A note on Casein, the Paleo Diet, Vegans, and Kosher Jews
The gluten thing, most people get now days. But everyone always asks "What's Casein?" Isn't casein just in dairy? Isn't it only wheat, eggs, and dairy? What's with the garlic and almonds?
With months of research, the best answer I (Beth) have is this:
Research on food allergies shows that people who are allergic to one thing can end up damaging their gastro-intestinal systems enough by eating the offending foods that their bodies start becoming sensitive to similarly structured chemicals and proteins in non-offending foods. So, garlic and almonds may not have casein in them, but they have proteins which are very similar to casein, and my body reacts.
In fact, there is a huge percentage of people with gluten allergies who cannot eat eggs or dairy because the casein in eggs and dairy is similar to the structure of gluten. I have read that people who go gluten/egg/dairy free who only have a gluten sensitivity can eventually have eggs and dairy again, but they need to give their GI systems a few years to heal. I'll get the citations for this stuff later. (I'm a busy bee...full time work plus the 20/hr a week job of feeding myself).
I am trying to get a better citation of the total sources of casein. But in the mean time, If you have been diagnosed with a casein or gluten allergy, and you have cut out some of these but you're still having symptoms, you might just try a few weeks cutting all of them out.
A cousin of mine found out recently that we'd been independently diagnosed with a casein allergy. Later that afternoon, he was eating a handful of almonds and I shockingly asked him how he could eat them with his allergy. As we talked, he revealed that his doctor had only told him to avoid wheat, eggs, and dairy. He exclaimed that he wondered why his system would get so upset when he still ate certain foods, which upon more discussion I pointed out that they were flavored with large quantities of garlic, or used almonds. When I was first diagnosed, I went looking all over the internet for suggestions and came across a website where a girl was recommending using Hummus in place of sandwich spreads. However, the first ingredient in her recipe was 6 cloves of fresh garlic! Everyone has differing reactions to various levels of allergens in their food. You may find that you can cheat with garlic or almonds, or you might find that lunchmeat cut with the same machine that just cut cheese sets your body off. Make sure to discuss your sensitivities with a qualified health professional.
The Paleo Diet is a diet free of dairy and ALL grains. Some of my recipes are Paleo, or are easily adjustable for Paleo Diet-teers. I will note which recipes are paleo for those of you who don't have the CF allergy. (In addition, CF-ers, the Paleo Diet website has tons of ideas, you'll just need to sub out garlic and egg whenever listed. Go Here: http://www.paleofood.com/ and find more info on this diet at http://www.thepaleodiet.com/ ).
Just by coincidence, many of the recipes here are Vegan, or can be made vegan by not including meat. I figured I may as well help out My Fellow Man by noting which recipes can be vegan. However, some people, even friends, have criticized me for using gelatin as my main egg-replacer in baked goods. To this I say a few things:
Vegans: your food restriction is a Choice, not an allergy. Gelatin happens to be the most healthy and elastic of the egg replacements. I eat meat, and therefore have no problem using gelatin. You are always free to experiment with the recipes yourself using agar-agar or flax seed because I certainly don't have the money or time to do it for you! I do not use flax seed because of its health-detrimental properties when heated.
I am not Jewish and do not understand the standards of the use of gelatin in this case. I use a gelatin found at my local health foods store which claims it is kosher. If you do a search for it, you'll find that there are a few different brands and you could find out where they're sold, or buy them online.
Good Luck!
With months of research, the best answer I (Beth) have is this:
Research on food allergies shows that people who are allergic to one thing can end up damaging their gastro-intestinal systems enough by eating the offending foods that their bodies start becoming sensitive to similarly structured chemicals and proteins in non-offending foods. So, garlic and almonds may not have casein in them, but they have proteins which are very similar to casein, and my body reacts.
In fact, there is a huge percentage of people with gluten allergies who cannot eat eggs or dairy because the casein in eggs and dairy is similar to the structure of gluten. I have read that people who go gluten/egg/dairy free who only have a gluten sensitivity can eventually have eggs and dairy again, but they need to give their GI systems a few years to heal. I'll get the citations for this stuff later. (I'm a busy bee...full time work plus the 20/hr a week job of feeding myself).
I am trying to get a better citation of the total sources of casein. But in the mean time, If you have been diagnosed with a casein or gluten allergy, and you have cut out some of these but you're still having symptoms, you might just try a few weeks cutting all of them out.
A cousin of mine found out recently that we'd been independently diagnosed with a casein allergy. Later that afternoon, he was eating a handful of almonds and I shockingly asked him how he could eat them with his allergy. As we talked, he revealed that his doctor had only told him to avoid wheat, eggs, and dairy. He exclaimed that he wondered why his system would get so upset when he still ate certain foods, which upon more discussion I pointed out that they were flavored with large quantities of garlic, or used almonds. When I was first diagnosed, I went looking all over the internet for suggestions and came across a website where a girl was recommending using Hummus in place of sandwich spreads. However, the first ingredient in her recipe was 6 cloves of fresh garlic! Everyone has differing reactions to various levels of allergens in their food. You may find that you can cheat with garlic or almonds, or you might find that lunchmeat cut with the same machine that just cut cheese sets your body off. Make sure to discuss your sensitivities with a qualified health professional.
The Paleo Diet is a diet free of dairy and ALL grains. Some of my recipes are Paleo, or are easily adjustable for Paleo Diet-teers. I will note which recipes are paleo for those of you who don't have the CF allergy. (In addition, CF-ers, the Paleo Diet website has tons of ideas, you'll just need to sub out garlic and egg whenever listed. Go Here: http://www.paleofood.com/ and find more info on this diet at http://www.thepaleodiet.com/ ).
Just by coincidence, many of the recipes here are Vegan, or can be made vegan by not including meat. I figured I may as well help out My Fellow Man by noting which recipes can be vegan. However, some people, even friends, have criticized me for using gelatin as my main egg-replacer in baked goods. To this I say a few things:
Vegans: your food restriction is a Choice, not an allergy. Gelatin happens to be the most healthy and elastic of the egg replacements. I eat meat, and therefore have no problem using gelatin. You are always free to experiment with the recipes yourself using agar-agar or flax seed because I certainly don't have the money or time to do it for you! I do not use flax seed because of its health-detrimental properties when heated.
I am not Jewish and do not understand the standards of the use of gelatin in this case. I use a gelatin found at my local health foods store which claims it is kosher. If you do a search for it, you'll find that there are a few different brands and you could find out where they're sold, or buy them online.
Good Luck!