By Ali Ball
Food allergies are an everyday condition in the USA, with one 2019 study conducted by the Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, finding that 10.8% of all Americans have a food allergy. That means one in every ten preppers will have a serious food allergy concern that needs to be addressed when creating and maintaining food stores.
Many non-perishable foods and food preparation methods may take in ingredients that feature frequently on the lists of common allergies, and so it’s absolutely crucial that full and thorough preparation is given to keep contaminants out of food stores.
Assessing canned goods
Canned goods are a big favorite of many preppers, and for good reason. They’re durable, they’re pest-proof, and the contents will stay good for many years. Canned foods also provide an extra level of assurance that can make them very useful to people with specific dietary requirements.
As outlined by the Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, published by ScienceDirect, canned goods are sterilized, and often have consummate labeling. This means that you can have total faith that the can won’t contain anything that would seriously jeopardize your well being and lay your preparation work to waste. The extensive use of canned goods doesn’t preclude enjoyable meals either.
For instance, there are wide ranges of canned wines and other artisan products that, due to modern manufacturing, meet the demands and specifications of seasoned taste buds. There is a huge expanding market for canned wines, mainly in up-and-coming, youth-focused drinking. For preppers, this is a welcome treasure trove of luxury goods that can provide respite in any situation that would demand you put your preparation to good use.
Understanding your recipes
A prepper will have a complete cookbook for that worst case situation they’d like to protect against. Take your time to go through your recipes and ensure that your nutritional balance can be maintained with the rejection of any allergens. Peanut allergies are one of the most commonly held allergies, yet many recipes will cite peanuts as the primary protein or as a dessert option. Many nuts hold similar status. It’s a simple, but important step – make sure that everything you will rely on will be healthy and enable your body to continue without harming it.
Allergies: What if it does happen?
Unfortunately, all of the best preparation can be laid to waste by even the smallest amount of an allergen in the atmosphere. For certain people, their sensitivity is so acute that they can undergo a severe allergic reaction even from a trace amount of the offending material.
As outlined in a 2000 study published in the Environmental Health Perspective journal, even a few particulates in the immediate vicinity of someone with an allergy can cause a reaction requiring hospitalization. As it’s impossible to entirely control your environment, it’s instead crucial that you prepare for the worst case scenario.
Fortunately, modern medicine has provided plenty of options for this very situation, and many of these products are easily obtainable. The EpiPen, which delivers a dose of adrenaline to counter the acute effects of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, are widely available across the world, although a pricing debate rages in the USA.
Furthermore, according to Canadian daily newspaper the Globe and Mail, they have some effectiveness even past expiry – the key being to ensure that you thoroughly test the product before relying on it. One study cited by the Globe and Mail found that EpiPens had retained their effectiveness years after expiry. Aside from acute treatment, it’s important to have a dependable supply of fresh water and medical equipment in order to make a full recovery – all staples of the prepper routine.
Conclusion
Allergies are part and parcel of modern life, and most diagnosed with an allergy will not have the opportunity nor funds to take corrective medical action. As a result, it falls to preppers to ensure that they can isolate themselves from harmful substances as a theme throughout their preparation plans. Canned goods are strictly regulated in their production, and are a great way to start this off; however, every prepper must have the worst case situation in mind, and for that, it’s time to build a stockpile of appropriate medicine.