Saratoga County Food Allergy & Sensitivity Support Group

The tentative schedule for our meetings is the last Wednesday of each month from 5:30-7 p.m. at KD's Fish Fry, 418 Geyser Road (Country Club Plaza), Ballston Spa, NY   12020. There is no cost to attend or join the group -- just a willingness to share your story and your knowledge with us.

Our first meeting was November 20, 2008. We have met monthly since, with Dawn O'Donnell of KD's Fish Fry providing both a location and wonderful refreshment for our meetings. Dawn is an amazing food innovator, on a quest for developing foods that are safe for people with various food allergies and sensitivities.

As background, I earned my doctoral degree in Health Psychology and am interested in both teaching what I have learned and in continuing my own education. I am also the parent of twins who have food sensitivities and are on a gluten and casein free diet. I do not have all the answers, but I do have many questions and am willing to be nominally in charge of this support group so we can all share our knowledge.

I read recently that 1 in 26 children have a food allergy. This is a significant increase from the previously reported 1 in 29 and represents over 3 million children. This number does not include those children, like my own, who are sensitive to a variety of foods. Estimates are that twenty million people in the United States have a food allergy.

Without getting political, I bet most of you saw Roy McDonald's campaign ads that featured his grandchildren and autism. He quoted the current guesstimate of 1 in 150 children as diagnosed with this disorder. He considers this an "epidemic". I wonder what he would have to say about 5 times that number of children who cannot safely eat many foods that are part of both our culture and out typical diets?

I don't know about you, but I find the reading of food labels to be time-consuming and confusing. I also find the expense of feeding two teens with very healthy appetites to be draining -- I no longer worry about retirement, now I worry about leaving enough money for them to be able to feed themselves with the alternative foods they need! I need to learn how to adhere to this diet more effectively and less expensively, an opinion seconded by our group's members.

There are area support groups for people diagnosed with Celiac disorder, but none that I know of to support people who have other food allergies or sensitivities. My reason for starting this group is that I know we all have learned through experience how to live with these allergies and sensitivities or we are in the process. I want to meet with people who can help me feed my children better and who can learn from me what I have learned through the school of hard knocks.

If you want to be part of this group, or just want to know when the next meeting will be, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for your interest!

Susann Getsch, PhD Health Psychology
(518) 884-8003
sgetsch1@nycap.rr.com