Food Allergies

(Food allergies are different than the regular kind of allergies.

Food allergies have to do with the food one eats.)

People like me have to eat what is called "gluten-free" and "dairy-free" because there is something wrong with my intestines, the doctor says. He calls this "Celiac Disease."

The disease is relatively common, so I'm not surprised I have it.

I've been told that the only cure for it is to simply eat gluten-free.

I'm aware that there are also other people on this board with food sensitivites.

I've heard that "Leaky Gut Syndrome" is responsible for a lot of food allergies as well. It's when larger, undigested food particles enter the blood stream via a compromised intestinal barrier and are considered invaders by our immune system. This may result in the immune system regarding all food resembling the undigested ones to be allergens.

I am intolerant to land animals, can't combine grain with potato or squash, and mined salt....

Allergic to animal sweat, dirt, pollens

Combining these foods makes me high and having a beer really high

I am gluten-free and dairy-free. Coconut gives me the worst reaction. Also some fruits bother me.

I have discovered a very controversial chemical that has a detrimental effect on my diagestive system called carrageenan. This chemical would trigger sinus infections and my digestive system could no longer break down solid food. Eliminating sources of carrageenan w/o creating nutrient deficiencies was quite a challenge. Anyone wanting more info. speak up.

more info please

What I can tell you for sure is that for years I had chronic heartburn until I stopped drinking milk. The government requires milk producers to add calcium and vitamin D to milk after pasturization. The calcium added to the milk is what was causing my heartburn. Knowing that milk is considered a major source of calcium and vitamin D I decided to experiment with non-dairy milk substitutes like soy and coconut milk. This caused a dramatic increase in sinus infections. Once I determined that carrageenan was the cause of the infections I was able to determine the sources and eliminate them. I am now heartburn and sinus infection free. Dairy products, non=dairy milk substitutes, and many vitamin D supplements also happen to be sources of carrageenan. Vitamin D is arguably the most important vitamin because it is a basic building block of every single hormone and hormones control every bodily process.

IMO, food allergies are regular allergies, the sinus ones are different.

I am allergic to tree nuts. Ok, some of them I am just sensitive to, but I don't want to take a chance when they could potentially cause my throat to swell shut. This is if I eat them, touch them, if my husband eats them and then kisses me, or ... well, that's private.

Bananas are less frightening to me. I can be around them, eat banana bread (nut free of course), and even be around a toddler eatin fresh bananas. I don't react to the scratch test or blood test for them. However, about 2 hours after eating one, I break out in hives, first on the back of my neck, then my ears and face. I feel like pulling my hair out until the reaction has run its course.

Fermented foods are a different kind of reaction for me. If I sniff them, like beer, yeast, vinegar, I feel ill. If I eat them, nothing happens, but if I put mayo on a sandwhich one day, have a salad with dressing the next day, and then top it off with ketchup on my fries a third day, I get a burning rash in all the hot spots on my body. It might not be so bad if I wasn't overweight, but I'm working on that.

My granddaughter however, is different again. She has all kinds of allergies and sensitivities.
Eggs = headache
Dairy = Asthma attacks (she is otherwise medication free)
Gluten = the usual stomach ache/celiac reaction
Soy = behavioural issues, including violent outbursts, inability to function mentally, hyperactivity
Strawberries = swollen lips if they are in the room with her or if they were in the room before she got there
Mangoes = no reaction so far, but they test as worse than strawberries
Tomatoes = same as mangoes
Various other foods, including rice, shrimp, pineapple, kiwi, buckwheat are sensitivities. Some she can have but in moderation.
Birch and Alder trees = itchy, watery eyes, and breathing problems

I have one daughter who has a reaction to cow's milk, but we figured out that she reacts to anything with estrogen. Not an allergic reaction, but siezures. The estrogen triggers her epilepsy.

I have another daughter who reacts badly to the minerals in water. This carries over to soaps and shampoos for her. Her wedding ring is made from jade rather than metal.

Have you ever fasted or been on an elimination diet?

For a year I eliminated all the foods that showed up as a mild allergy on my test.
No coffee, no vinegar, no bananas, no peanuts, no apples, no chicken, and I avoided anything that was related to those foods. Then I put back one food group at a time.

I have always avoided fasting because I get dizzy if I go too long without.

Here is something for you to consider. You could call it a modified juice fast or a modified elimination diet, but I like to call it the baby food diet. The purpose is to give our body the maximum in nutrient support with the minimum digestive effort. It has the added benefit of eliminating all possible non-nutrient variables as possible. It involves juicing fruits and/or vegetables, mashing or pureeing nuts, seeds, beans etc. How do you feel about smoothies? The only supplement needed would be vitamin D because it only is found in animal fat.

Allergies, right? You just hit on all my major allergies in one post.

I avoid dairy like the plague as I've been having digestive problems for 3+ years now. I'm not gluten-free though as I've never been tested for celiac disease, yet. My blood sugar also gets really messed up sometimes, I don't know if it is related to food allergies or not, though.

This reminds me, I need to renew my epi-pen.