Although some people have a general aversion to all things Christmas, this is not truly an allergy. But for those genuinely allergic people, the festive season can be a frankly dangerous period. Unprecedented numbers of children have developed nut, fruit and general food allergies in recent years as the allergy pandemic takes hold of our lives on a scale that outstrips global warming and climate change. Christmas time is a highly risky period for these people. Consider the contents of Christmas foods such as cakes, mince pies, puddings, nuts and all those special treats abundantly available during the Festive Season. No wonder it’s a worrying time for parents and allergy sufferers. Even the traditional Christmas tree may be a hotbed of allergens, distributing pollen, moulds and resin inside the home. Whilst a synthetic tree may be as problematic for it may contain allergenic chemicals such as formaldehyde and isocyanates. These chemicals can trigger off asthma, rhinitis, skin allergies and allergic conjunctivitis.
On a more positive note, the traditional Christmas turkey is a particularly low allergy-risk protein and if served together with low allergy-risk vegetables such as rice, sweet potato, cooked carrot, parsnip, beetroot and peas, this can make a particularly suitable Christmas meal for allergy-prone children and their parents. Finish off the festivities with a hypo-allergenic dessert of cooked pears or apricots. The process of cooking foodstuffs tends to reduce the allergy provoking effects on the immune system by slightly changing the molecular structure of the food. If in doubt about allergy-risk friends and visitors always keep a good supply of antihistamine medication on hand just in case…………….
