Allergies: How I Hate Thee

posted by Julia on May 5, 2011 1 comment »

Oh allergies, oh allergies, how I hate you. Yes, you heard that, I hate you.

“Why” you ask? Well, in the past two weeks you have:

Caused my daughter to develop an allergy to nuts. Nuts, really? You mean you are going to prevent my daughter from enjoying numerous Christmas cookies in the years to come and no PB&J. Really? I mean, REALLY?

Caused me to get a sinus infection, which then opened me to easily catch the worst stomach flu I have ever had (oh yeah and the sinus infection is still with me).

Oh … forgot to mention:

You’ve given me mild asthma!!! Yep, I now have a daily inhaler, an emergency inhaler, and three other allergy meds.

So, yeah, I hate you allergies. I hate you with all of my heart and soul and am determined to eliminate you and all your nasty reactions and the way you limit what I can do and how far I can push myself — and the way you have limited what my daughter can eat. You have stamped her with the “NUT ALLERGY WARNING WARNING” sign that will plague her family, teachers and everyone who loves her for years to come.

So, before I figure out how to destroy you, I have to l learn more about you.

From what I understand, allergies occur when “your immune system makes antibodies that identify your particular allergen as something harmful, even though it isn’t.” But what I don’t understand is why are our immune systems going haywire? What has changed in the environment, what we are eating and what are we doing to make these reactions more severe? Why are allergies increasing at such a great rate?

I don’t know if the various hypotheses are right. But I am going to find out.

So, dear Live Pretty readers, what do you know about allergies, why are they growing? What can we do to get rid of them?

In the meantime, I am a mama with a mission. DESTROY ALLERGIES!!!

posted by Julia on May 5, 2011

1 comment »

Julia Montgomery Stewart

Nicknamed “Julia Child” at a young age, our own Julia is most at home in the kitchen. Lately, she has combined her culinary talents with a new hobby—fitness and healthy living. As a result, her recipes reflect an intriguing balance between eating well without sacrificing flavor. Outside the home, Julia is a consummate event planner, and spent the first ten years of her career as a publicist before expanding her portfolio of talents with the launch of Live Pretty in 2010. Balancing the busy demands of career and family, Julia lives with her husband and daughter in Orlando, Florida. In addition to her work in marketing, she serves a number of community organizations and initiatives in Central Florida.