Food sensitivities

[JMD]

Hi , I was curious what you are sensitive to for foods and how you can tell.

I am deathly allergic to nuts like walnut, pine, cashew, etc...I need an Epi-pen to keep in my purse...and even coconut :(... which i hear is great...

I also am very senstive to sulfites, too sweet foods, caffeine, citrus, and I am thinking dulse and sea greens because I get very lethargic and heavy in my legs..same reaction I have had in the past to grains. I get sorta spacy and swelled a bit. AM I CRAZY??? or too oversensitive and anal...LOL

I KNOW that a juice fast would probably help and a Master Cleanse..I plan on that for the Spring when I have a easier schedule. AND I HAVE TRIED ROTATING THINGS---has never worked for me long term---:(sorry

I just wondered if others are in the same boat as I am and how you handle it--esp since I want to lose a few pounds and hear that if one eats foods one is sensitive to that one retains weight and water etc....

Thanks,
JMD

[Angelina]

I have a wheat allergy, thats my biggie. I have a pretty severe reaction, mainly its digestive related, bad abdominal cramping; edema throughout my whole body (usually about 5-8lbs! ick), really bad congestion (backed up sinuses), knocks off my whole system kinda, sometimes I'll have a slight temp and get cold. Then there are some things that I am sensitive to, sulfites ~ give me a headache, before raw MSG would give me horrible migraines. The way I deal with it has been the same even before I went raw (crazy how I instinctively knew what would help), I would just eat fruit and only fruit, usually watery fruits like grapes, watermelon and pineapple ~ these would really help with the swelling and after a few days I would feel almost 100%.

It is definitely true that if you are allergic/sensitive to a food you will retain water, it happens to me all the time, its the immune response kicking in trying to protect your body from what it is perceiving as "invaders" I would just think including lots of fruit since they are so cleansing can do wonders for everyone.

[JMD]

Thanks Angelica--

I FORGOT~~ wheat--that is a killer and dairy too!!

I have to go shopping today and have been eating fruit alot to cleanse. I feel sad to let go of dulse and the flakes:( but I can tell my body does not do well with the iodine.....drat!!

[free]

JMD - How long have you been raw? I ask because I have been raw for 12 days but for the last 3 I've been experiencing those same symptoms. I get a lot of itching too.

[JMD]

I have had severe allergies since birth...but food sensitivities for about 8 -12yrs....

[dreamrawalwz]

I'm sensative to all grains, all nuts, all seeds, lentils, shellfish, eggs, milk, sugar, soy, corn, potato, tomato, orange (minimal), avocado, olives, bananas, and dates. Salt is bad for me, same with sulfites. They've been with me a few years, but really got out of control this past year and a half. I get a HUGE range of symptoms from whole body edema, migranes, digestion problems, dizziness, hot flashes, sinus problems, rashes, hives, and the list goes on. I don't think I have a true allergy because I've done a skin test and that doctor didn't believe me and thought i was making it up. I did get a blood test doen for sensativities and those came up. Kiwi and cucumber did too but I don't see a reaction to them yet. The sulfites are getting worse because if I don't wash my fruit with my special organic veggie wash I get anaphalaxic shock. For salt I retain A LOT of water and get irritable. I mean raw celtic sea salt does that too me. I guess it throws my mineral and chemical balance off.

This is one of the main reasons I went raw. What else COULD i eat anyway? haha. I feel SO much better on raw if I stick to the foods I don't react to.

JMD - no, I do not think you are crazy and if you are...I am crazier than you! You're correct, a juice fast (and water fast) would do the best for both of us to clean us out and let our bodies heal. I've read (forgot where) that our bodies suddenly become sensative to so many things from toxic overload and once we can cleanse oursleves we can start reintroducing the offending foods in one by one. Sometimes not though. I plan on doing a 5 day juice fast starting tomorrow actually. If you'd like to talk more (i'd love to!) please email me! dreamer4life1522@yahoo.com and put "sensativities" or something as the title please, or I'll delete it!

Angelina - No one else I've spoken to understands the full body edema. I gained 10lbs over night and the doctor didn't believe me "That's not physically possible!"

[Purl]

Over the last few months my family and I have all realized that collectively we are allergic to: wheat, gluten, dairy, penicillian, MSG, a food preservative (haven't figured out which one), and something in the laundry soap.
I don't what is going on, but all of us are expirencing diff. reactions to things that we always thought were okay.

[Angelina]

Dreamrawalwz, ohhh believe me most people don't believe the full body edema unless they witness firsthand or experience it...scary,horrible, uncomfortable stuff and forget doctors, even allergist think thats impossible! You definitely have it rough; it sounds like you may have one major food allergy (like me with the wheat), which can set you up for food intolerances/sensitivities. That was my case, I developed an intolerance to chicken at one point, it was because I was having it every day (apparently that can happen to someone that has an allergy, they can develop intolerances to other foods that they have previously eaten with no problem) and my body started to react to it similiar to an allergy, once I cut it out entirely for a few months I was able to reintroduce it (this of course was many years ago before I gave it up entirely) Because of this I learned to vary the foods in my diet and that helped greatly. Maybe soon you'll be able to reintroduce some of those foods, the fast is a great idea, I've relied on fruit and juiced fruit so many times over the years to help with the allergy. More fruit vs. veggies/greens has helped. Good luck ;)

[veggie]

I experience the full body edema also. How do you deal with it and when does it go away? I'm sensitive to eggs, dairy, soy, goats milk, peanuts, zucchini, which is why raw has been such a blessing.

