Food allergies are very annoying to have. It can also be very
dangerous. A anaphylactic
reaction (shock) is scary so take it seriously and be careful
when trying new foods and products. (It can also be life
threatening.) You might be allergic to foods
you are eating and you might not realize it. I keep on
discovering I'm
allergic to more and more foods. If you suspect you might have a
food allergy (or even if you don't
think you do), KEEP A FOOD DIARY and keep notes on what foods
you ate and how you reacted or if you didn't react. To find more about
food
allergies, go to Food
Allergies at About.com and Google
to find out more about the reactions from
foods, foods products to avoid, and more.
Do I have hay fever or is it really
food allergies?
Added 1/13/05
Some signs that you might have if you are allergic to foods are:
hives/welts/rashes, asthma (wheeezing, breathing harder, nostrils
closed more or all the way, etc.) and other reactions. I use to
go to bed and not be able to breath out of on nostril. Once I
found out that I was allergic to processed corn (due to sulfur) and
eggs (which has a type of sulfur in it), then most of the nights I
don't wheeze
out of my nostrils. I'm so glad I found my food allergies and
intolerances because most of the time I CAN BREATHE. I now
realize that
throughout most of my entire life I was dealing with FOOD ALLERGIES and
it wasn't HAY FEVER. Some of the times it was but
most of the time it was caused by the FOOD I ATE. So, keep a food
diary and write down what you ate and if you reacted. (It might
take one minute to react or five minutes or 20 minutes later or you
won't react for awhile but watch for any signs-especially; respiratory
problems; hives, stomach/intestines hurts (can be gluten related);
belching (can be gluten related), etc.) Keeping a food diary will
help you pinpoint what you are allergic to. Testing is good but
reacting to a food is the main TEST and you need to follow that result
and not eat foods you are allergic or intolerant to. (Well, if
you want to feel good throughout life.) So, think TWICE about if
you really have just have hay fever,
it really can be food allergies.
(I know I have both.) Make sure to check my Gluten-Free
page out so you can read more symptoms that are caused by gluten.
Yes, gluten causes a lot of symptoms. (Ones you don't realize is
caused by gluten.)
Food Allergy Tests
If you take an allergy test, there is only a 50% chance of reacting
to the skin test (I'm not sure about the blood test) so you might be
allergic to something even if you don't react to it on the test.
I reacted to various foods when I had a skin allergy test.
Now I'm realizing that I probably should follow the results because
they were right for what I knew I was already allergic too. (This
might not be the case for everyone.)
Links
Botanical
Food Famiy List
Cooking
For Engineers - Kitchen Notes: Additives
Food Additives
@ CSPI's Food Safety
Possible
Adverse
Effects (for Preservatives) Note: Carrageenan is from
seaweed. Those used in food is "food grade" and it
considered safe.
E Number Index
Pregnancy
When you are expecting another baby, you have to be careful what you
eat. Your unborn baby my become allergic to that food. For
example, peanuts, soy, milk, etc.
Nursing
It is natural for all animals to nurse from their mother (if you can do
it). Their mother has just the right nutrients and antibodies for
them. I nursed my first daughter for 25 months and then she
self-weaned
when her baby brother was born. For most of the pregnancy, it was
just comfort nursing and she only got a little bit of milk. I
nursed my son for 32 months. (The later months was mostly once or
twice a
day-nap and bedtime.) I am still nursing my 2 1/2 year old
daughter.
Foods you eat passes through the mother's milk
and if your child is allergic to any of the foods you eat, he/she may
react. The allergy may be peanuts, milk, gluten, cinnamon,
cranberries or
lots of other allergies. It could be a diaper rash (which it
really isn't, it could be an allergy or even maybe dermatitis
herpetiformis-gluten deposits under the skin) or it could be a skin
rash,
respiratory, etc. Peanuts
can be a problem. The peanut protein enters
into the growing baby inside you or into your milk (if you are breast
feeding). There are a lot of other allergies that can be a
problem for your child. You will need to change your diet so your
baby will not suffer.
Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS)
Bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, avocados, honeydew melon, pecans, and
watermelon make my ears and throat itch. Yes, it's true!
When I was growing up my family would always laugh at me when I told
them bananas made my throat itch. I'm usually fine if I eat
banana bread or eat something with those fruits that cause this
reaction but now I avoid these foods. Now I know why it made my
ears and throat itch.
The allergist on Februrary 2, 2001 told me it is called "Oral Allergy
Syndrome" (OAS). Some other fresh fruits with peels on them cause
it (even oranges-the juice part doesn't make me react). I don't
know what causes that reaction.
