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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Watching Dr Oz 10/16/12: Hidden Food Allergies, Signs of Food Allergies, Stress-Free Meals From The Hungry Girl, Five Food Essentials, Two Essential Kitchen Tools

The Dr. Oz Show
Airdate: October 16, 2012
Dr. Oz: Could You Have a Hidden Food Allergy?

What's for dinner?

  • Elisabeth Hasselbeck talks symptoms of food allergies
  • The Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien, shares healthy and stress-free meals
  • Five grab-n-go food essentials from the Hungry Girl

Could frequent, or constant, bloat, weight gain, and fatigue all be linked to a hidden food allergy? Guest Elisabeth Hasselbeck talks to Dr. Oz about the symptoms of food allergies. The Hungry Girl is back with health, quick, and most importantly, stress-free recipes to feed your family.

Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net


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Dr. Oz: Could You Have a Hidden Food Allergy?

Millions of American's have a food allergy and don't even know it. It's hidden. The symptoms can creep up us and can be easily attributed to a whole host of other health issues. How do you know if you have a food allergy and what can you do about it?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, is a co-host on The View, author Deliciously G-Free: Food So Flavorful They'll Never Believe It's Gluten-Free gluten-free cookbook, [and The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide, and she also finished fourth in the 2001 season of Survivor.

Ms. Hasselbeck struggled with her health for 10 years before finding a solution. Doctor after doctor kept told her she had IBS or some other digestive or intestinal issue and would give her drug after drug without any improvement to her health.

Leaving the doctor's office with a medication instead of an investigation only addresses the symptom without finding the cause. Medications have their place however doctors may not always look into the cause after writing a prescriptions.

While she was on the reality show Survivor, her diet was strictly fish and rice and for the first time in years she felt great. Within a week of leaving the island and going back to her pre-show diet, Ms. Hasselbeck was sick again.

Research online finally led her to learning about celiac disease. [A person with celiac disease is unable to absorb nutrients from food. By eating gluten, the intestines can cease to function, the immune system goes into overload, and despite eating a person with celiac can starve.] Once Ms. Hasselbeck removed gluten from her diet, her health returned, her body stopped fighting itself. Getting rid of gluten allowed her thyroid to heal, made all pain go away, and she was able to get pregnant.

Ms. Hasselbeck wanted to appear on The Dr. Oz Show again to sound the alarm on hidden food allergies. Women tend to deal with health issues better than men and when feeling unwell women often complain less then men. Parents pay more attention to their children's food but are not putting the same focus on how food effects adults.

At 23, Ms. Hasselbeck wanted to know why she felt fatigued, why she was bloated, why she was so off balance. She's thankful for continuing to ask questions until she found an answer and she's thankful for doctors like Dr. Oz who take patient complaints and questions seriously.

Dr. Oz explained that when an allergen is ingested the body responds immediately and people can feel an immediate negative reaction. On the other hand, when people have a more subtle food allergy, the body's reaction is not immediate yet overtime the reaction to the allergen will fuel a fire in the system that can effect concentration, sleep, weight issues.

Over 200 million women have a hidden food allergy, that's more than half the women in America. Ms. Hasselbeck said we are a distracted society distracted and women often put off their symptoms to deal with family and work first and putting themselves last.

Dr. Oz Signs of Hidden Food Allergies

Dr. Oz has put together form to determine your level of food sensitivity. Everyone is at risk for a food allergy, said Ms. Hasselbeck, and the majority of the American population has some level of food sensitivity.

At the beginning of the process, Ms. Hasselbeck encourage people to their primary care doctor on board and let them know what you're doing.


Provide your answers to the questions on the checker by indicating how frequent symptoms are experienced. Answer 0 for never experiencing the symptom, 1 for once a week, and 2 for experiencing symptom several times a week.

