Entering its third year of national distribution, Allergic Living magazine is bolstering its editorial presence with the addition of Alisa Fleming as Senior Editor.

Fleming is an accomplished writer and the author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance and Casein-Free Living. She is also the founder of GoDairyFree.org, North America’s No. 1 dairy-free website.

“We’re thrilled to have Alisa on board,” says Gwen Smith the magazine’s Editor. “She brings outstanding ideas, knowledge and passion to Allergic Living‘s coverage of food allergies and intolerance.” Fleming will continue her popular No Dairy, No Gluten recipe feature in the magazine, but “in the role of senior editor, Alisa gets to show her skills well beyond her great food writing,” Smith says.

Since its launch across the United States in the spring of 2011, Allergic Living magazine has grown rapidly and gained a reputation for editorial excellence. Smith is a former senior editor of national magazines and newspapers, many of Allergic Living’s writers are well-known health journalists, and its expert columnists include allergists Dr. Scott Sicherer (Mount Sinai School of Medicine), Dr. Hemant Sharma (Children’s National Medical Center) and Dr. Clifford Bassett (Allergy & Asthma Care of New York), as well as dietitian and celiac expert Shelley Case. For the Canadian edition, regular allergist columnists are Dr. Susan Waserman (McMaster University, Hamilton) and Dr. Wade Watson (IWK Health Centre, Halifax).

Other expert voices include the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), FAAN (now FARE, the Food Allergy Research & Education organization) and Anaphylaxis Canada.

From family feuds with relatives who don’t “get” serious food restrictions to social concerns like dating and eating out and societal issues like bullying and avoiding allergens at school, Allergic Living is the go-to magazine for managing the real issues facing those with allergic or celiac disease.

For the 2013 publishing season, the magazine plans to tackle issues such as marital stress and food allergies and the mystery of adult-onset allergies. Meantime, the magazine’s food editors are already testing dozens of inspired new allergy-friendly recipes – while their journalist colleagues have begun work to uncover the latest on research progress. As well, readers can look forward in 2013 to smart advice on reducing toxins and allergens in the home and even the tricks to allergy-friendly gardening.

“We are privileged at Allergic Living to work with the best in the fields of food and environmental allergies and celiac disease,” Smith says. “And in her new role, Alisa Fleming will help us to set the bar even higher for the incredibly helpful articles we can deliver to readers.”

For more about Allergic Living magazine, including the newly released Winter edition, contact: editor@allergicliving.com.

View a sample edition of the magazine here.

The following article is from the Winter 2013 of Allergic Living magazine.

Michael Saffioti’s mom Rose thought her 22-year-old son was doing the right thing by turning himself into police after a missed court date last July. But for the Washington state man, who had a life-threatening allergy to dairy, one night in jail turned into a death sentence.

The young man had landed in the court system on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge – he spoke of using pot to curb crippling anxiety about his food allergy and asthma – and then a legal technicality led to him spending a night in the county prison.

Under normal circumstances, he would have gone before a judge then been released, but Saffioti never made it past breakfast. According to witness testimony from fellow inmates, the young man was given a meal that included a pancake and oatmeal, and when he reminded staff of his dairy allergy, they removed the pancake and told him the oatmeal was safe.

After a few spoonfuls, Saffioti began having difficulty breathing and asked for his asthma medication. Soon after, the prisoners were locked into their cells and the guards changed shifts. Saffioti’s reaction continued to worsen. According to Anne Bremner, the Seattle lawyer representing the family, Saffioti pressed his emergency button and called for medical help, but his emergency light got turned off; as his breathing grew more labored, Saffioti pleaded for someone to call 911.

Other inmates say they began pressing their emergency buttons and yelling for help, making clear that this guy was not faking. Their calls were ignored.

Saffioti was supposed to be housed in the prison’s medical ward, and his mother had made sure that corrections staff had his asthma medication, EpiPen auto-injector and medical records, and yet no help came for at least 20 minutes. A prison trustee (an inmate who has work privileges) said he watched in horror as Saffioti finally collapsed in his cell. By the time paramedics arrived, it was too late.

