Gluten Free at Church

Sometimes, it takes little and sometimes it takes a lot, but as they say, faith as small as a mustard seed can move some mighty big mountains. Okay, so I’m not 100% quoting that verse from the Bible, but you get my point, right?

Well, I’d mentioned the possibility of it last year, but after I had an asthma attack the last time I ate a McDonald’s cheeseburger, made with of course a wheat bun, I noticed that some mountains moved at my church in Birmingham, Alabama area.

Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church now joins the ranks of a cluster of churches who are making the move to provide a gluten free alternative to the traditional communion cracker they usually use so people who have celiac disease, gluten intolerance and wheat allergy can still participate in its monthly communion service.

Although there may not be a percentage yet as to how many people are benefitting from this option, it is a sign of the changing times and the growing acceptance of people who have issues with gluten and wheat.

It also shows that they have compassion for a growing population of people who cannot tolerate gluten and wheat.

Now, I wonder what it would take for them to become a peanut free zone for those who have asthma attacks just from smelling peanuts?

Wheat allergy – MayoClinic.com

Wheat allergy – MayoClinic.com.

Um. Yeah. The medical explanation.

American Latex Allergy Association | Latex Allergy Topics

American Latex Allergy Association | Latex Allergy Topics.

Technical Bulletin # 10

ALLERGENIC CROSS-REACTIVITY OF LATEX AND FOODS

A compilation from the literature

Allergic reactions to natural rubber latex comprise both delayed and immediate (IgE-mediated) hypersensitivities, producing clinical symptoms ranging from contact urticaria and bronchial asthma to anaphylactic shock. Natural rubber prepared from the milky sap (latex) of the tree Hevea brasiliensis is a common component of numerous home products and medical supplies, including surgical gloves and catheters. While delayed hypersensitivity reactions to latex-containing products are often traced to additives and stabilizers employed for their production, immediate reactions are closely associated with endogenous protein components of the natural rubber latex materials.

Recently, coincident IgE-mediated allergies to latex and multiple fruits or vegetables have been documented. In vivo and in vitro investigations of clinical specificity have produced complex patterns of allergenic cross-reactivity (suggesting shared or common antigenic components) among botanically-unrelated allergens such as latex and foods. While the details of the clinical association of latex and food allergies await further study, documentation of food allergies known to coexist with latex sensitivities may be useful for identifying the risks of latex exposure for some patients.

Listed below are the allergens reported to be associated (clinically or immunochemically) with natural rubber latex.

Degree of Association or Prevalence:

High (4)

Banana

Avocado

Chestnut

Kiwi

Moderate (7)

Apple

Carrot

Celery

Papaya

Potato

Tomato

Melons

Low or undetermined (33)

Pear Mango Sweet Pepper

Peach Rye Cayenne Pepper

Plum Wheat Shellfish

Cherry Hazelnut Sunflower Seed

Pineapple Walnut Citrus Fruits

Strawberry Soybean Coconut

Fig Peanut Chick Pea

Grape Buckwheat Castor Bean

Apricot Dill Lychee

Passion Fruit Oregano Zucchini

Nectarine Sage Persimmon

Simultaneous occurrence of allergies to certain pollens and foods described above have also been documented in reports independent of those focusing on natural rubber latex. Significant levels of allergenic cross-reactivity have been demonstrated for the allergen groups listed below:

Mugwort with Carrot, Celery, Apple, Peanut and Kiwi

Birch with Apple, Pear, Peach, Cherry and Hazelnut

Grasses with Potato

Ragweed with Banana and Melons

*Might be calling the doctor after this one.

This might explain my wheat allergy and peanut allergy. It sure sheds light on some of my other food allergies!