I can also relate to the 10lb overnight weight gain--it happened to me. I had no idea why before, and now I know. Thank you for your posts. They've helped me also.

[dreamrawalwz]

Angelinia - thanks. Yea, I think wheat was a big one for me, but so is corn. After we realized I was reactant to those everything just snowballed so fast. It was literally every day it seemed like I reacted to a new food. Thing now is that since I don't have a large selection to eat that it's really hard to rotate and don't know how to set that type of menu up for myself.


veggie - for the edema, usually the next day I either do close to a water fast or just really water based foods for a few days and I'm really carefull the next time.

[JMD]

I can totally relate to the edema...esp in the fingers and legs.... My friends do not get how i can fluctuate 5-8lbs from morning until evening...even if I eat really simple and clean... It is also a challenge b/c I am searching for recipes that do not trigger reactions but are tasty-esp pnes without salt or spices avocado and nuts....not having much luck...

I tend not to weigh myself anymore b/c who knows what is true weight anyway. I am not happy we have this ladies--but I am glad I am not alone. Maybe in my next life I can be a mermaid and not let it phase me at all....

[Angelina]

Hi Veggie, the best way to deal with the edema is to eliminate anything even slightly reactive; then include lots of juicy fruits (watermelon is a great diuretic, pineapple reduces inflammation, apples get things moving out of the body), I also drink warm water with lemon juice. Lots of water..exercise, all makes it feel better. For me sometimes I can retain some puffiness for a week after the initial, its frustrating (as all of us know!!)....like JMD, I've realized the scale isn't accurate!! ~although I still weigh myself out of habit, I refuse to let it completely overwhelm me because I know that it flutuates and has nothing to do with gaining fat!!

[dreamrawalwz]

I stopped weighing myself because welll, i'll be honest, it was fueling my eaitng disorder and the edema was a HUGe problem in that part too. We can get through it. Maybe one day someone will figure out what's wrong with us (didn't meant it to sound so bad!) and we can fix us.

[Sunshine9]

This post is really interesting to me. I know that i have food sensetivities to all the biggies.. dairy, wheat, soy, corn. However, i've been raw for about 6 months so these foods have been at a minimum.. i.e. only wheat in nama shoyu, a little miso, and a little raw corn, even though i've now eliminated those too.

I still wake up every morning though with mucous, and my weight will usually fluctuate by 10 pounds throughout the day. In fact, I weight more now than I did before starting raw, though I look a bit more slender. I think it's definitely a degree of edema. I'm thinking there might be other food culprits i haven't seen yet, that I might need to not eat for at least a little while... anyone have advice? Is mono-rotation really the best way? any other suggestions?

thanks so much for posting !! :)

[*SunChild*]

Wow I've learned so much reading your posts!
I relate to some of it.
People think I've just become anal and think I'm talking myself into being 'sensitive'...but I know that's not true.
Ever since I went raw, my body started healing and I felt great. I stayed away from all processed, cooked and unnatural foods as much as possible. But I got to a point where I'd 'reward' myself for being so good and eat some junk. How silly is that? But at times when I ate junk like a pineapple fritter, potato cake, potato chips, deli salads ect... I get dizzy, feel sick, feel like I've put on 5 kilos, and get so lethargic until I can hardly stand up! I get so bloated that I look overwieght, but I'm not overweight at all.
It's only recently this all started happening. My partner notices when I'm bloated (reaction from food), he says "when did you put on 5 kilos? I hadn't notice until now."
I can't eat foods with preservatives, fried, or processed. (not that I really enjoy it anyway).

The next allergic reaction I get is with alcohol, and I'm not a drinker, I really am not interested, but in social situations I might accept 1 glass of wine or beer. But after I finish it I get severe, even debilitating cramps in my shoulders and neck. Almost to the point of screaming in pain. I've put myself through this too many times just so I can feel apart of a group, "trying to be normal"...but to no avail...I just can't put that poison in my body!!!

I have no idea what this is, I also get the above reaction to some foods as well, like things with vinegar in them, and yeast.
Is it possible to be allergic to yeast?

[dreamrawalwz]

SunChild and Sunshine9
Yes, it definitely looks as if you have more culprits out there that are raw. The same was for me. When I went raw I was eating avocados, dates, and bananas. At first they were fine, but later on all at once they make me "puff" up really bad now. Also tomatoes are beginning to make my face LOOK like a tomato haha! I saw a mono-diet rotating every two or three days (unless you find a reaction) would be good. Maybe even a two day water fast to get EVERYTHING out of your system andthen the mono-diet?


The mucous could be from a reaction and detoxing, which could take years in some people.

Finally, if your body does not want a certain food or drink and it's trying to tell you this, DON'T DO IT! it's harmful for your body and will not do you any good. If fitting in with the social norms means pain, why do it? It's as if you were going to a non-raw friend's house and ate their food and knew how lousy it will make you feel now.

I wish all of you good luck in figuring this all out!