“The trustee is a tough guy, but he said it’s the worst thing he’s ever seen,” says Bremner. “They let this guy die, and he was begging for help.”

Next: Mother’s Actions

“Extreme Adventures” appeared at the top of the page, followed by a list of activities on the tour. I held my breath as I read the descriptions, to the effect of: “Travel through river canyons at 100 kilometers per hour in a jet boat!” “Bring your courage along as we bungee jump over Queenstown!” “Fall out of a plane from 14,000 feet over magnificent scenery.”

I stopped there. “Are you crazy?” I e-mailed back. “I hope these activities cost extra, and you can’t afford them.”

“Everything is included except for skydiving,” she replied, inserting a smiley emoticon.

Not only did I think she was nuts for considering jumping off a mountaintop attached to a rubber band or parachuting from a plane, but also for sharing this information with me. Having grown up watching me deal with her severe milk allergy, she knew I was wired to worry.

When dining out, I’d interrupt while she was ordering, urging the waiter to check the dish’s ingredients before she had a chance to ask herself. Once the meal arrived, I’d lean over her plate to inspect the food for any trace of butter or cheese.

But that anxiety was nothing compared to what I felt after Arielle, at age 16, had an anaphylactic reaction requiring three doses of epinephrine and hours of monitoring in the emergency room.

From that day on, whenever she was headed out to meet friends, I’d stop her at the door and ask where she’d be eating and if she had her medications with her.

She’d glare back at me. “You can’t keep me in a bubble for the rest of my life.”

***

She was right. Ultimately, I wanted what she wanted – for her to enjoy the same activities and freedoms as any teen. I worked on backing off, and reminded myself that she had always been careful: checking labels, alerting servers and managers to her allergy and passing up a food when she couldn’t be certain whether it contained dairy.

With planning and proper precautions, she spent two weeks without incident in Provence through a high school exchange program. (Full disclosure: my husband and I followed her to France. We stayed approximately 30 miles from her home base and never saw her, but felt reassured that we were only a car ride away in case of an emergency.)

Next page: The trip of a lifetime

Dr. Hemant Sharma: This is a great question, and one that many parents of children with cow’s milk allergy have as they search for a suitable substitute for cow’s milk. Unfortunately, because goat’s milk protein is similar in structure to cow’s milk protein, more than 90 percent of  the time, the immune system will mistake the two and cause a reaction to goat’s milk or goat’s cheese in someone with a cow’s milk allergy. So goat’s milk is not a safe alternative to cow’s milk, and for the same reason, neither are sheep’s milk nor buffalo’s milk.

You can discuss with your child’s allergist what might be an acceptable cow’s milk substitute. An option for an infant would be an extensively hydrolyzed, cow’s milk-based formula, in which the cow’s milk protein is extensively broken down, making it less recognizable by the immune system and less likely to cause a reaction. Since these formulas are also good sources of nutrients, many allergists will recommend children on restricted diets remain on them beyond the age of one year.

Once ready to wean from a formula, options at that point might include soy milk or rice milk, assuming your child does not also have allergies to those foods. To be sure that all nutritional requirements are being met, it definitely is a good idea to discuss your options with your child’s allergist or a dietitian.

Dr. Sharma is an allergist, clinical researcher and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. He is Associate Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C. and Director of the Food Allergy Program. He is also the site director for the National Institutes of Health Allergy and Immunology fellowship program. He writes “The Food Allergy Experts” column in the American Edition of Allergic Living magazine. Questions submitted below will be considered for answer in the magazine.

While no food allergy “cure” looms around the corner, there was an encouraging sense that treatments and new tests are coming. Researchers are unlocking more secrets of allergies and the immune system – and finding better predictors of true allergies.

In one noteworthy media conference, leading researchers Dr. Wesley Burks (Duke University, North Carolina), Dr. Hugh Sampson (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York), and Dr. Robert Wood (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore) spoke about results that they found “surprising” in a population study of allergies in young children.

This continuing study of 512 infants showed a very high level of peanut sensitization among 244 milk-allergic children.

