A bit overwhelmed!
I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 13 years now. I just found out today that I am allergic to almost everything I eat. A bunch of my favorite fruits and vegetables, flour, milk, eggs, tofu, soybeans, spices, gluten, wheat, nuts, beans and the list goes on and on.
The ONLY proteins I'm not allergic to that aren't meat seem to be duck eggs and blue cheese...neither of which I'm a fan of.
I don't know what on earth to do. I'm oooooopen to reintroducing meat products, but am not sure how to go about that.
I'm mostly frustrated because I just began feeling like, after years of struggling, I found a great balance and relationship with food.
Any suggestions?
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15 Comments:
Burger?
simon at 3:36PM on 02/16/09
Quinoa has a lot of protein and you can add in anything.
erinlovestoeat at 3:39PM on 02/16/09
Well, my first question is, from whom did you find it out? One of the things we're learning is that a positive skin test doesn't mean a functional allergy. If you feel good eating all these things, it sure doesn't sound like an allergy. No itching, no wheezing, no welts? GI symptoms? Some allergies are real true things - note the vigorous dialogue now ongoing over peanuts and kids in another topic here - and others make me want to start making noises like a duck.Don't freak out yet.
lemons at 3:46PM on 02/16/09
Ditto @lemons comment. Don't freak out- the test isn't the final word. Your stomach is. So, now you need to find out which of these foods actually bother you and modify your diet accordingly.
Embackus at 4:26PM on 02/16/09
Another ditto. I tested allergic (their word, not mine - I'd call it sensitivity) to everything except strawberries and wheat (two usually common offenders) and had to reintroduce everything - one food at a time. Other than lactose intolerance, I can eat almost anything. There are a few foods that do bother me and I know beforehand that I'll suffer the consequences, which I voluntarily do on occasion for fresh corn on the cob.
On the other hand, my brother is so allergic to shellfish that he could literally die. Know what you're dealing with, and then deal.
PerkyMac at 5:00PM on 02/16/09
Another ditto. My last skin test essentially told me I'm allergic to everything I ate in the two weeks prior to the test.
If you're not getting sick from eating foods with these ingredients, they were probably either false positives, or aren't a real threat.
JoeyB at 5:07PM on 02/16/09
also, cooking methods can change allergenicity of foods, like cooking milk/eggs really well reduces it and dry-roasting peanuts increases it.
I know a vegetarian who became allergic to soy, so she started to eat chicken to get enough protein.
It is possible that eating too much of particular foods makes you intolerant or allergic to them.
I'm all for eating a variety of food in moderation.
hmw0029 at 5:26PM on 02/16/09
Your friendly neighbourhood MD here chiming in...
Who did this allergy testing? And why was it done?
Any why not blue cheese but other cheeses, when they are all made from the same original ingredient - milk?
This doesn't make any medical sense at all... I would suggest checking this out with a board certified allergist.
PeanutButter at 5:30PM on 02/16/09
@peanutButter is right. At least with the cheese, it doesn't make any sense. They start out the same way, and if anything, I'd think you'd be more likely to be allergic to the blue cheese since it's regular cheese with the addition of mold.
If you did go to a board certified allergist, then I'd definitely get a second opinion. And then sit down and have a long talk with them. I'm allergic to certain things raw, but when they're cooked I have no problem with them. And then, as stated above, you kind of have to go thru the foods one by one, adding them to your diet after a couple of weeks off of everything you're said to be allergic to. Introduce one thing. How do you feel? Good? Bad? If good, eat it again the next day. Now how do you feel?
chisai at 5:53PM on 02/16/09
I'd suggest a nice Andouille Sausage Poor Boy!
Pavlov at 10:33PM on 02/16/09
Ditto with lemons, if you are not having a reaction or feeling really bad then keep eating the things you like. Are you allergic to fish/shellfish? I know I am allergic to shellfish and that's ok because most of the shellfish I don't like except, shrimp/prawns, scallops, crab and lobster and I still eat them and I have no problem. I'm allergic to cats but have one. If you want to reintroduce meat into your diet then just taste and figure out what you like. If this is something that is not really working for you then maybe there is a nutritionist that works with people who have allergeries and specialize in veggie diets.
pjracz10 at 11:35PM on 02/16/09
There was an article in the NY Times (need to be registered to read it ) on how food allergies, more so than other allergies, yield false positives:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDB1239F930A35751C0A96F9C8B63
HeartofGlass at 8:22AM on 02/17/09
I'm the mom of a peanut allergic child and our allergist has told us that the gold standard is really a food challenge (meaning you eat the food in the office and see if there is a reaction). We have been lucky to have a negative blood test but a positive skin test (albeit it small) to peanuts. Even though we have a positive skin test, we are having a food challenge in a few months to see if she's still allergic.
I would also suggest speaking with another allergist and working out a rotation diet to see if these foods really affect you (i don't know if you have to go as far as eating them in their office, but you get my drift :->). The problem with food allergies is that they can be minor one day and major the next - maybe your doctor was being overly cautious? I know someone first hand who lost their son to a food allergy last summer (his prior symptoms were only a few hives and he died from anaphylaxis while on vacation).
missus_p at 2:01PM on 02/17/09
I've got the opposite problem. Doctors were sure I was allergic to something. Mostly because I was breaking out in a mysterious rash. On and off for the past 3 years.
Allergy tests show that I'm not allergic to anything, including things that many people react to. The only things I am allergic to don't apply to this rash (cats and penicillin).
While the testing was going on, I was contemplating what I'd do if I was allergic to something that I was overly fond of. Like tomatoes. And I pretty much decided that if it was something like that, I'd cut down, but I probably wouldn't cut them out entirely, and I'd deal with the rash and just not overdo. After all, this wasn't about a health risk, it was just itchiness.
So I guess what I'm long-windedly saying is that it might be wise to take into consideration the symptoms of the allergy and whether the food in question is worth the symptoms. Obviously, if it's an allergy that causes your throat to swell and could be fatal, that's one thing. But if the symptoms are mild and not affecting your health or lifestyle, it might not be worth giving up the food, if you really love it. And moderation could be the key, too. I once got hives from eating a huge number of strawberries on an empty stomach. It has never happened again. Mostly because I have enough sense not to plow through several baskets of berries in one sitting. Small amounts of strawberries don't bother me at all.
dbcurrie at 2:10PM on 02/17/09
that's all very very comforting to hear. I decided the day I got my test result (it was a blood test by the way, how does that differ from a skin test?) to figure out what I could live with or not.
Since I was very little I've experienced great muscle pain and swelling in my mouth. I've spent a looooot of time with doctors in my life but NOone ever thought to test me for food allergies. I apparently have fibromyalgia and always thought those deep muscle pains and dizziness, shortness of breath, etc. etc were related. And as for the swelling in my mouth? It's happened so often throughout my life I just stopped paying attention to it.
Now those things make better sense. I'm highly allergic to gluten, wheat, bakers yeast and coffee, so I'll learn change my lifestyle according to those things. I don't drink coffee so that's no big deal.
I actually tried a few bites of chicken last night for the first time in 13 years. It wasn't bad. I think life will be easier adding some meat proteins back into my diet and I'll DEFINATELY stay away from whatever was in that garlicy, peppery, cheesy, yeasty, gluteny lean cuisine pizza i ate last night. Dizziness, swelling in my mouth, massive pain in my body, chest pains, etc. etc. (that I was just normally ignoring) happened after eating that.
well...I always welcome change for the better. Here comes a new way of life!
moliza at 8:37AM on 02/18/09