Tuesday 22 April 2014

Eating "Free From" Food is NOT a lifestyle choice.

In my inbox this morning was a request to complete a short and sweet questionnaire about "freefrom" foods. Right I thought, bit of an expert on that one... should take me a minute! So I duly clicked on the link... how long could it take?!

Well that depends on whether you find the questionnaire possible to complete in the first place, and whether it triggers a response like this or not :-


Here's why I am getting so hot under the collar about an innocuous set of questions? Well here they are:-


I'll tell you what my "attitude" towards them is, that they are an essential, vital form of sustenance for my children who would otherwise become very ill. Foods which are sold as if I should be grateful, which are often poor in nutritional content and high in price, which we cannot do without.

It wouldn't be so bad if the first option were "Medical Necessity" - because after all, that is the main
reason the free from industry exists, even if it has become something of a fad amongst many.
Eating "freefrom" food is not a lifestyle choice for the vast majority, it's a no-alternative, medically imposed way of life and to suggest otherwise is both ignorant and offensive.

So when faced with a questionnaire asking me to rate answers as to why I choose "free from" food in order of importance, seeing options such as "helps weight loss" and "they are lower calorie" makes me not a little cross!

Many of you will have visited my recipe Blog, The Recipe Resource, which caters for children on exclusion diets. I started the Recipe Resource because having struggled for years feeding my children with complex allergies I felt I would like to do something positive, and help others maybe avoid some of the pitfalls I had fallen prey to and impart some knowledge learned along the way.
That's the short version. If you want the long version, it's here.



My kids have EGID - Eosinophilic Disease. If they eat food their body has a local reaction to in the gut which becomes inflamed and basic bodily functions such as digestion, absorption and defecation don't happen as nature intended. And that's the VERY short version. EGID is a very unpleasant, poorly understood, emergent disease, with other unpleasant symptoms beyond the gut. It often goes with other disorders too, Hypermobility Syndrome, EDS and (as is increasingly noted) Autism. We have the full house here. For the EGID side of things we are dairy, soya, wheat, gluten free and on minimal egg, beef and other foods. One of my kids used to be tube fed. And we are the lucky ones - I know far too many children who cannot eat at all - some whom the media, in particular the Daily Mail - seek to advertise as rare and bizarre anomalies. Sadly their numbers are dramatically increasing.

We don't CHOOSE free from foods. It's a life or death choice. And as for calories and weight loss - that's a pretty sick joke when many of us are desperately trying to INCREASE the calories our children take in.

Click to view the FreeFrom Food Awards 2014
The Free From food industry is as guilty as the media for jumping on any marketing bandwagon they can sniff out - with the exception of a few notable and applaudable exclusions. Many now falsely believe "Free From" food is automatically healthier! Whilst this is of course true in some respects, if you have Coeliac Disease then yes, a gluten free loaf (a third the size of a regular one costing £2.99) IS the healthier option) but I do hate the trend for "free from" exclusion diets amongst some celebrities who have little or no idea of the impact publicising false health "benefits" can have. But what is particularly depressing is that my children, like so many other children and adults are dependent on the "allergy" food industry to meet their nutritional needs - whether partially or fully. We have no choice. Without a strict exclusion diet my son was heading towards bowel surgery due to chronic inflammation and resultant nerve damage.

So whilst celebrities such as Gwyneth claim to "choose" free from food for their kids, mine (and plenty of others I know) would give their right arm to eat what the majority can enjoy. And this particularly poignant at Easter time when (as with other family festivals) there is food everywhere.


As a society we've moved on from hideous, offensive terms such as "Wally" and "Spastic" in reference to those with disabilities, isn't it about time we applied a little of that awareness and understanding to those with hidden illnesses? This is currently especially true of those with non IgE allergies. And no, I DON'T mean intolerances, if you still think there is only one type of allergy, and wish to learn more about non systemic allergy read here.
You've probably heard of Coeliac Disease? Well that's a local allergy - or a type IV hypersensitivity too. 

Food is such a central part of Western society it is far more than just fuel. Rightly or wrongly we celebrate with, and by creating delicious treats to enjoy and share. There is little more marginalising, more excluding than a traditional Christmas or Easter when you have complex food allergies- or if you cannot eat at all. Manufacturing"Free From" food is a massive money spinner and people who need safe foods for health reasons are being taken advantage of whilst the media persists in promoting free from as a choice.

I deleted the questionnaire, I'm submitting this instead.

30 comments:

  1. We are so lucky *touchwood* that we have no allergies. I was allergic to dairy as a baby, and it wasn't until until I was school age I could have milk, when it was slowly reintroduced into my diet and I'd managed to outgrow it (thankfully, as both times when pregnant i craved milk!). My mum said how hardnitnwas to buy dfree from products back then, and although theres a bit better choice these days, I'm shocked at just how expensive free from foods areand the attitude that it it is a fad is ridiiuckous and insulting to those, like you, who have no choice. X

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  2. but for some people eating free from is a lifestyle choice just as being a vegetarian is a lifestyle choice for me - but other people choose to do it for health reasons or because they believe they can loose weight etc etc. Why shouldn't they be able to make that choice is they want? Surely making a free from diet more popular will encourage companies to provide a wider range of foods and they will be easier to get hold of. I can only imagine how tough it must be trying to feed your little ones, with such complex needs, but surely anything that makes safe food for them more accessible and (fingers crossed) cheaper has got to be a good thing!

