My wife has food allergies. I don’t mean a little rash and some itching; I mean Anaphylactic Shock.

We’ve been married for ten years, and three years into our marriage; she just “grew into them”. We had just moved from Tennessee to Georgia.

After five trips to the emergency room, in three weeks, and numerous visits to several Allergists, they still didn’t have a clue. She was keeping a journal of everything she ingested, by amounts and time.

At first, they thought she was suffering from a phenomenon called “Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis”, which is caused (they believed in her case) by eating (1) lettuce, or (2) celery, within thirty minutes prior to any aerobic exercise. I’m not making this up.

After this theory didn’t pan out, she had the full battery of tests. The doctors tortured my wife. They pricked her back and arms (with needles infected with the genetic grunge of food groups and everything known to grow in the environment) hundreds of times in an effort to cause a reaction.

Well, they got one. Actually, they got several.

It was determined she is allergic to Soy, Peanuts, Pecans, and just about every type of pollen known to man. So, for the environmental stuff, they made up a batch of special serum, unique to her physiology. She had to receive injections of this concoction twice a week. She said, depending on who administered the shot, that it either hurt, or hurt like hell. When we moved from Georgia to North Carolina, she had the full battery of tests again, and the results were different from the Georgia tests. She was allergic to more, and different, environmental things. This is Voodoo, so she weaned herself; no more injections, and all is well.

Food is a different matter altogether. Still - no soy, peanuts, or pecans. Forget the peanuts and pecans; do you realize what they put soy in? Just about everything, for example, it’s in the chocolate made in PA, and 99% of all “store bought” breads, tomato sauces, ice cream, etc. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that it is in just about everything you buy at a grocery store. If you don’t believe me, read the labels, you will be amazed.

Needless to say, this forced a major lifestyle change:

The Bad:

It is very difficult to eat out. We must go to a restaurant where there is a real chef who understands the problem, and is willing and able, if necessary, to “whip up something special” for her. It also helps if the servers understand. On a side note, I’ve learned to call ahead.

This holds true for eating at someone’s house. The constant explaining gets old. Most people have never heard of food allergies or anaphylactic shock. They think there’s something wrong with her (a disease or something), and that makes me angry.

The Good:

We cook everything all the time, so we’ve gotten incredibility good at it.

We eat better, so we feel better.

We don’t eat any fast food. Zero.

We’ve learned how to travel with food. I mean driving, and plane tripping. Believe it or not, this is very important. Planning ahead is key to a successful mission.

In conclusion:

Thank God they don’t put soy in beer, wine or whiskey.

…and the Bottom Line is: We can always find the good, in the bad and the ugly.