A survival guide to traveling with food allergies

I love to travel just as much as I am terrified of it. Over the past 3 years i've developed a survival guide to traveling with life threatening food allergies like peanuts, gluten and dairy! Hope this helps you on your journey just as much as it has helped me on mine (:

[AntonNordstrand]

I haven't even finished the video yet but seriously. I thought I was the only one. I travelled Asia for 6 months earlier this year and my allergies literally made the trip so much worse, I don't think people understand how stressful it is. I have an incredibly severe peanut allergy and trough out the whole trip I was constantly worried everywhere we went. I survived mostly on burgers and pizza but even though that's served almost everywhere, having to order it is a constant reminder that you can't enjoy the full experience and the culture. During my trip I was exposed to peanuts twice, the second time I almost died, we just made it to a clinic in Singapore after I had eaten a full Burger King curry sauce (apparently its made of peanuts in asia), pretty "funny" that we spend hours looking for a safe place to eat and in the end settled for Burger King to be on the safe side... It's so freakin good that you bring up this topic and I almost feel ashamed that I havent done it myself yet, im planning on making a video about every country I visited and what my experiences where in regards to the allergies etc. Literally couldn't find any videos about this when I was trying to research before my trip!

GREAT JOB ZACH!

[smalltowncritic]

I have some addendums to this... DO NOT take the server's word for it that an allergen is not in the dish you want to order. They often don't know, aren't sure, or flat-out don't care and are quick to say "no" so they can move on. You must get them to CHECK WITH THE CHEF every time. I can't tell you how many times I was about to take a bite out of something only to notice the allergen was in it, even after the server told me it wasn't. Even if you take these steps and every other precaution, I've had chef/servers get confused and carelessly serve me the wrong plate. I usually end up choosing the safest-sounding option the more "fancy" or "exotic" the place is just to hedge my bets. Even then, I taste a very tiny amount and wait about 5 mins to see if I'm going to have a reaction. That's the best you can do and still there's no guarantee.

[midnight_clover]

I think this video is a major eye opener for people w/o allergies. I have a gluten allergy, & let me tell you, even the most basics of foods I cannot have. I can’t have soy sauce, tomato soup, gravy for mashed potatoes, etc etc. Watching this really helped me w/ what to do when I’m traveling & I hope to be able to… somehow live in Japan even with allergies.

[SamDCote]

Thanks for making this! My family has every allergy imaginable, and I can confirm this is a good strategy. We get stopped at airport security because of the amount of emergency food we pack 😂

[Modnyy]

SO HAPPY U MADE THIS!! As a fellow nut allergy kid traveling and finding your next meal is a constant stress and honestly detracts me from a place, it’s the first thing that I consider when I travel which fricken suckssss. Thanks for making this and bringing awareness. People don’t get it

[kirsy]

thank you for this video. people really don’t realize how debilitating and difficult it is to be allergic to such basic foods, its hard, and I feel you. thank you for the tips man!

[MikeGillespie]

Allergy content!!! So clutch

Is your anaphylaxis fatal? I'm fatal to peanuts, strongly allergic to nuts, soy, and shellfish, and moderately allergic to dairy, gluten, wheat, and yeast. My worst reactions have been from peanut/nut oil-transfers after being diligent on food contaminants, so I honestly can't fathom much travel at all beyond western urban centres. You're right in that there's a mountain of anxiety wrapped up in this. Trapped thousands of feet in the air with peanut oil on everyone's hands is a g-d nightmare

Good on you for sorting a system that works well for you here tho. Truly!

[lovelylisa-twkg]

For anyone reading this- even if the menu doesn’t mention what you’re allergic to tell your waiter! We went to Bali a few months ago and I am deathly (anaphylactic) allergic to Shrimp/prawns and a lot of their sauces are made with shrimp. I almost ate it. 🥴

[mullaneyxo]

This whole video is me. I am so scared to travel because of my food allergies

[IWriteDrama]

Some times the best thing you can do is educate people. This was very eyeopening to me because I have zero experience with food allergies. It also means learning that when someone says, "Hey, I can't eat there because it could literally kill me, " that it's probably a good idea to find a new place to eat. If people are unwilling to do that, they're not worth your time. Thanks for sharing this part of your life. Always interesting to learn more about the actual person behind the channel.

[Nicole-ltfl]

This was so helpful!
Thank you, Im going travelling in September and have a severe egg allergy and am constantly petrified about what I'm going to eat, trying different cultures food is a dream for me but its just not possible.

[isabellelapointe]

My baby has an egg, milk and peanut allergy and your video is giving hope that we will be able to travel as a family which is one of my biggest dream! thanks!

[Jpetty]

I’ve just come across this video! It’s helped me out sooo much… I have allergies to nuts, sesame seeds, dairy and eggs so I’ve always put off travelling but seeing this shows it’s possible with the right planning

[stingreytv]

Alleriges are a nightmare. I really wanna visit asia primarly Japan. But seeing how i have nut, fish, shellfish and peanut allergy i feel im a bit screwed.

[CBBB]

I love this video ! I have peanut allergy and it is hard to travel especially abroad in Asia because they use a lot of nuts in their dishes

[StephanieSaylor]

Thank you for this video. My oldest TN/Sesame allergic son is 13 and will start traveling more on his own. I'm sharing this video with him and his younger brother. It's so important for them to hear a normal guy telling them how you manage your allergies and the stress of eating while you travel without letting it get in the way of adventures. The mom in me wants to make sure you always carry epinephrine ;) Your description about how to talk to friends and restaurants about keeping you safe is invaluable. Thank you for being a good role model for my boys.

[ivargu]

I am just surprised that your stuff doesn't have millions of views already. You, young man ( I am playing the middle-aged card here ;) ), are just so immensely good at telling visual stories that each of your videos is a pure treat. Thanks for posting them!

[coolbugfacts]

I just got an egg allergy last month, in my late 20s so it's been hard to adapt. One week, I was eating eggs with absolutely no issue, next week I eat a fried egg and have to take a benadryl and lie down and try not to touch my eyes.

[Robert.macdonald]

Wow... the doctor called and said you are going to live a long life. Well... not really it’s just going to feel that way! I feel for you man.

[ankitahemmady]

Everything you've said is true to me! I have a ton of food allergies and going out to eat with others really stressed me out. I want to travel to so many places but I'm really concerned about my health. Great video tho, I'm surprised it doesn't have more views