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  3. Fair point except its so high in sugar how anyone could believe it helps then lose weight is beyond me... But trivialising the issue in this way helps no one, and "medical necessity" was not an option on the questionairre either ;)

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  4. Thankyou for bringing awareness to this type of diet, not many people are aware and so they tend to judge without understanding.

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  5. Excellent post. It does seem like the writers of the questionnaire don't realise that some people have no choice in what they eat x

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  6. It was on an earlier question, and I agree with the amount of sugar in things - the GF cakes are ridiculously sweet! Personally I can't stand them, but I have certainly noticed that since it became "trendy" it is much easier to find suitable things to buy ad restaurants are definitely more aware of the needs of food allergies!

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  7. Thankfully we don't have any eating issues that require us to omit anything from our diet. I did find the questionnaire a little strange, it seemed to be pointing to people choosing to eat it rather than needing to as is your case.

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  8. Thank you for this post as I never knew about EGID, that must be so hard. Some of these questionnaires are pretty bad and I can see how annoying it was for you. Off to check your other website out now. Thank you.

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  9. great post and very well said!

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  10. Go you! we're lucky not to have any allergies but I can see how this is a totally ridiculous way of looking at Freeform foods as if people would only eat them to count calories etc. Well done you on setting the record straight. x

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  11. My partner is dairy intolerant and he relies on "free from" foods to live a relatively normal life. What a bizarre questionnaire?! Surely they should at least have some acknowledgement that for some people these are a lifeline - at least give that as an option!

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  12. My mum is wheat intolerant and has to have free from foods so I do understand where you are coming from, however I don't think any offence was meant as there are people who actually choose to buy and eat free from foods as a lifestyle choice. I do think the calories/weight loss element of the questions was perhaps a little thoughtless but I don't think that they truly meant it in the way the questionnaire has unfortunately come across. x

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    1. If "medical necessity" had been on their list then i would have only been mildly irritated ;) but it wasn't, which shows considerable ignorance :(

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  13. Good for you for deleting the questionnaire and for sending this very important and right post.
    I am guessing they didn't mean any harm but that is no excuse for ignorance or even worse (can you see that someone was just wrong and I got angry? ;) ) It is sometimes so hard to deal with ignorance in a calm and cool manner as you did here, so well done.

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  14. Thankfully *touch wood* we don't have to deal with such situations - I can only imagine what it must be like to have such limitations on what you can feed your family. x

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  15. What a great post and raising an important issue. Zak has food avoidance ( not the same ) but very important to me as he lives on fortified milk as he won't eat solids. People just don't realise what goes on in the "real world " do they.

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  16. I can't believe the medical option wasn't there. Well done on submitting this instead

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  17. This must be really annoying for you, especially when the 'free from' foods are vital for your family's health and well being. However, I read the questionnaire as: What are your 'attitudes' towards 'free from' foods rather than 'why do you choose it?'. I guess you could have ticked 'not enough research in this area'. I don't think they were asking why you buy it but rather what you think of it...

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    1. Then where was the "vital source of nutrition " as an option?

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  18. Glad I don't have any allergies in our household. Must make life difficult.

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  19. Gosh seems like such a complex area. I see bits of it through my friend's son - she's so worried with the free school dinners in September and how it will pan out.

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  20. We are fortunate not to have to deal with any food allergies in our house. I wonder if the trend for people to eat free from diets has actually ditracted from the issue that for some people it is a 'life' choice not a 'lifestyle' choice?

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  21. I got this email and hit delete when I saw it.....it made no sense to me. I had Gestational Diabetes when pregnant so was very careful with what I ate but I don't avoid food items anymore

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  22. Well said! I bet others have thought it but not voiced their true opinions. It must be so hard for you when you read reasons like "healthier" or "lower in calories" when for you and the majority of people free from foods are a necessity x

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  23. You are the ultimate expert there, Emma, I got the questionnaire too and thought it promoted a very simplistic view of the issue. Thanks for enlightening us on the subject, once again!xx

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  24. great post! I don't really know anything about allergies so it's really interesting! x

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  25. Very well written and thought provoking post. I don't know much about these foods but always assumed they were there for people who had medical problems so I can't believe medical necessity wasn't an option.

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  26. Im amazed that "I need them' isn't an option - although perhaps from a marketing perspective you're already a captive market and they want to expand to the people who do eat free from things by choice? Still silly whatever the reason!

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  27. I did the quiz too, and I did think that it was a bit odd that allergies and medical conditions weren't mentioned! Guess they're just stat grabbing for a marketing campaign tenuously based around the results...We're so lucky not to have any food allergies in our family, but it's something everyone should be aware of, so good on you for raising awareness like this - I hope you get a response to your submission.

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Many thanks for taking the time to comment, I really value your responses.

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