In my previous blogs I have discussed what is an allergy
and also what is it like living with allergies that effect
the respiratory system which in the extreme can make you wheeze and unable
to breath. Just because you have allergic reaction to substances that you can
breathe in, does not mean you will also be allergic to foods you consume.
However, the chances of developing food allergies are higher if you already have
respiratory allergies. Over the years I have become increasingly allergic to
many substances that are in the food chain now-a-days. I am, thus, a nightmare
to invite to dinner. I also have been asked how I can manage to live. I have
retorted that I do not look like a poster child for malnourishment do I?
However, I definitely have made it a point not go to dinner to anyone’s home
unless I feel comfortable enough to make my food ‘demands’.
The first time I came out in urticarial rash (itchy raised
red bumps) was around the age of 18. I could not understand what had caused
this reaction and spent many hours cooling these bumps. They were mostly on my
lower legs and I used to sit with them in a bucket of cold water. Just as with
breathing issues one has to start by going through all that was consumed to try
and identify the allergen. It took a few months but I worked it out that I had
this reaction whenever there was a certain dish at dinner. This contained loads
of black pepper and tamarind. Once I stopped having it, I did not get the
urticarial rash. Strangely, I am neither actually allergic to any kinds of
pepper as a spice, nor with tamarind as I can use it to spice food. So the
reason for that allergy was never really substantiated.
The next few years the allergens to the respiratory system
slowly increased but those related to food stuff did not. While the reaction
was not showing up as a GI issue it was caused by the food consumed. But once
again the allergies to foods consumed began to emerge. The classic trend was identified
after years of experience and gives a picture of progress of severity of the
allergy. Initial reaction was of abdominal discomfort, tendency of feeling bloated
and a bit of wind or itchy lips or mouth. Then you also started having abdominal
cramps. If you did not stop eating the specific food, it progressed to diarrhoea.
The diarrhoea occurred quicker and with each subsequent exposure (went from
loose stool to fluid stool ) to the food that I was allergic to. Since this is
the body’s method of getting rid of harmful substance.
Surprisingly, I have never found vomiting to be a symptom.
It appears that vomiting maybe more common symptom of food poisoning, at least
for me. I do need to point out here that the progress described above is a
picture of what happens when one slowly gets allergic to a particular
substance. This is related to the repeated exposure to the allergic food that
builds and becomes more sever over each exposure. Conversely, you can have a
sever hypersensitivity reaction even with the first exposure to any food
substance. I have has the displeasure of suffering such a reaction to having
pumpkin. I have actually never liked it and had not eaten it since I was a
child. Even then it was not something my mother cooked (thank god).
One day I was invited to dinner by a colleague and they made
sure they got down all the items I was allergic to and that it was to be
vegetarian dinner. Well they made some pumpkin curry. I felt obliged to try
some for how can a grown woman and a dinner guest say I hate that. I had a
table spoon of that curry. By the time we finished dinner, I felt bloated.
Within half hour my abdomen was really bloated and I actually had to bend
backwards to allow my lungs to fill up. Then I started feeling swelling come up
my throat and was wheezing in earnest. I had only my inhaler with me and not my
antihistamine tablets. Oh what a mistake that was, one I never made again in
life. I used my inhaler a few times and just concentrated on my breathing. I kept
a posture that would allow maximum lung expansion. My poor hosts, they were having
kittens and were white faced thinking they were responsible for my condition.
Strange they never asked me back! It took a couple of hours to calm down and I
sat till late in their home as getting into the car and driving home in that condition
was not a wise course of action. So after that anaphylactic shocked mentioned
in the earlier blog, this was my second sever out of the blue reaction. I have
had a couple of near brushes like this when I have not been careful.
The approach to identifying the food that acts as an
allergen is equally hard as identifying those which produce respiratory
allergies. Sometimes it is fairly simple, as if it is something you do not
often eat then the reactions leave a much clearer trail to the cause. For example,
identifying soya allergy was not too difficult as the symptoms came every time
I had Chinese food. I used to enjoy it but did not have it very often. The one ingredient
that we do not use in Indian cooking was soy sauce and is the main spice in
Chinese cooking. I specifically cooked with all things I normally eat at home
by making a stir fry and added soy sauce the first time. The second time, I did
not use soy sauce. The difference was evident right away. So that was the first
thing to be removed from my diet.
