Multiple Food Allergies And Celiac Disease

[samcarter]

Does anybody else have multiple food allergies along with gluten intolerance? About six years ago I had anaphylaxis, and while they couldn't definitely say what caused it, I tested high for allergies to dust, mold and cats and dogs, and "Mild" reactions to bananas, apples and green beans.

The doctor didn't indicate that he thought the food allergies were the problem, he was of the opinion that it was the environmental allergies that caused the anaphylaxis. So I did keep eating apples and green beans (and bananas occasionally, but not a lot).

I did notice last year, when we had green beans growing in our garden, that I couldn't even brush up against the green bean plants without getting hives. I had my 8 year old harvest those. But i seemed to be able to eat them just fine.

After going gluten free and now dairy free, it seems my food allergies are getting worse. We had green beans last week, and i had the worst stomach cramps and, well, it looked like the green beans just went right through me. We've been having green smoothies for breakfast, with bananas in them, and while i don't like eating bananas straight, i was drinking the smoothies every day. Last week my sinuses started rebelling and my digestion has just been horrible.

My husband, of course, was aghast when I told him my suspicions. "They tested you! Why are you even eating those foods?" Well, he's right of course. I just never had any symptoms.

Does anybody else have allergies to these really innocuous foods? I mean, APPLES, for heaven's sake. Green beans. Bananas. We feed bananas to babies, for crying out loud. I've never had the oral allergy symptoms, though, with the itchy mouth after eating them. And if they're cooked, is that okay? Does that make them less allergenic?

I take Claritin (switching to Zyrtec tomorrow) for the environmental allergies, and I think that's been keeping my anaphylaxis at bay. But i haven't had an epi-pen for a couple of years. Should I get another one, or am I less likely to have another episode now that it's been six (nearly seven) years?

[Swpocket]

Yes I do. I have allergies (or I guess you could say very strong sensitivities) to 29 other foods including food dies. It doesn't cause me any sines problems just stomach issues. I don't know what to say about the epi-pen..other then I'd just ask your doctor and see what they have to say.

[Mother of Jibril]

A few thoughts for you...

1) Environmental allergies don't cause anaphylaxis (which is defined as a mast-cell-mediated reaction involving at least two systems in your body... skin, GI, cardiovascular, etc...)

2) Environmental allergies CAN cause severe asthma attacks, which are also dangerous. If that's what you have (bananas and apples are common foods that cross-react in people with pollen allergies), then you need to see an allergist and get the appropriate treatment.

3) Food allergies are more common in "atopic" individuals (people with asthma, hay fever, eczema, etc...) They can get better or worse at any time in your life.

4) Definitely, if you were prescribed epipens in the past... refill and start carrying them again!! If you've had at least one episode of anaphylaxis you're at much higher risk than the average person. There's no way to predict when or how severe the next attack will be.

5) IMO, there is a LOT of horrible advice about allergies on the Internet... skip that c#&% and go straight to a reputable source. Here's an article about "idiopathic anaphylaxis" that I found really helpful:

Open Original Shared Link

I had to pay for the full-text article, but it was worth every penny... it gives you a quick and really clear explanation about the various causes of anaphylaxis (including attacks where no cause is identified).

[Juliebove]

Daughter and I both have IgG food allergies. Those are different than yours. Not life threatening but we sure do get sick from them! She used to be allergic to bananas. She has since outgrown that allergy but we were told not to let her have them more than twice a week and not on consecutive days.

Smoothies can be made without bananas. Not sure about green smoothies. We don't make those. We fill the Magic Bullet with frozen berries then top it off with some juice and blend. Sometimes we'll add a scoop of Coconut Bliss or sorbet and a drizzle of honey or agave nectar for extra sweetness.

[Bee-Jr]

Hi, samcarter,

I started an anti-inflammatory diet last September. I have been extremely overweight for quite some time, and it's been nearly impossible for me to find a food plan that allows me to lose any of it, even if I cut my calorie intake down quite low. So I thought, why not try this?

