What Do You Eat If You Are Allergic To Food?

A Boy Allergic to Food

. By Anderson Team | Anderson Cooper – Fri, Mar 23, 2012 4:33 PM EDT

Joshua, a 9-year-old who lives with a disease called eosinophilic esophagitis, is allergic to nearly all foods. Pizza, hot dogs, you name it, and Joshua likely cannot eat it, or even be allowed to taste it or smell it.

Joshua gets most of his nutrients through a formula prescribed by his doctor, and through a feeding tube in his stomach. Because of his disease, Joshua is homeschooled by his mother, and needs to live his life with extra caution.

Cara and Brant, Joshua's parents, show what a day is like in the life of a boy who cannot eat.


What would happen if Joshua did eat one of the many foods to which he's allergic? He could suffer severe pain, but there is also the possibility that he could die.

"There's not a minute that goes by that I'm not afraid," Cara says.

Take a look:


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