Article May 9, 2011 Issue

Freed from a seafood allergy

By Rosalie E. Dunbar

Adapted from the September 20, 2006, issue of The Christian Science Monitor. Originally published under the title “Don’t fear the food chain.”

At the supermarket where I do most of my shopping, there are signs at the deli counter and elsewhere asking people to mention allergies before they submit a special order for food. At restaurants it isn’t unusual to see the same signs and even posted certificates indicating that staff members have received allergy awareness training. This is responsible, practical behavior. 

There is, however, an alternative approach to allergies, which anyone suffering from them can take. It’s the thought of gaining freedom from them instead of spending years of accepting them. I’m not talking about overcoming allergies through human will but about a prayer-based solution that made a complete difference in my own life. 

I know what it is to be fearful of food, because I used to suffer from a severe reaction to crab meat. One night at a restaurant, I asked the waitress if a certain stew included this meat, and she said that it didn’t. But it didn’t take me more than a few spoonfuls to know that I had just ingested something that could make me horribly ill.

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