After having my face break out into a rash, a doctor determined that I am probably suffering from a sudden allergy to mangos as I eat one per day and probably touched the peel, and then touched my face, causing hives to develop. Apparently the peel carries oils similar to those in poison ivy. Has anyone experienced a mango allergy or a reaction to touching the skin? If so, is there any way around it or should I just stay as far away from mangos as possible?
I used to think sushi had like 5 calories per piece and I would just down it like there was no tomorrow! haha, nope!
@allakarasik, thanks for the input - that's really strange about the fruit from your grocer - you just know it couldn't have been a coincidence. I always rinse my fruit before I eat it, but I don't use fruit washing soap, and that means that pesticide certainly could have remained. I don't think it's worth it to risk another reaction, even though mango is my favorite food in the world. I'm just glad I didn't have to go to the hospital.
I could make my boyfriend peel the mango, but what if the oil gets on the flesh? What if it stays on his hands and then he touches my face? I'm just concerned now because hives on your face aren't fun! :)
I'm sorry to hear about the surgery and I hope you are on the way to recovery. I would say for Breakfast: try cream of wheat and mix in honey, butter, protein powder and wheat germ or some soft scrambled eggs with wheat toast and jam. For Lunch: bread pudding made with soft bread, egg, and maybe just a splash of milk and seasoned with whatever spices you like, a stir fry (cook all the veggies really well so you can digest them) with either egg or tofu all on top of rice, oeufs en cocotte (eggs baked in ramekins with flavorings). For Dinner: pasta (gnocci or veggie tortellini might be good) with cooked and pureed spinach enhanced with salt, garlic (if you feel that you can digest it), and chicken broth. polenta with an egg on top, marinara sauce, and peas with butter on the side. ratatouille with garlic bread. For Snacks: wheat bread with some dulce de leche or honey and wheat germ on top, granola with cottage cheese (if ok to digest), fruit snacks. best wishes to you on a speedy recovery.
their brunch is really good too - I love this place!
a crusty baguette with moist roasted chicken breast, avocado, ripe tomato, salt, and a generous serving of mayo - YUM!
My go-to foods: Taramasalata and warm pita, a toasted bialy with lots of butter, cream of wheat with butter and maple syrup, my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies, and rice pudding. These foods always make me feel a little better inside when I'm having a particularly awful day. Clearly, I am drawn to fat, salt, and carbs. Never meat, soups or stews for some reason. Or anything as healthy as a bowl of greens - if only!
My family is a bunch of New Yorkers who were displaced to Connecticut. Whenever I visit I bring bialys, bagels, and challahs and "special" breads or other treats that Hartford county just doesn't have.
how about Les Halles at 15 John Street (between Broadway and Nassau)? You can have a good sit-down lunch and even a glass of wine there for not too much money or time.
This is a really basic onion sandwich, but I think it's unbelievably delicious: toasted bialy, cream cheese, thinly sliced onion and tomato, and salt. Just slather up your bialy straight out of the toaster and sprinkle the salt on the tomato. Everything gooshes together from the heat of the toasted bialy and becomes all creamy and delicious and the onion adds that je ne sais quoi. I definitely eat it morning, noon, and night. Yum!
A lot of people combine mango and onion as well, maybe with a limey dressing. I'm not a fan, but I suppose it could float your boat.
When I was a child and we went to Mexico to visit relatives, I always developed a rash around my lips. Everyone there has mango forks to spear the fruit on the side after it has been peeled, and the delicious fruit is eaten that way, usually with lots of juice getting all over one's mouth.
Finally decided that it was probably the mangoes, so when we went to the US we bought one, and I ate it and I developed the rash. I didn't eat another mango until about 20 years later. I was living in S. Florida and got the bright idea to bring some mangoes home from work. I thought perhaps I had outgrown the allergy. So many people there have the trees in their yards that they can't even give them away fast enough.
I decided to make a mango milk shake. I peeled it and got juice all over my hands and some of it splashed a bit on my knees because I was wearing shorts.
Sorry for getting into intimate details but this is important. I washed my hands what I thought was thoroughly, but I guess it was not. I went to the bathroom. Let's just say that the part of the penis exposed by circumcision developed a horrible rash. I suppose this could be an argument against circumcision.
So I had a bad rash here and there wherever the juice i.e. oils touched. I was vomiting and had diarrhea very bad. I did not seek medical treatment, but perhaps I should have.