Dr. Oz: Food Allergy Head and Mood Symptoms
On a scale of 0 – 2, how often do you experience the following:
  • Headache
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
Why do women attach these symptoms to menstrual cycle or stress? Women have so much to do, said Ms. Hasselbeck, it's hard to think of having a food allergy and then think about having to do something about it.

Dr. Oz: Food Allergy Tummy Symptoms
On a scale of 0 – 2, how often do you experience the following:
  • Bloating
  • Gas
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
Ms. Hasselbeck calls these symptoms game changers because they are so strong they will effect how well we can do what we need to do in a day.

Dr. Oz: Food Allergy Backside Sensitivity Symptoms
On a scale of 0 – 2, how often do you experience the following:
  • Exhaustion
  • Fatigue
  • Aching joints
  • Skin rash
Dr. Oz said these symptoms sound as though they can't be related, however in reality they are all strongly connected to a food allergy.

Add up your answers. A score of 10 or above is a concern and indicates a potential food allergy. Sixty to 70% of the audience scored themselves at 10 or above on the Symptom Checker.

Dr. Oz: Uncovering Causes of Food Allergies

Four of the top food allergens are corn products, wheat products, dairy products, and peanuts. People can be allergic to any food, these are the most common.

Ms. Hasselbeck said an elimination trial is the best route to determining food allergies. Don't cut out all of the top four allergens at one time because if you do feel better, which you likely will, you won't know which food caused the problem. She suggested instead to eliminate one common allergen at a time to determine how your body responds.

For one week, remove all sources of one allergen. Start with corn. Eliminate the obvious sources of corn and then learn to read food labels. Corn can be found in many foods that people wouldn't consider “corn”. If symptoms persist after removing corn then it is not the culprit and it can be added back in.

Next, cut out all forms of wheat for one week including bread, crackers, pasta. Again, read labels to eliminate all sources of wheat. If no symptoms occur or only reduced symptoms are experienced then you're one the right track.

Ms. Hasselback found that her health symptoms nearly vanished when she took out wheat but they did not entirely vanish so she went further and cut out all gluten. Within six weeks, she felt like a new person with none of the health issues she had suffered for over 10 years.

Next food category to eliminate would be dairy. Dr. Oz said to stay eliminate dairy a month or two to determine if symptoms go or stay. Do the same when it's time to check for peanuts, eliminate them for one to two months.

After eliminating a type of food if the symptoms remain Dr. Oz said the cause could be other foods or other food combinations. At this point, he recommended seeing a doctor who specializes in food allergies.



[Click the link to read more from Ms. Hasselbeck's previous appearance on The Dr. Oz Show:

Dr. Oz: Hungry Girl To The Max

Lisa Lillien, the Hungry Girl, best selling author and host of her own cooking show, is back on The Dr. Oz Show with a new book that she calls the Hungry Girl bible. Hungry Girl To The Max features over 650 recipes including dinners, snacks, and even cocktails.

Ms. Lillien said she's not a nutritionist but calls herself a foodologist. She loves to eat and loves to fit into her clothes and be healthy too.

Many women are busy and they use it as an excuse to not make healthy home-cooked meals. People also don't know how to shop. Ms. Lillien surprised women at the grocery store and showed them how to show.

Brandi shops without a list and ends up frustrated and without healthy meals. When she gets home there's no time left in the day to make a healthy meal. Ms. Lillien recommended keeping a supply of frozen veggies that are pre-chopped and ready to cook.

Shannon shops for a family of six without a plan and just buys food that everyone likes. At home she doesn't know what to do with what she buys.

Ms. Lillien gives a sneak peek into her own pantry. The Hungry Girl's grab-n-go essentials are designed to make meal planning simple, quick, and easy.

Dr. Oz - Hungry Girl's Grab-N-Go Essential #1: Taco and Ranch Seasoning Packets
Seasoning packets can be high in sodium yet a little goes a long way. They can spice up your tacos but they can also spice up high-fiber cereal crumbs. Give a creamy texture without all the fat and calories that are normally associated with creamy foods.