“We estimated going in that about 20 per cent might already have peanut allergy that we didn’t know about yet,” said Dr. Wood. “But it turned out to be more like 65 per cent, so we were very surprised at the initiation of the study that such a high proportion of these babies already appeared to be either fully peanut allergic or on their way to peanut allergy.”

Dr. Sampson added that in this study, which is part of the five-site COFAR (Consortium of Food Allergy Research) project, he was particularly struck “by how high some of the levels [of IgE allergy antibodies] were in some of these infants.”

The sensitization shown in the skin tests doesn’t necessarily mean allergy – so researchers will give the children oral food allergy challenges when they are a little older to determine whether these findings are, in fact, true allergy.

Sampson notes that when they looked at test levels consistent with peanut allergy, the number of children affected dropped to 30 per cent.

“But that’s an extraordinarily high number for such young children who have not themselves ingested peanut.”

We will have more on these findings and the factors involved in the Summer 2011 issue of Allergic Living.

Next: Allergy Reactions to DPT Vaccine

There is no need to forego favorite family recipes, even if following a free-from diet. With the right ingredient substitutions, those beloved holiday desserts will make the transition flawlessly. The most important thing to consider when making substitutions is the purpose of the original ingredient.

Take buttermilk for example. It adds a slight tang and subtle richness to recipes; the acid in buttermilk tenderizes the gluten in batter to produce baked goods with a softer texture; and the acid reacts with baking soda to help quick breads and cakes rise. Fortunately, all of these needs can be met with a quick, homemade substitute.

Dairy-Free Buttermilk Alternative

Yields 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
• plain or unsweetened soy milk, or rice milk, or hemp milk alternative

Method

• Place the vinegar or lemon juice in a glass measuring cup and add enough milk alternative to reach 1 cup. Stir, and allow to stand and thicken for about 5 minutes.

Note: Milk alternative does not curdle the way dairy milk does.

Sour cream has similar properties to buttermilk, but its thickness also adds structure to recipes. You can substitute a store-bought sour cream alternative, but making your own is easy and economical.

Silken ‘Sour Cream’

Yields 1-1⅓ cups

Ingredients

• 1 12.3 oz (349 g) package firm silken tofu
• 1 tbsp grapeseed or canola oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp agave nectar or sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until the mixture is creamy.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Next: Replacing Egg White

Baking at Its Best

With a team of 20 testers to assist, Pascal mixed, baked, tweaked and rebaked. Everything had to live up to her standards. The result is a truly superb recipe collection and must-have for those with – or without – diet restrictions. Celestial Arts, $29.95. See Allergic Living‘s interview with Cybele Pascal. – Gwen Smith

Enjoy Life’s Cookies For Everyone!

Leslie Hammond and Betsy Laakso; Fair Winds Press; $21.95

Warning: Do not peruse while hungry; you may try to eat the scrumptious pages. This book is a great idea: the manufacturer known for its snacks, bars and breakfasts without top allergens (including gluten) teamed up with Leslie Hammond, a culinary expert with an allergy-friendly focus, and a collection of 150 awesome safe cookie recipes was born.

Young children will be over the moon for: Gimme S’more Bites, the Fantastic Fairy Cookies and Caramel-icious Apple Cookies. And for your own safety, don’t stand between allergic women and the Especially Expresso Brownies and Ludicrously Lemon Bars. – Gwen Smith

Go Dairy Free

Alisa Marie Fleming; Fleming Ink; $19.95

Author Alisa Marie Fleming calls this a “guide and cookbook,” and what particularly impresses is the depth of the former. This is no quick gloss-over: it’s a comprehensive, must-have resource for those avoiding dairy. The author, who’s well-known for her website Godairyfree.org, walks the reader through the dairy allergy basics and offers extensive lists of both hidden dairy sources and ingredients that will inspire.

There are thorough sections on dairy substitutes (homemade margarine, anyone?) and creative recipes, from soups to salads to curries and Make Your Own Pizza (without cheese.) Baking without dairy is usually a challenge, but Fleming rises to the task with the likes of Coconut Fudge Brownies, Orange Chocolate Chunk Cup- cakes, and Pumpkin “Cheesecake”. – Gwen Smith