Food Allergies and SBD

[Burdle]

I've received quite a few pm's lately asking me how one can tell if they have food allergies. First of all, I am not a medical professional. This is just from my personal experiences. SBD can 'unmask' hidden food allergies, which are more common than we think. Overexposure to a food, like wheat or dairy, can cause one to become allergic to them. I have severe food and chemical allergies, did food allergy testing more than 20 years ago. While on SBD, I've found that my tests were not as accurate as I thought.
Food allergies cause different symptoms in different people. Some gain 2-3 lbs. overnight, some get dizzy, sleepy, develop a rash, headaches, etc. If you are concerned about a food you have recently added, take it out of your diet for at least 4 days, add back in and observe very carefully your symptoms. This would be a really good time to keep a food and symptom journal, even if you don't post it on the forum. If you get symptoms from a food, take it out of your diet again for 4-6 weeks, then try it again, if symptom free, it is probably not a food allergy. If the same symptoms reoccur, it could very well be a food allergy, and the food should be avoided.
The most common food allergies are: wheat and other grains, but mostly wheat, dairy products, strawberries, baker's yeast (used in making bread and other baked goods). People with a yeast infection (Candida) can react to the following, but these are not true food allergies: vinegar, sugar, wheat and other grains, sweet fruits (high GI), low GI fruits, starches like potatoes and sweet potatoes, baker's yeast, brewer's yeast. If you think you have a yeast infection, see your doctor. The more obvious symptoms of a yeast infection are: in women, vaginal symptoms, vaginal odor, discharge. In men, yeasty smell in the privates area. Yeast infections can also occur in the skin and elsewhere in the body. Acidopholus can help with a yeast infection, so can live culture yogurt.
Some people with mild food allergies do well with digestive enzymes which help digest the food better. If you think you have food allergies, see an Allergist who specializes in food allergies, or a certified Nutritionist.
Food allergies can keep one from losing weight if allergy symptom causing foods are continued to be consumed. Be your own Food Detective.
Burdle The Allergic Bean Queen
172/128.8/120 started 1/5/04

[SJGolden]

This great information !!!!!!!

[missionaryrn]

My daughter and now my grandson (only 5 months old! Yes, I am a very proud Grandma), are both allergic to wheat and dairy. My daughter overcame the dairy with drop treatment when she was a toddler and the wheat when she was in her late teens, but it still bothers her if she's sick or other allergins are bothering her. She breastfeeds her son, and until she cut those two things out of her diet, he didn't gain ANY weight. The doc kept telling her that he wasn't getting enough milk, but it was just that the milk was hurting him.

So, I have a question. Could I too be allergic to wheat? I just finish Phase 1 yesterday and I was wondering how to guage if I am. Your post is very informative. Thank you!

Truly,
Carla

[Burdle]

Hi, Carla. It is possible that you are allergic to wheat, too. This type of allergy frequently runs in families.
There are many ways of 'testing' yourself. When I did allergy testing years ago in a doctor's office, 3 of the ways he tested us was with pulse and blood pressure. Also, are you ready...weight gain! To test for these three, first weigh yourself in the morning that you are planning on adding wheat back into your diet. Then, weigh yourself again the next morning. If you haven't changed anything else in your diet, which you shouldn't if you are testing a food, your weight should not fluctuate more than 1 lb. If you gain 2-3 lbs. overnight, that is a usual sign of food allergy.
The wheat that you test yourself on should be pure whole wheat, not bread. Bread has other ingredients besides wheat, and one never knows what you are reacting to if it is a complex (more than one ingredient) food. You can use whole wheat pasta, or whole wheat cooked cereal. You should do this test on a relatively empty stomach and in a calm environment. Before eating the wheat, take your pulse for one minute. If you have a blood pressure gauge, take your BP. Eat one portion (1/2 cup). 10 minutes later, take your pulse again. 30 minutes later, take pulse and BP again. If you have a sharp rise in either, it could indicate a food allergy. Also, be aware of any other symptoms you might experience, like extreme hunger, headache, sinus problems, dizzyness, etc. If you do seem to be reacting, OTC benedryl should help.
There are now blood tests for food allergies, much simpler than 'provocative' testing, actually eating the food and seeing how you feel and what it does to your body.
Hope this helps,
Burdle
172/127.8/120 started 1/5/04

[andrya]

My experience:

I think I have a wheat allergy, since I found that if I ate a wheat-rich food I would feel very very sleepy soon after and usually end up taking a lengthy nap. I am currently doing a week of phase one right now, and haven't had wheat for about two weeks. I just realized that I also have not had that very very sleepy feeling for all of that two weeks as well. This could be an amazing and very productive breakthrough for me!

