Food allergies

[Free]

Anyone have an allergy to some food, but it's mild enough that you can ignore it, at least at times?

I'm allergic to apples. I have been since I was a kid. After I eat one, my eyes get itchy and red, my mouth and throat are squicky, my sinuses turn alternatively hyper cleared and then blocked, I can go through a sneezing fit, and sometimes parts of my face and neck act like I have hives (I don't get bumps or redness, however). I suppose this is considered a mild reaction...

The obvious solution is to avoid apples, and other foodstuff with the same or similar proteins like pears, apricots, melons, bananas, celery, carrots and hazelnuts. That's a good hunk of food to ignore. Thankfully I've never reacted in this way to melons and bananas, I'm not much for pears and apricots, and everything else I eat only a little at a time if I eat them raw, and usually cook them.

But apples. Oh boy, I like them too much to give them up completely. So like tonight, I pull out an apple (I buy them 1 or 2 at a time), I cut it up and chow down on the slices, and suffer for an hour or so through the symptoms. Sometimes love is pain.

 

[Rose Karuna]

I have a mild allergy to potatoes. Fortunately, I prefer rice and other grains over potatoes, but there are times (particularly over the holidays) when I really enjoy having mashed potatoes. So, despite the stomach distress and the swollen feet, ankles and hands that I get when I eat a potato, I still occasionally indulge.

edited to ask: Curiously, do dried or cooked apples have the same effect as fresh apples on you?

 

[Romana]

I don't know if it's an allergy, but avocados and I definitely don't get along.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I have the stomach of a troll and could eat a lightbulb if I wanted to I bet... having a super tough stomach also has it's drawbacks since it makes it all the more tempting to overeat, lol.

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Most citrus, but lemons especially, though I can tolerate it more than in the past. I limit myself to one glass/cup of real lemonade each year. And fresh strawberries. I'm also Latex allergic so I would peel any apples I eat, and I probably shouldn't eat bananas, though I do love them. Drinking Hawaiian punch (which contains some amount mango/papaya/passionfruit) will also trigger it as will eating enough Starburst gummi bursts (ditto), I assume pineapple will since I'd get chapped raw lips whenever I ate it, so I stopped eating it.

 

[Free]

edited to ask: Curiously, do dried or cooked apples have the same effect as fresh apples on you?

I don't know about dried apples. Cooked or baked or whatever, nope. But baked apple slices, as good as they can be, aren't the same as eating fresh raw apples.

 

[Ashiri]

Not allergies, just reduced tolerances to lactose and some wheat based foods.

 

[Rose Karuna]

Most citrus, but lemons especially, though I can tolerate it more than in the past. I limit myself to one glass/cup of real lemonade each year. And fresh strawberries. I'm also Latex allergic so I would peel any apples I eat, and I probably shouldn't eat bananas, though I do love them. Drinking Hawaiian punch (which contains some amount mango/papaya/passionfruit) will also trigger it as will eating enough Starburst gummi bursts (ditto), I assume pineapple will since I'd get chapped raw lips whenever I ate it, so I stopped eating it.

You mentioned strawberries, my Mom had an serious allergy to strawberries but she loved them. In the summer she'd buy a big bag and eat all of them and then break out like she had the measles. She'd be covered in splotches like this for a week and it would itch so much she'd put socks on her hands to keep from scratching but that did not stop her from her annual strawberry feast.

 

[Free]

[M]y Mom had an serious allergy to strawberries but she loved them. In the summer she'd buy a big bag and eat all of them and then break out like she had the measles. She'd be covered in splotches like this for a week and it would itch so much she'd put socks on her hands to keep from scratching but that did not stop her from her annual strawberry feast.

Your mom sounds like good people.

 

[Rose Karuna]

You mom sounds like good people.

She truly was.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Ugh. At the top of my "never worth the days of pain/discomfort" list are: pork, dairy, eggs, cinnamon.

It rules out a hell of a lot of things, and cross contamination is a constant threat that makes travel an adventure in anxiety.

Bread/pasta seem okay, sorta. Pastries/cookies/cake and the like aren't safe at all. Vegan alternatives always cost 2-3 time as much and rarely satisfy anyway.

I miss pizza, Lasagna, cheese cake, fudge brownies and cheese burgers so much.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Bread/pasta seem okay, sorta. Pastries/cookies/cake and the like aren't safe at all. Vegan alternatives always cost 2-3 time as much and rarely satisfy anyway.

Regarding bread: flour contains lots of so called FODMAPs, which is the abbreviation for fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols. Lactose for example belongs into that category. Which FODMAPs are in the bread depends on the used flour.

But: if you are unable to digest your normal bread you get from super markets or stores around you well, then you should start looking for bread which is still only made with sourdough. If sourdough has enough time for fermentation, at least four hours, this will reduce the amount of FODMAPs left in the finished bread a lot.

Reportedly many people who normally have problems with normal bread have then less problems with such bread. Side effect is that it will last at least one week.

 

[Rose Karuna]

Regarding bread: flour contains lots of so called FODMAPs, which is the abbreviation for fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols. Lactose for example belongs into that category. Which FODMAPs are in the bread depends on the used flour.

But: if you are unable to digest your normal bread you get from super markets or stores around you well, then you should start looking for bread which is still only made with sourdough. If sourdough has enough time for fermentation, at least four hours, this will reduce the amount of FODMAPs left in the finished bread a lot.

Reportedly many people who normally have problems with normal bread have then less problems with such bread. Side effect is that it will last at least one week.

I had no idea - thank you for the explanation.

I'm one of those people who suffers when I eat regular white or wheat bread but I can have sourdough and not have a single problem. Which is why when I make my own bread or rolls, they are always sourdough and I use sourdough bread for making holiday stuffing too. I have starter in my fridge that I began five years ago and keep feeding and using.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

The thing is white bread can be made with yeast or sourdough. Sourdough is just natural mixture of yeast, which flies around in the air, and lactobacilli. If white or wheat bread is made with sourdough it will probably less of a burden to your stomach.

Although other grains might help as well. But if you want to use rye, then sourdough is a must. Or you need to use some acid, if you just want to use yeast.

I'm a big fan of sourdough though: it's for free, it brings tons of flavor in your bread, makes it much better digestable and it will last longer before it starts to rot.