Dr. Oz - Hungry Girl's Grab-N-Go Essential #2: Canned Fruits and Veggies
Canned fruits and veggies are shelf-stable and can make for quick cooking. Look for canned foods packed in their own juice or in water and avoid canned goods packed in oil. Studies have shown that canned foods are just as nutritious as fresh and they are self-stable too.

Dr. Oz - Hungry Girl's Grab-N-Go Essential #3: Canned Crushed Tomatoes
Many prepared canned tomato-based sauces, including pasta and pizza sauce, are loaded with sugar, fat, and sodium. Make your own sauce from a mix of canned crushed tomatoes and tomato paste without the sugar and sodium.

Dr. Oz - Hungry Girl's Grab-N-Go Essential #4: Shelf-Stable Almond Milk
Ms. Lillien said to keep shelf-stable almond milk on hand. Almond milk has half the calories of skim milk, that's only 40 calories for one cup. Use almond milk to make smoothies, with cereal, or just to drink.

Dr. Oz - Hungry Girl's Grab-N-Go Essential #5: Hot Cocoa Packets or Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder or hot cocoa packets can be used for baking, to whip up cocktails, and for chocolate smoothies too.

Bonus Tip from the Hungry Girl: Instead of eggs or oil use applesauce to reduce the fat and calories of baked goods. 

Dr. Oz: Hungry Girl's Two Tool Meals

Can you make healthy, tasty, satisfying meals without a lot of gadgets? Ms. Lillien says you can create amazing meals with only two kitchen tools.

Short on time? Ms. Lillien says with heavy-duty aluminum foil and a crock pot you can create healthy, inexpensive, and flavorful meals for the whole family.

A creamy spinach, artichoke dip is slathered over chicken breasts which are then sealed in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cook at 375F for 20 minutes the chicken is done and ready to eat. Shannon said it was delicious. Brandi loves that this is a no mess cooking process.

The Numbers:
Traditional spinach artichoke dip can have as much as 488 calories per serving.
Hungry Girl's Spinach Artichoke Chicken comes in with 265 calories per serving.

Traditional slow-cooked beef calls for a fatty cut of beef that is slow-cooked in lots of fat creating a high-calorie meal. Ms. Lillien's recipe calls for a lean cut of sirloin spiced up with taco seasoning that cooks in the crockpot for 7-8 hours. Then just shred and serve up with veggies.

The Numbers:
Typical slow-cooked beef has 569 calories per serving.
Hungry Girl's Slow-Cookin Mexican Beef has only 170 calories per serving

It's not your typical Sloppy Joe, these are lightened up so they are called Jane's! Use a leaner cut of beef or go for ground turkey or even ground chicken. Crushed tomatoes mixed with tomato paste keeps this dish low in sugar and lower in fat than traditional recipes. The recipe was so simple, Dr. Oz could even make it!

The Numbers:
Traditional sloppy joe's sandwich comes in at 685 calories per sandwich.
The Hungry Girl's Sloppy Jane's have only 265 calories per sandwich.


The Hungry Girl says to stay away from shredded cheese and blocks of cheese. Go for mozzarella cheese sticks instead that can provide a portion controlled snack or shred in the food processor.

[Click the links to read more from Ms. Lillien's previous appearances on The Dr. Oz Show:

Dr. Oz: Two Healthy Items On a Desert Island

If you were stranded on a desert island, what two healthy items would you bring? What can you not live without?

Ms. Hasselbeck said she would take Dr. Oz so he could tell her what to eat and what to avoid.

Lisa on tweeted that she would take shoes and a super-sized container of peanut butter. Another social media message said coconut oil and duct tape should be on the list. A member in the audience said she would bring water purifying tables and lip gloss – you never know who you're going to meet on the island.

Dr. Oz would bring beets, for their iron content, in case he gets cut. Beets would also help him track his regularity. He would take a knife to cup up onions or perform an appendectomy, if needed.

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