The diet sorta works like an elimination diet, so I cut out a whole bunch of foods (wheat, sugar, dairy, nightshades, sweeteners, citrus, red meats, white carbs, peanuts, eggs, corn, soy) for a couple weeks and then began to add them back. Well, the first thing that happened was that I started to pee myself silly. It was amazing the amount of fluid that my body released. But then, as I started trying to add foods back, I began to be able to see that I had intolerances and a few allergies that I'd never realized. I am gluten-intolerant (don't know about celiac, but probably leaky gut, at least), lactose-intolerant, allergic to peanuts, sensitive to citrus and potatoes. I eventually added back corn, eggs, a little sugar, soy, and red meat.

So a couple weeks ago I started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which (in addition to foods I had already given up) has me remove corn, sugar, soy, and all rice. The release of fluid happened again, to the tune of 12 pounds in a week, so apparently something in that food group is causing sensitivity for me as well. (I've lost almost 70 pounds altogether.)

But my point is that sometimes there's so much going on, you can't really tell what's being caused by what until you start removing the irritants. Then you can see what you're left with, and you're better able to relate food intake to subsequent reactions.

And I don't think green beans are all that innocuous - they're legumes, as are peanuts, and from what I read, legume anaphylaxis is something to be VERY concerned about. As in, no more Chinese food for me, because of the peanut oil.

Good luck with it. I know my "adventure" has been challenging at times, and changing the way I eat has required a lot of hard work.

Regards,

Janie

[samcarter]

Hi, samcarter,

I started an anti-inflammatory diet last September. I have been extremely overweight for quite some time, and it's been nearly impossible for me to find a food plan that allows me to lose any of it, even if I cut my calorie intake down quite low. So I thought, why not try this?

The diet sorta works like an elimination diet, so I cut out a whole bunch of foods (wheat, sugar, dairy, nightshades, sweeteners, citrus, red meats, white carbs, peanuts, eggs, corn, soy) for a couple weeks and then began to add them back. Well, the first thing that happened was that I started to pee myself silly. It was amazing the amount of fluid that my body released. But then, as I started trying to add foods back, I began to be able to see that I had intolerances and a few allergies that I'd never realized. I am gluten-intolerant (don't know about celiac, but probably leaky gut, at least), lactose-intolerant, allergic to peanuts, sensitive to citrus and potatoes. I eventually added back corn, eggs, a little sugar, soy, and red meat.

So a couple weeks ago I started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which (in addition to foods I had already given up) has me remove corn, sugar, soy, and all rice. The release of fluid happened again, to the tune of 12 pounds in a week, so apparently something in that food group is causing sensitivity for me as well. (I've lost almost 70 pounds altogether.)

But my point is that sometimes there's so much going on, you can't really tell what's being caused by what until you start removing the irritants. Then you can see what you're left with, and you're better able to relate food intake to subsequent reactions.

And I don't think green beans are all that innocuous - they're legumes, as are peanuts, and from what I read, legume anaphylaxis is something to be VERY concerned about. As in, no more Chinese food for me, because of the peanut oil.

Good luck with it. I know my "adventure" has been challenging at times, and changing the way I eat has required a lot of hard work.

Regards,

Janie

That's very interesting about the fluid retention. I have a hard time losing weight, the only time I ever lost a significant amount of weight, I was eating only fruits and veggies (yep, kind of an eating disorder there) and exercising like mad. Or i was restricting my caloric intake to 1000 calories or less a day, and again, exercising like mad. But i seem to have exercise-induced anaphylaxis, so I have to be careful about exercise.

The funny thing is, when i had my anaphylactic episode, i hadn't eaten green beans or bananas or apples---i had eaten a take out meal from Long John Silvers--fried clams and french fries. I suppose it's possible they fried it in peanut oil, but i've never had a reaction that i can tell from eating peanut butter. Hm. And i didn't test allergic to shellfish or wheat back then, either.