Carrots and celery because taste weird to me but now I
believe it is because I have OAS (who knows). However, I can eat
really cooked carrots and
celery. I think I get anaphylactic reaction when I eat raw or not
cooked enough carrots. Potatoes: Sometimes I do get a small, itchy skin
rash and itch
when
I peel potatoes and they cause me to sneeze. Tomatoes: Sometimes
when I eat raw tomatoes,
my tongue burns & sometimes it itches and my throat gets hoarse,
and other times my lips burn. (Right now I don't eat tomatoes
since my skin broke out but maybe my immune system has recovered since
going gluten-free and discovering other food allergies.) A
produce worker said it was
because of the acid. I am fine
eating tomato sauces and soups. (I guess that is because they are
cooked.) All of these allergies might be caused from my allergy
to ragweed and I am probably allergic to birch
since I react to bell peppers. Bell green peppers make my pulse
much
faster. I might have an OAS reaction to other fruits and
vegetables
if
they are not cooked. I found all this information by researching
on the
internet since going to the allergist. You can read the foods that
cause
this allergy at: AAIA
Articles - Oral Allergy Syndrome, About.com
or search at Google for more
sites about OAS.
I might be allergic to walnuts (I don't like them and maybe they make
my
ears and throat itch too).
Anaphylaxis / Anaphylactic
Shock
To learn more about this reaction, go to: anaphylaxis
reaction / anaphylactic shock. It can be life threatening.
Latex Food Allergy
Some
Foods May Cause Reactions in Latex Sensitive Individuals @ about.com
oral itching can be a symptom of this allergy. There is more
information at: Food Allergy.
Pollen Allergies Causing Cross
Reactivity to Foods
Botanical
List of Food Familes
Birch
Apples This allergy can cause an oral allergy syndrome reaction. *
Kiwi
Fruit Allergy (Birch allergy) This can cause an oral allergy
syndrome. *
Food Allergy
Ragweed
Pollen Allergy I react to honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, and
banana. (I don't
know about chamomile.) *
Salicylates
Salicylate
Allergy and Salicylates
FOODS, PRODUCTS, & PRESERVATIVES I
REACT TO
Skin Related
In 2005, I noticed the top of my forehead
was peeling, was bright red and itched really bad. I eliminated
the Suave
shampoo that contained D&C Orange #4 and it's a lot better
now. (They now do not use Orange #4 in the shampoo I use.)
Yellow #6 can cause skin rashes.
Food Related
Amaranth
I am quite certain I'm allergic to amaranth flour. I haven't
tried it again since the reaction in April or May 2004. I broke
out in bright, red hives right below my right elbow and the itching and
rash lasted
about a day.
BHT/BHA
Whenever I ate cold cereal, I wheezed (asthma) when I ate this
preservative.
Also, I react to the BHA in flavored gelatins and other foods. My
chest and throat got
a little tight, and my throat was a little hoarse.
Cinnamon
I've read this is a high allergenic food.
I have to clear my throat if I eat too much cinnamon.
3/31/05
During the week of March 21, 2005, I ate a little bit of cinnamon in
some muffins. My legs started to get a rash and it itched when I
ate the muffins. I have read that cinnamon can cause a diaper
rash (RightNation.US) in some babies. (Eating cinnamon while
nursing may cause a
diaper rash, so be careful and watch for signs of cinnamon allergies in
your baby because it might not be a diaper rash after all, it could be
an allergy. If you use diaper rash ointments that contain
cinnamon, watch for signs of a diaper rash.) At: Cinnamon @ Kroger,
it states it can cause "bronchial constriction or skin rash".
When I ate lots of cinnamon, I had to clear my throat and I now notice
I get rashes. In January 2004, I read on the web that you can
make a paste out of cinnamon and honey and put it on a rash to help it
cure so I tried it. With my recent discovery about cinnamon
making me develop a rash, that probably made my rash in 2004 even
worse. No more cinnamon for me. I don't want to itch like I
did when I ate it.
After I wrote the above information, I posted about my cinnamon allergy
on various allergy groups. One person mentioned about tree
allergies and that cinnamon is taken from the bark of a tree.
Being allergic to cinnamon made even more sense since I react to
various trees. I even react to Guisto's bags they pack flour and
grains. I thought it was gluten flour was getting on the
gluten-free bags but it was the bags all along. Now I know, it
all comes down to my various tree allergies.