Burdle, thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten, since I wasn't feeling sleepy any more.

[Burdle]

Here's an example of food allergies for you all.
Friday my weight was at 127.2. Yesterday, I ate all SBD friendly foods except at Old Country Buffet I had 1/2 cup of their apple crisp for dessert. That has sugar, unknown type of apples, and a topping that has oatmeal and who knows what else. This morning, 129. Won't eat that again...
Burdle
172/129/120 started 1/5/04

[Burdle]

Burdle Bean Bump
172/126.8/120 started 1/5/04

[halizoe]

THANK YOU

[Burdle]

I would eat the fruits that you can eat, but start with blueberries. As long as you don't have food allergies, which it seems you don't, you should be able to eat them every day. Once you have lost a lot of the weight you need to lose, try adding in the higher GI fruits. Leave watermellon for last, don't have it while you are actively losing weight. Limit honeydew to 1 cup a day. Only eat 1 pear a day. I've been on SBD for 8 months now, most days I only have fruit once a day.
If you can't eat yogurt or tomatoes, don't. Make sure you drink lots of water, there are plenty of approved foods on this diet, you won't go hungry.
Good luck, I'm here almost every day if you need me.
Burdle
172/126.4/120 started 1/5/04

[halizoe]

[quote="Burdle"]I would eat the fruits that you can eat, but start with blueberries. As long as you don't have food allergies, which it seems you don't, you should be able to eat them every day. Once you have lost a lot of the weight you need to lose, try adding in the higher GI fruits. Leave watermellon for last, don't have it while you are actively losing weight. Limit honeydew to 1 cup a day. Only eat 1 pear a day. I've been on SBD for 8 months now, most days I only have fruit once a day.
If you can't eat yogurt or tomatoes, don't. Make sure you drink lots of water, there are plenty of approved foods on this diet, you won't go hungry.
Good luck, I'm here almost every day if you need me.
Burdle
172/126.4/120 started 1/5/04[/quote
I went out today to buy laughing cow light cheese, it only came in swiss cheese. I can't have swiss chesses..I can't have anything sugar free like jello I can't have sugar subsitiute like sweet and low and equal
I did buy feta cheese, but it didn't say low fat.. What can I use???

[haypor]

My experience with food allergies:

as a child, I remember my mom forbidding me to eat nuts and peanut butter (both which I LOVED). I didn't go into anaphalactic shock or anything, just asthma. Obviously I out grew that allergy because I can eat peanuts now. But about 5 years ago, I was getting hives everywhere. For months on end, I had them 24/7. I went back to my childhood allergy report and eliminated all food that I tested positive for. Ironically, during this episode, my allergist retested me and all the same foods tested positive still...even the peanuts! Eventually the hives left. To this day, if I eat too much of something that I tested pos. for, I start feeling "funny".

Now, my 2 year old has a severe milk allergy, and egg and peanut. Not fun when trying to feed a toddler! I hope, in time, he outgrows the allergies, but for now, those foods are FORBIDDEN!!

Just wanted to share my food allergy experiences.

[Burdle]

halizoe, the Laughing Cow Light swiss doesn't taste anything like swiss cheese, but it does have swiss cheese in it, along with cheddar.
I try to avoid artificial sweeteners, too, so my dessert is fruit, usually raspberries and blackberries, frozen from Trader Joe's. Also a few nuts.
According to the SBD Good Fats Good Carbs Guide, only low fat feta is Good. Do you have a Trader Joe's nearby? They have low fat cheeses, and fat free jalapeno cheese. The grocery stores around here all carry some kind of reduced fat cheese, even at the deli counter. You might have to ask someone who works there...or just eat much smaller portions of regular cheese if that is all you can buy.
Burdle

[halizoe]

We don't have that store here . I must be doing somthing right I lost 9 pounds so far in the first week

[halizoe]

Thanks for sharing with me.. I hope your son gets over his allergies soon..

[Burdle]

Allergic Burdle Bean Bump