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It’s Food Allergy Awareness Week, which means many people are learning for the first time about the widespread issues of food allergies, and the struggles many with these allergies face. More than 15 million people in the United States have food allergies, and 6 million of them are children. But for those without these allergies, it’s important to understand what you can do to be sensitive to individuals who must deal with them. Food Allergy Awareness Week is the perfect opportunity to learn more about how to best support those with food allergies, whether they be family, friends, coworkers, or...

Living with food allergies can often feel isolating. Whether you’re passing on a social outing that will be hard to navigate or you’re putting in extra time to figure the logistics of getting your child safely through summer camp, food-allergy families often face added challenges when it comes to every day living. If you’re among those who live this life, you’re absolutely not alone. In fact, you’re part of a group of 32 million Americans. That’s right. You’re part of a group that’s much too big and getting bigger and this is the perfect time to raise awareness about it....

Food allergies are stressful. If your child (or you) lives with allergies, this isn’t a surprising statement. You may, however, find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone in feeling the stress. One study from the University of Maryland found that 41% of parents reported that their child’s food allergies had a “significant impact on their stress levels.” An earlier study out of the UK found that children with peanut allergies had more anxiety and lower quality of life than their peers who had Type 1 diabetes. Other studies point to the impact of allergy-related stress on marriages and work....

From Thanksgiving turkey to Easter hams, there are specific foods we tend to associate with individual holidays. When you’re a food-allergy family, of course, those traditional meals get adapted to accommodate your family’s food restrictions so that everyone can safely enjoy the festivities. That can be challenging enough when you’re dealing with recipes that have been passed down through generations of cooks. Now imagine trying to adapt foods specific to religious traditions! That’s the unique challenge allergic families preparing for Passover face, particularly for those with egg, nut, wheat or gluten allergies. That’s not to say it’s impossible, of course....