goat's milk. Many people have food allergys but people vary with regard to how allergic they are. If you have to carry an epi-pen because of a food allergy, that is a sign to be very careful. That said, I still think this book will help people with known food allergies or with illnesses that may be related to eating food(s) that causes an adverse reaction within the body. A book will not replace having an allergist that knows how to test for food allergies. Complete removal of all traces of all types of milk protein from my son's diet has been the only way I've found to keep him safe so far. People suffering from food allergies may want to also read about adding enzymes from live food to their diet as another way to reduce the problems associated with food allergies. I have been studying food allergies for 11 years and there is always more to learn.

Best book on food allergies!:
Upon seeing the reveiew from a reader who didn't like this book, I was compelled to let others know that this book is NOT at all "dangerous" as claimed by the misinformed reader. Dr. William Shrader, a leader in the field of food allergy is fully aware of the contents of this book and supports what the author says. Food allergy patients should NOT be influenced by that negative review because this book will certainly be BENEFICIAL to helping food allergy sufferers in their quest to find healthy, tastey recipes. After discovering that I had severe food allergies, I turned to this book for help on what to eat and how to fix tastey recipes. It explains the 4-day Rotation Diet (much better than any other book on the market) and provides MANY recipes, all of which result in good tasting, healthy, food. I keep the book open on my kitchen counter and use it every day. Actually this book is MUCH more than an allergy cookbook! The author goes into detail as to what causes food allergies and what the patient can do to help heal themselves. Anyone who suffers from food allergies will love the thoroughness of this book.

A wonderful book! Extremely helpful.:
After struggling for a long time with my own very severe allergy problems (at three separate times I was allergic to all foods), I have found this book to provide a goldmine of useful information. The recipes themselves are priceless to a non-cook like myself. She is also careful to point out that diagnosis of food allergies is individualized and doesn't recommend that anyone who can't eat certain things eat them. On the other hand, she shows that there's no need to restrict yourself more than you really have to, which is bad nutritionally. I found this book very balanced and incredibly comprehensive.

A good resource:
While the author could perhaps be clearer about some of the ingredients she recommends (spelt, alternative milks), I think this is a great book for those of us who suffer from food allergies. I myself have found spelt to be a safe alternative to wheat, and I only tried it after reading her book, as others had told me it would have the same effect as wheat. Each person's allergic reaction seems to be different, so to write a book that will be useful for all is difficult, but I think that Dumke's book comes as close as possible to doing this.