So what brings us to June 8, 20008? I bought some yoghurt and didn't pay attention that it was mango. It had small, bite-size pieces and I tasted that old delicious but almost deadly flavor.
I am in a hotel room right now in Haifa, Israel, resting, taking fluids and trying to read up more on the subject. I went downstairs a few hours ago and saw the wonderful Israeli breakfast spread before me, and I could only have some green tea and plain joghurt until this nausea passes.I always thought I was good about asking if there were mangoes in a fruit salad, etc., but I got lax just buying a yoghurt.
Mango allergy can kill. Be very careful. Treat it just as serious as a penicillin allergy.
I don't think anything edible is inherently unhealthy (barring, obviously, things that are poisonous or that you have an individual allergy to). You need some salt in your diet, you need some fat, you need carbs. Cutting down on a food, or a food group, only makes sense if you're overdoing it to begin with. Anything you eat or drink to excess can be bad for you, so cutting back on things that you're over-consuming makes sense. But you can over-do in that direction, too, to the point where you've also eliminated things you need -- vitamins, minerals, trace elements. The keys, for me, are moderation and variety. Eat a little of everything, not too much of any one thing, and eat a wide variety of foods, and chances are that you'll get enough of the things you need without overdoing anything.
As far as what I used to think was heathy or unhealthy -- I guess I never considered it in terms of heath, but more in terms of calories, so I used to drink diet sodas. Blech.
But I've always been amused and quite skeptical of the food fads and the food scares that have people madly making changes to their diets. When fats were evil people stopped frying and sauteeing and started grilling their food, but then grill smoke was bad for you...But now olive oil is good for you. Liver used to be good for you, but now it's not. Chocolate was a treat, but now it's good. Eggs are good. Or are they bad? Breakfast cereal started as a heath food, but then it got loaded with sugar, so now it's bad, but some of it has fiber which is good.
There's no way to guess what will be the next evil food or what will be found to have magical nutrients, so I figure that if I eat most of it, I'll be covered.
Not really food-related, but I have to add that I have had many, many people tell me that hookah, cloves, and American Spirits are safe – even healthy – to smoke.
Ummm, I used to think top ramen was a complete and balanced meal. And I was a mac-and-cheeze vegetarian.
@czken: Totally with you. As long as everything is in moderation, it's all good. Depending upon what "experts" you are reading about is the answer you are going to get. Some think you should watch carbs, others fat, others sodium, others sugar, now trans-fats. I mean, seriously. At this point I think a lot of people are confused about what they should/shouldn't eat.
Perfect example: I was in the elevator at work and two people were talking about food. Both of them (man and a woman) had the same views. Bananas were the discussion. She was saying how people didn't understand food. Continued to say that if there was choice between a doughnut or banana you may as well go after the doughnut because there's the same amount of sugars-and the doughnut will taste better. HUH?? I don't know how I was able to keep my mouth shut. I think it's because I was too baffled by what I was hearing.
Good one, Beth1! I had forgotten about the whole margarine thing. To this day there are folks from my parent's generation who still think margarine is good for you and butter is evil. I haven't eaten margarine since I lived with my parents, but as I recall, it had very little flavor at all. I think in my parent's day price was also a consideration. I think margarine was a lot cheaper than butter. Right? (Which still makes no sense in my case because my grandfather made butter on his farm and GAVE it to us, but my mom still preferred to buy margarine.) At any rate, I'm with you. Butter, but in moderation.
I'm going to have to recluse myself from this thread. For years I've searched for healthy and all I've found is that the "experts" continue to contradict themselves. Is sugar bad or substitutes worse? Are eggs harmful or healthy? Butter, yes or no? Carbs? Protein? Grapefruit, white wine, red wine,...? It seems all too contraversial so now I eat what pleases me and try to do it with moderation (obvious omissions practiced)....
When I was in high school and college, I used to eat "healthy" vegetarian proteins like boca burgers, morningstar farms sausages, and fake chicken nuggets.
And they're all full of the over-processed soy protein, wheat gluten, and preservatives that I avoid now that I'm so much older and wiser.
I'm sure I'll look back in a few more years and shudder at my current whole milk regime, but for now I'm happy.
My favorite "healthy" alternative food story is that of margerine. Throughout my childhood, I remember my mom (as well as the media) telling me that margerine was healthier than butter because it had no saturated fat. While that may have been true, there was that nasty trans-fat issue. Now, I just use less, but use butter instead. Wonder what we eat today that people will say the same thing about in 10 years?
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