Soda bread and chappattis are good substitutes for yeast-leavened bread. Soda bread is made using baking powder.

Stock cubes are very difficult to replace, and stews and casseroles do taste rather insipid without them, although your taste-buds adapt to this eventually. If you have the time, you can make your own stock using bones and waste meat, or the remains of a roast chicken for poultry stock. Add some bay leaves or other herbs, and boil for about 20 minutes, in a pressure cooker preferably. Skim off the fat when cold, remove the bones, and then add salt to taste. The stock can be frozen for future use.

When cooking beef casseroles, try frying the beef thoroughly before stewing it, making sure all the juices in the frying pan are subsequently transferred to the casserole. This creates a rich meaty taste, which can be enhanced by adding thoroughly browned onions.

The only ‘instant’ yeast-free stock is a vegetable bouillon mix sold as a powder or a paste. It is obtainable in some healthfood shops or by post. The paste can also be used as a substitute for Marmite.

Toasted sesame seeds (spread them on tinfoil and toast under the grill using a low heat) or toasted sesame-seed oil (available at shops selling macrobiotic food) can also be used to give a stock-like flavour to casseroles, but be careful not to eat too much sesame.

*405\180\8*

Lamb, turkey, pork, duck, goose, rabbit (all fresh and unprocessed)

Any fresh vegetables

Potatoes

Rice, unless you usually eat this often

Any fresh fruit, other than citrus fruit (oranges, lemons etc), pineapple and papaya

Chickpeas; also beans and lentils (but not if you have bowel symptoms) Any nuts that you do not normally eat very often Herb teas, except mate and redbush Pure vegetable oil

Not allowed:

Bread

Wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize (corn, sweetcorn etc)

Rice, if you eat this regularly

Beef and chicken

Milk, butter, yoghurt and cheese

Margarine

Eggs

Pineapple and papaya

Oranges, lemons, grapefruit etc

Marmite and other yeast extracts

Oxo cubes, other stock cubes, Bovril etc

Mushrooms

Peanuts

Anything you normally eat every day or crave Any suspect food

Coffee, chocolate, tea (including green tea, jasmine tea etc), cola drinks Sugar, any sugar-containing foods, and artificial sweeteners All additives

All alcoholic drinks, and their derivatives Vinegar and pickles

Bacon, ham, corned beef and all other smoked or processed meats Curries and other very spicy foods Aspirin and related drugs

*358\180\8*

Environmental chemicals could also be a factor in others with food intolerance – even those who are not overtly sensitive to everyday chemicals. It is possible that chemicals in food and drinking water affect the gut wall, making it more leaky – there might be no obvious effect from the chemicals alone, but they could create the right conditions for food intolerance.

Such chemical exposure might also play a part in true allergy. We have already seen that patients with food allergy are more likely to be enzyme deficient than those with no allergy or intolerance. And the incidence of certain allergies appears to be increasing – in fact, this is much better documented than the alleged rise in food intolerance, because doctors are agreed on how to diagnose allergic diseases. Eczema is one of the allergic problems that is steadily rising – and it is one that is quite often associated with food sensitivity. Whether chemical exposure is playing a part in this remains to be seen.

*310\180\8*

Over the past ten years, doctors have begun to recognize just how many different childhood problems can be caused by food sensitivity. Colic, eczema, asthma, persistent runny nose, glue ear, headaches, migraine and even behavioural problems, have all been traced back to certain foods or food additives. These discoveries have a bittersweet taste for the many mothers who have been told by their doctors that they themselves were at the root of such problems – because they were over-anxious, inexperienced, nervy, over-indulgent or whatever. This sort of ‘diagnosis’ is usually based on minimal evidence and does untold harm to the self-confidence of mothers at a time when they most need help and support. Anxious, inexperienced mothers can be the source of their child’s mysterious health problems, of course, but there is increasing evidence that it is commonly something in the diet or the environment. There is also evidence that children who show food sensitivity in their early years are more likely to develop other health problems later, often continuing – or reappearing – in their adult lives. Helping these children to adapt to their environment is therefore important, and putting their symptoms down to poor mothering, without any evidence, is irresponsible and potentially damaging.

It is now believed that babies can be sensitized to food even before they are born, because a few food molecules, from food the mother eats, can reach the baby in her womb. More importantly, food molecules get into the mother’s breast milk, and babies that are exclusively breast-fed can be ill because of the sort of food the mother is eating. Although sensitivity to cow’s milk is by far the most common problem in babies and children, all sorts of other foods have been implicated. These relatively recent discoveries have meant that food sensitivity can now be recognized and dealt with far more effectively. They have also suggested ways in which parents can reduce the risk of food sensitivity in their children.

*260\180\8*

headaches, joint pains and digestive problems. He felt far more fit and energetic as well. Under the doctor’s supervision, he then reintroduced foods one at a time. Wheat, milk, eggs, tomatoes and oranges caused the problems. These brought on urticaria within a few hours, with tiredness, headache and aching joints later. Danny can avoid these foods most of the time and has remained well. His eczema also cleared up after a while, and his hay-fever is less troublesome than before. This sort of case is interesting because the diet apparently helps with symptoms that are thought to be due to allergic reactions, such as urticaria and eczema, as well as clearing up symptoms like headache, diarrhoea and joint pain. There are many cases of this type on record, making it difficult to draw a sharp dividing line between food allergy and food intolerance.

*12\180\8*