Diet Wise Academy

Let’s Talk About Substitutes! 217

only thirty-six human subjects participated and only twenty-three were
given sucralose. The trials lasted only a matter of days and only looked at sucralose in
relation to tooth decay, not human safety and tolerance!

Kwok’s Queaze

A favorite medical Finals examination question in my

day concerned what was sometimes called the “Chinese

restaurant syndrome” or “Kwok’s Queaze,” presumably

after a Chinaman named Kwok, though whether he was

made ill by it or the doctor who first wrote about it, I

cannot say.

It was an unpleasant reaction to monosodium

glutamate, including headache, nausea and flushing of

the skin.

Kwok’s queaze was considered a specialty item

then, a tricky question to pick out the possible honors

students; today I notice that there is barely a reference to

the queaze which shows up on all of Google, presumably

because MSG-induced symptoms are so familiar.

Egg substitutes

Eggs, as stiffeners and binders, are pretty essential in cooking, so if you
can’t eat egg without reacting to it, then you need a substitute.
An egg is made up of various proteins, several of which are highly
allergenic. One of them, ovalbumin, is the major allergen and makes up fifty
percent of an egg white so you may be OK with egg yolk.
Commercial egg replacers are available, such as Ener-G Egg Replacer
(suitable for vegetarians). Just follow directions on box. Make sure you
identify the listed ingredients; Bipro, for instance, is whey protein isolate
and would not suit anyone intolerant of milk and derivatives.
But you can try many natural foods as egg replacements. I have
seen nice waffles made without egg, without milk and without flour (well,
no wheat flour); they were made with gram flour and soya milk! Gram flour
(from the garbanzo bean) binds very nicely.
Yoghurt, mashed banana, applesauce, pumpkin, or other pureed
fruit or vegetables are good replacements for eggs in muffins or cakes.