Loudoun Allergy Network

Safe Grilling on this 4th of July Weekend!

Are you planning to grill for your 4th of July celebrations? Will you be attending a holiday event where the food served will be grilled?

About.com: Food Allergies have great tips on keeping your children safe from cross-contamination when eating foods cooked on the grill.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Planning a Trip to NY City? Consider a Worry-Free Dinners Event

Worry-Free Dinners™ is a membership group for anyone who has manageable food allergies and/or food intolerances and would like to explore restaurants, chefs and foodservice organizations that will offer an exclusive allergy-friendly meal in New York City.

It was launched by Sloane Miller, President of Allergic Girl Resources, Inc., and author of the Please Don't Pass The Nuts blogsite. She created this dining concept based on her love of food and regrets that, as a diner with severe fish and tree-nut allergies, dining out was difficult as best.

Worry-Free Dinners offers an intimate and safe environment in which to dine with like-minded diners at a pre-screened restaurant. Menus for each event are planned ahead of time by Miller and the chef. Meals are open to a small group of 8-12 diners whose allergies are manageable and match the planned menu (e.g. wheat allergic diners would sign up for a wheat-free meal).

The next Worry-Free Diners event is set for Monday, July 28th at Blue Smoke, a Jazz and BBQ place in New York City. For more information about Worry-Free Dinners (TM) please contact Sloane Miller: 917.549.8185 or visit http://worryfreedinners.blogspot.com.

NIAID Announces $5 Million in Grants for Food Allergy Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and two advocacy groups, FAAN and the Food Allergy Project (FAP) announced today their program called Exploratory Investigations in Food Allergy. Under this project, 12 investigators will receive grants totaling $5 Million over 2 years. The initiative will support:

Research on the factors that contribute to the development of food allergy
the relationship between other immune system disorders and food allergy
epidemiology and genetics of food allergy.

Projects will address key questions aimed at improving treatment and preventing food allergy, including studies to predict which food proteins are likely to cause allergic reactions, the factors that trigger severe responses, and the contribution of other immune disorders to food allergy. Other projects will help define the genetics of human food allergy and the role of interactions between genes and the environment in food allergy pathogenesis.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also plans to make four separate awards totaling $1 million per year under this research initiative. EPA will make a separate announcement of its awards. We will post the information as it is announced.

Blood Work Can Be Wrong: Food Challenges a Good Idea!

In this very informative post on Overflowing Grace blogsite, a mom talks about how her son's blood work turned out to be inaccurate: he had not outgrown his severe peanut allergy. Luckily, she insisted on a food challenge at her doctors office.

If you are in the same situation, and your child suffering from a severe food allergy tests negative, work with your allergist and schedule a food challenge. They will support you through the re-introduction of the problematic food.

FAAN Walk: Members Be Part of Loudoun Allergy Network Team

Loudoun Allergy Network’s FAAN Walk website is ready and we invite Members to register as a LAN Team Member and join us on Saturday, August 23rd!

Robyn North will be our team captain and we are partnering with Go Bananas Toys to create T-shirts for our team.

There is no registration fee. FAAN only suggests a per walker minimum and have some great incentive prizes to win! Walkers raising 100$ or more will receive a Walk t-shirt. All donations are tax-deductible.

It is easy to set up your own Walk page under the LAN Team website. Already registered? No problem. You can still join the LAN Team. Please contact us at info_lan@yahoo.com on how this can be done. Cannot be there on August 23rd? You can sign up as a virtual walker!

Please register today at: http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Home

Click on “Sign me up”
Select Walk Location – Virginia – Fairfax
Click on “Join A Team”
Enter team name: Loudoun Allergy Network
Click on “Loudoun Allergy Network” in blue and it will bring you right to our page

Let's raise some funds for a Charity close to our hearts while having a fun fit day out with our kids!

Last Day To Submit Questions to our Experts!

Loudoun Allergy Network Members, one more day to send in your general food allergy questions for the June/July "Ask The Expert" Q&A with our Medical Advisors.

If you have a question, please e-mail it to info_lan@yahoo.com. They will be passed on anonymously to Dr. Paluvoi and answers will be posted around July 15th.

Tips for Taking a Cruise with Food Allergies!

Are you considering a cruise for your next family vacation? Have you thought the kids would love it but cannot even consider it given food allergies? Did you know major cruises lines allow special dietary requests including food allergies? This includes Disney Cruise Line!

Delicious Baby - Living the Good Life With Kids posted a story about cruising with food allergies on their blogsite this week. Guest writer Jenny Reed, franchise owner of Cruise Planners, offers her tips on how to prepare for your vacation.

Topics covered include:

What questions to ask prior to travel;
What to bring;
What to expect on board;

If you would like to read the post, please click on this link.

Additives, Allergies and ADHD: Is There a Connection?

This Monday, Good Morning America aired a segment featuring Robyn O'Brien of AllergyKids.com about a potential link between Additives, Allergies and ADHD.

The chemicals of concern are additives used to enhance the colors and flavors of foods. They include synthetic colors for yellow, red and blue as well as the preservative, sodium benzoate. These additives are used in sugary cereals, candies, sodas and other goodies marketed toward children. Sometimes artificial dyes are even used to simulate the colors of fruits and vegetables.

U.S. consumers regularly ingest the additives in their food, but they have been removed from the same foods in some other countries. Mars and Kraft are two companies who eliminated these additives in some of their UK products, but have kept them in their US counterparts.

The segments goes on to discuss the possible link between these additives and their impact on children's behavior (ADHD). It refers to a British study published in the Lancet in September 2007, where rearchers concluded that artificial colors or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet resulted in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.

To view the Good Morning America Segment, please click on this link.

To read The Lancet Study "Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial", please click on this link.

Lets get vocal and get these additives out of our foods!

Trace Adkins: Chair of the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy

Country music star Trace Adkins will serve as the National Honorary Chair of the 2008 Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure.

The event, to be held in 26 cities across the country as well as online, is sponsored by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) to increase awareness and raise money for education and research.

"I'm honored to be serving once again as the National Honorary Chair for FAAN's Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure," says Adkins. "Millions of school-age children are afflicted with food allergies in this country, and the numbers are increasing each year. Much more research funds are needed to find out what is causing this problem and how we can fix it. With the help of thousands of walkers and volunteers nationwide, we can hopefully raise more money to help find a cure."

More information to come shortly on how Loudoun Allergy Network Members can register for the walk.

For more information on the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy please visit the following website: www.foodallergywalk.org.

Peanut Free Frederick Keys Game July 9th!

Great news for Loudoun Allergy Network baseball fans!

On Wednesday, July 9th, the Frederick Keys baseball game is going 100% peanut free for Washington area families. They are going to have a free recipe book for all attendees and allergy friendly vendors around the concourse.

No Nuts and No Peanuts buttons will be for sale to support the FAAN Walk for Food Allergies Moving Towards A Cure.

To see/print a copy of the event flyer, please click on this link. For more information on ticket availability and prices, please visit their website (www.frederickkeys.com).