Subsequently I have got allergic to mushrooms, pumpkins,
melons, squashes, cooked bell peppers, cauliflowers, lettuce, pumpkin seeds,
goji berries and kiwi fruit. I found that in UK I could not eat bananas as it
immediately caused a severe itch around my mouth and throat. Yet I could eat
them when I went away on holiday. The only thing I can assume is that mostly
bananas are imported into UK unripened. Then chemicals are used to ripen them and
that is what I am allergic to. One would think that the spray would be only on
the skin and without that it would be all right. But if I am reacting to the
banana it must mean that the chemical is somehow absorbed into the fruit. I
used to try a grape in the shop and if my mouth itched I would not buy it so
again I link it to any chemical sprays used in growing the grapes. I also found
it hard to eat apples, pears and other soft fruits hard to eat without a good
washing in running water. I am a lot better at eating fruit now in Australia
but I will not try the melons or kiwi fruit.
I was brought up as a child on vegetable oil / peanut oil as
well as ghee (clarified butter). But I found over time if I had ghee I got the
GI symptoms. I had to stop having any of the margarines as they started adding
soy lecithin. I started using olive oil and that has been suitable. Indeed
using the olive oil margarine is fine as it does not have soy added in it. I
have had sever reaction and asthmatic attack with rapeseed oil (oh I am
allergic even to the rapeseed pollen), grape seed oil, canola oil and palm oil.
Well the best tip I can give to finding out what your
particular poison is by keeping a daily dairy of what you are consuming. If you
have made it yourself it is easier but if you are having processed foods, takeaways,
eating out often it becomes harder to identify what is being consumed. The processed
foods have such long labels and words which are hard to decipher. The labelling
laws are different in different countries so again they may or may not have all
the ingredients listed. The additives often get written as E numbers and of
course we do not keep all those numbers in our heads. I find it easiest to read
the label for every product every single time (even if I buy is regularly) for
any familiar allergens. I advise everyone should do the same, as once or twice
I have been caught out when the manufacturers have changed the ingredients. For
example, I used to have a particular brand of bread, it was healthy and not the
white plastic bread. I had it for years and suddenly one day I started feeling
bloated. I could not understand why as I was not eating anything different.
While shopping I by chance picked up the bread and read the label……Oh my!!!! It
had soya flour added as flour enhancer. I went through the whole bread aisle
and found all had soya flour.
So keeping a diary will help to eliminate by trial and
error. It is a slow process and if you can get medical assistance to find the
allergens it would be helpful. Also form a habit of reading every single label
of every single food you buy every single time before you buy. Tedious you may
think but it becomes a habit soon enough. As for eating out well its hard I
admit it. I try out restaurants and ask if they will cater to my needs. Most often
I can get away with Indian places (the only worry being the use of different
oils and ghee). However, I hear that now in India as well they are adding soy
as a flour enhancer. I can have Italian as I can avoid my allergens fairly well
and yes they have not started enhancing their flour with soy so pasta and
pizzas are a safe bet. Similarly I can have some Mexican dishes. Some
restaurants are good and will even get the chef out to talk to me and organise
my meal around my allergies. Once you find these good suitable eateries stick
with them.
I also always keep handy some antihistamine in my purse and
of course I would keep my inhaler too when I was bad with respiratory symptoms.
It is best to take then as soon as you find out you have eaten something by
mistake or first symptoms makes its appearance. I have often heard people say
oh you allergy is not so bad, have it and eat your antihistamine. This is
dangerous and I cannot emphasis that enough, for the reaction gets
stronger and lasts longer every time you
eat the food you are allergic to, just as I pointed out with respiratory
allergies. The bottom line as I see it – it will kill me and then it is not so
hard to let go of the foods most loved. Good luck to all of you who have food
allergies.
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