Some food allergies are worse than others. For instance, a peanut allergy is almost always more severe than any other food allergy. But I'm here to tell you that even though the rest of us with non-nut food allergies may not (usually) face death when we come in contact with an allergen, it still can be pretty limiting or debilitating, even.

Now, I'm not totally in the know. I'm not personally allergic to any food that I know of. But my young son is either allergic or intolerant to both milk and eggs, and he is breastfed, which means that anything I eat has the potential to pass on to him – including allergens. We haven't tested it, but he may grow out of these reactions, or he may not. For now we have a constant battle with nourishing our bodies and avoiding a reaction.

My son's reaction to milk is sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes for days after he consumes a milk product, and his reaction to eggs is diarrhea for a couple days. Neither are life-threatening, but both are extremely concerning and inconvenient. So when I say that I can't have milk or eggs, it's not a cute, trendy bender. I'm legitimately concerned about the health of someone very close to me.

I am constantly checking labels. If something doesn't have a label, I have to gauge whether a certain food would be likely to contain milk or eggs. Sometimes it's impossible to guess, so I will more than likely refuse altogether.

Free food means nothing to me anymore. Going to an event and snacking on free goodies used to be the pinnacle of my existence. Free food was better than Christmas and Halloween combined. I exaggerate.... However, when I hear the words "Free Food" I now say internally, "A buffet of food items I can't eat." Baby showers have fruit, at least. Anything baked is automatically off-limits. Chocolate is a usually poisonous gamble. But every other event I go to has to be one that I'm actually interested in or obligated to. Free food has so little hold over me it's pathetic.

Going out to eat is an absolute nightmare. I always worry that the restaurant I visit isn't going to have an allergen menu, or that it won't be clear enough to tell what is safe to eat. And with multiple allergens to avoid, it quickly crosses a whole lot off the list.

I'm thin, but not necessarily by choice. If I could pig out on every kind of chocolate and fudge and cake and ice cream imaginable, I would. I'm naturally thin, so maybe it wouldn't have any effect on me. But right now I am so thin that I sometimes look unhealthy, depending on what I wear. I have to avoid so many different kinds of food that I don't always get as much as I need. That doesn't mean you need to tell me, either. I am aware of my weight.

I'm scared of coming in contact with my son's allergen. Although it won't cause him serious lasting harm, I feel super guilty every time I accidentally eat something with milk or eggs in it. I will turn down an entire meal if it's been prepared with butter or cheese. It's more important that I be temporarily hungry than my son having to suffer the next few days because of my food choice.

I have the skills and self-discipline to go on any diet imaginable. Dieting out of necessity is really hard, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that I can have total control over what I eat. There is no excuse for being unhealthy. It just has to be something I would die for, like I would die to protect my son. If I can care enough about my son to give up my favorite foods, I can certainly care enough about myself to be healthy even beyond this time when I am providing his main nutrition. And I know that you can to.