Cinnamon
Allergy in a Baker
Corn/Processed
Corn
In June 2004, I discovered I'm allergic to processed corn (ascorbic acid & citric acid-those
derived from corn, dextrose,
corn starch, corn syrup, xanthan gum. etc.) I can eat
plain
corn. It
is very hard to find corn-free products since it is not considered an
allergens in the
U.S. It is most food, juices, and beverages. I buy separate
canned fruits that has only sugar or natural
juices in them or make my own cooked fruits. (I have Oral
Allergy Syndrome, I have to have cooked fruits.) I have to
skip the canned sweet potatoes. I
still haven't tried marshmallows since I discovered my corn
allergy but I will probably react to them. You also have to make
sure to get corn-free baking
powder or use substitutes.
Corn Reactions
When I ate creamed corn on June 10, 2004, my breathing was a little
heavier & whistling through nostril; I have felt weird and a little
woosy. The next day, I had two tostadas. I was breathing
deeper, then deep breathing, and then weird feeling. Late August
2004: I tried the rice bars again made by Natures Path. I reacted
to it a second time (slight wheezing and slightly difficult to breath
but not too bad). No more processed corn for me.
I can't eat any type of processed corn chip, blue corn chip, tostada
shells, taco shells, Quick Grits by Quaker or anything that has sulfur
in it.
I NOW (as of January 2007) can EAT corn chips. One of these days
I will try the other foods I reacted to.
I read at: Corn
Refiners Association - Process Overview that wet
milled processed corn is soaked in sulfur. I know I'm allergic to
sulfur. In early 2005, a nutritionist, from Kroger said
that corn has sulfur
in
it. She said that as corn is processed, the sulfur content comes
out more. So, one may think s/he is allergic to corn but it is
really certain corns s/he can not eat. (At least this goes for
the respiratory symptoms. I don't know about the skin issues.)
List
of Corn Allergens
See: Sodium
Carboxymethylcellulose.
Disodium EDTA
I thought I was allergic to this. I haven't had it in awhile and
tried canned kidney beans (in early 2005) which had Disodium EDTA in it
and I
reacted. I
had slight wheezing through my nostrils (which is asthma) when I ate
a
very small amount of beans. I haven't had a reaction to
Fleischmann's unsalted margarine (which contains Calcium Disodium
EDTA). I guess it's because they don't cause the same reaction.
Egg Allergy
I react to eating plain eggs that are not cooked in anything. I
get stopped up. I noticed this in February or March of 2004 but
didn't think anything of it. I retested it in baked foods (without
corn) and I do react some. I think I was using rice milk that had
xanthan gum in it. I'm not eating any egg products now.
10/7/04: I wanted to test my egg allergy so I ate a 1/2 a waffle (with
only one egg my waffle recipe).
(I didn't dare eat anymore than that.) In the beginning, I had a slight
tight chest and my breathing was a little heavier than normal.
Later, I felt slightly weird and then I started wheezing. The
reaction to the egg lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Now I
know I'm allergic to eggs. My grandmother was allergic to eggs
but I never knew how she reacted. She always ate it in baked goods but
not just an egg.
1/13/05: I read at Eggs
- Good for your body? that eggs contain sulfur.
Since I react to sulfur in other foods, I think I'm only allergic to
sulfur in the eggs and not the protein.
Garlic Allergy
I can't have very much gartlic at at time. When I do use garlic,
I usually
can't have more than 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder in an entire dish
made for my family. I have to clear my throat a lot and my throat
gets hoarse.
March 2007: I have been using garlic and I have not been reacting to
it. (Maybe I was using too much salt and it really wasn't the
garlic or maybe it was.)
Garbanzo (Chickpea) Allergy
I've read this is a top allergenic food. I had a anaphylactic reaction to the
gingerbread cake I made on
Christmas Eve, 2003. I ate at least 4 pieces. I used one
cup of four flour blend (that has garbanzo flour and fava flour in
it). I
had lots of saliva type mucous in my throat (where I have to clear it
all the time to breath), my nostrils closed a lot of the way, my
chest was tight, my top right side of my back hurt, and I think I got
irritable. I thought it was the xanthan gum but it was the
garbanzo bean and maybe the xanthan gum too.
On February 28, 2004, we bought some garbanzo bean. I tasted some
of the flour and I started to sneeze and maybe some other reactions but
I forgot. It took awhile to stop the reaction. I made a small
batch of pancakes on March 2, 2004 and used only 2 tablespoons of
garbanzo bean. Well, I reacted to it which included: sneezing,
runny nose, tight chest, and my top right side of my back hurt.
It was not as bad as the time I reacted on 12/24/03 but I didn't use as
much flour and didn't eat that much. I will NEVER eat this again
or I could die.
Gluten Intolerance / Celiac
Sodium
Carboxymethylcellulose
At the end of September 2004, I found out sodium carboxymethylcellulose
was corn derived because I ate Ener-G Yeast-Free Brown Rice Bread. (In
my opinion (my husband, and a friend of mine), Ener-G bread is terrible
bread.)
