This book is for you, the person who has, or has a loved one with, food restrictions. When my daughter was born in 2003 she was a sick young girl. It took us two years and a lot of grief to get a diagnosis for her. Once we got the diagnosis I was left in the dark. I looked everywhere for one book that would help me. One book that would tell me what I needed to know in simple language that my stressed out brain could comprehend. One book that told me that it would all work out. One book that I could reference for information, or at least tell me where to go for more information. One book I could loan to caregivers so they knew a bit about what was going on with my children. One book that I could keep track of all the information I needed. One book that would give me the confidence in myself to stand up to my doctors and tell them I thought they were wrong and needed to dig deeper for an answer. I never found it. My goal is to compress years of experience into one handy reference guide for you. Whether you are the one who has been diagnosed with a disease or disorder that affects what you can eat or whether you have a loved one that you are concerned about. This book will serve as your one stop shop for definitions, explanations, notes, and inspiration. There are thousands of books out there that can help you with Allergies, Diabetes, Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance, etc. They can help you with the nutrition part of it, the social aspect, or even help you understand the disease/disorder you have by reading through what other people have experienced. And they are all amazing books that can help you. Why is this one different? This is different because I am not going to focus on just one disease/disorder. I am not going to write my own biography. I am not going to inundate you with complex medical terminology. I am going to make this short, sweet, easy to reference and useful for anyone who has to restrict the foods that they eat for whatever reason. I am going to throw in my personal and professional experience. I am going to leave you with hope, inspiration and a desire to learn more. I want to help you embrace this new life that has been diagnosed for you and not feel afraid, scared, intimidated or remorseful. Having a diagnosis is not a death sentence, it is a beginning; a starting point for you to discover new things and gain a further understanding into what makes your body tick. This is a guide for you with quick to reference chapters, handy forms at the back of the book that you can copy and use as you need, or throw the book in your bag to carry with you and jot notes in as you think of them, with inspiration weaved through out it to keep you going on those days when you think, "I just can't take another day" or "does nobody understand and get it ?." Yes, you can take another day because you are the amazing you that has been given this challenge. I firmly believe we are only dealt what we can deal with, even though we may not understand it at the time. Someday we will. And someday, you will look back at this journey and actually appreciate it. It took years for me, but hopefully this book will shorten that time for you. This book will help you: Understand some diseases/disorders that restrict your foods (Allergies, Celiac Disease, Diabetes, EGID's, PKU, etc) and the associated problems (eczema, rashes, gastrointestinal problems, etc) Deal with social situations and family settings with food restrictions Build and work with your medical team Keep track of important information with handy forms Provide you with the tools you need to achieve and maintain proper health and nutrition while living with food restrictions"