Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
We eat so many different kinds of food every day, it’s no wonder that our bodies are confused by some of them. It’s no fun when you have an allergic reaction to something you ate.
Food allergies can be very serious. Some common allergens, like shellfish or peanuts, can even kill the people who are allergic to them. Other people are only mildly allergic to foods and simply feel a little bit sick when they eat them.
No matter how serious the food allergy is, when you can’t have something, it makes you want it more. Just ask someone who is allergic to milk how good an ice cream cone sounds, and you’ll find out.
Sara has to be very careful about what she eats. She has an allergy to a very common food. Listen to her tell Mason about it in this health English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Sara: Sometimes it’s such a drag when I try to go out to eat. I have a pretty major food allergy.
Mason: That can be a real bummer. I count myself pretty lucky that I don’t. I mean, I can’t do spicy food, but that’s just because I’m a wuss.
Sara: I have an allergy to gluten, so I can have no wheat, no rye, and no barley, but wheat is the main thing.
Mason: What happens to you if you do?
Sara: It just really messes up my digestion. It sort of throws my whole system off and my body can’t even absorb nutrients properly if I eat any.
Mason: That’s terrible! How long did you take to figure that out? Or was it just something that happened out of the blue?
Sara: I found out about 6 years ago, but my whole life I knew I didn’t want to eat wheat. I would, instead of bringing sandwiches to school, I would bring a little baggie with bologna in it or something. I just knew I didn’t want to eat bread.
Mason: Well, I guess you knew, when you have control, but how do you avoid it in stuff? Packaged food is probably pretty easy, but do you just not eat street food or things where it might be sneaking in?
Sara: I try to ask really explicitly if I go to a restaurant, and if the waiter says,”Oh, I don’t think that has wheat in it,” I need to say, “Can you go and ask the chef if it has wheat in it please.” But I’ve been pretty lucky.
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Discussion
Sara has a difficult time going out to eat because she is allergic to gluten. She can’t eat wheat or rye. It makes her sick.
When she was young, Sara didn’t know about her allergy, but knew that she didn’t like bread because it made her feel bad.
Mason wonders how Sara is able to find out if something has wheat in it. She says she sometimes has to ask the waiter to ask the chef.
Do you have any food allergies? Is it hard to avoid the foods you’re allergic to?
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