Sorgham
In the month of June 2004, I reacted to sorgham flour. I had
wheezing, slight tight chest and maybe other reactions. Sorgham
is related to corn.
Soy
For those that use lots of soy, it
can cause thyroid problems
(even if you don't have a thyroid
problem it might bring it on). So, be careful of how much you eat
and/or
drink. I would suggest using rice milk if you need a substitute
for milk and I would
suggest not to give soy formula to your child(ren). I breast fed
my
children, so I did not have to worry about soy. I have heard and
read that celiacs can have problems digesting soy (along with fats too)
while his/her villas, in the small intestines, are healing.
Sulfites/Sulfur/Sulfates,
etc.
These can cause asthma reactions,
etc.
E Number Index
Also see: Processed Corn
and Eggs.
Idahoan Instant Potatoes
The last time I ate (on September 10, 2004) Idahoan Instant potatoes
(the dairy-free one), I had a slight tight chest & throat, I felt
funny, and breathing was heavier.
This is what they sent me when I inquired about their instant potatoes:
"The citric acid used in our products is corn derived but does not use
chemicals including sulfuric agents to produce it. The citric
acid is produced through a natural microbial fermentation
process. This is not a new ingredient for us. We have been
using corn derived citric for as long as I have been involved with
R&D.
"If you are reacting to sulfur compounds it is probably from the sodium
bisulfite which we have always had in the product as well. Some
asthmatics react quite severely to the sulfite."
Notes
Since September 11, 2004, I'm making my own potatoes. I have been
avoiding baking powders that include sulfur and corn starch in their
ingredients. I now use Featherweight baking powder (since the end
of September 2004) in some of my baked goods but I usually use baking
soda in the recipes that contain acids.
Allergies are Inherited
1/13/05: Last year, my mother told me my Dad was allergic to
sulfur. (He broke out in a rash.) Maybe he had asthmatic
reaction to foods with sulfur in it. (I know he had asthma.)
Beware of Bottled Water
Some bottled water contain magnesium
sulfate in them. I drank a little bit and my nose was
slightly stopped up. I did not want to drink anymore
because I might have had a bad reaction.
Tomatoes
In April 2004, I was craving tomatoes (because of being pregnant.
I
cooked Sweet
and Sour Chicken with Vegetables (which has tomato sauce in
it and I used rice vinegar). My leg had even more red bumps on it
that night and I itched
like crazy. I think the reaction was from the tomatoes since the
rice vinegar is gluten-free (according to Kroger nutritionist).
My sister is allergic to tomatoes so I must be too. In the past,
sometimes tomatoes made my lips burn and other times they made my
tongue itch. (These are oral allergy syndrome symptoms.)
Xanthan
Gum
I react to food products that have xanthan gum as an
ingredient. When I
made muffins (with Authentic Foods xanthan gum), I had a couple of
small muffins and it made my nostrils
close up most of (or
all) the way. I am allergic to various molds, so that is why I react
this way. I read at: Helpful Hints
that one with a mold sensitivity, shouldn't use xanthan. Also, I
have
read that it is fed corn sugar in the fermentation process. In
June 2004, I discovered I'm
allergic to processed corn-due to my sulfur
allergy so
that could be why I react to xanthan gum.
I tried AH!Laska Chocolate Syrup
and it seems like I don't react to their xanthan gum. According
to Namaste Foods, their
xanthan gum is corn-free (along with all their products). I will
be trying more products with xanthan gum (to see if I react).
Yeast
I can't breath as well when I smell or eat yeast. I have read
that yeast
can have ascorbic acid (which can be derived from corn) in it and the
one we have does. I don't know if I react to the plain yeast or
not. I tried Red Star Yeast which has molasses in it but sulfur
must also be used since I reacted to this brand of yeast.
I've
read somewhere that ammonium salts can be derived from sulfur and Red
Star uses that in the process of making their yeast.
Final Notes
It is a challenge to master recipes to deal with all of my food
allergies but I'm
slowly getting there. I'm
the only one in our family that has to deal with the above
alleriges. My husband can't digest fats very well and I only can
eat up to a certain amount in baked goods. My husband can't eat
cooked rice but he will use
some rice flour. I can't eat cooked rice. (My issue may be just a
protein and carbohydrate mixture that causes my intestines to bloat and
hurt. I have read online that the stomach juices can't handle
trying to break down the meat protein and the carbohydrates at the same
time. I'll have to test my intolerance again without meat
and meat broth added to my meal.) Life is
a challenge
but it's worth every effort I put into it because feeling good is
important to me. I hope it is important enough for you to change
your eating habits.
Sincerely,
Barbara Pratt