Help me find something that I can eat

[DenaKay]

I am 37 years old. I have had eczema for 17 years now. Every year I become more and more allergic to more and more things. I have a very hard struggle just trying to find something that I can eat without a flare-up. I am allergic to every tree and grass that I can name, plus dust, mold, pollen, things that I cannot pronouce, plus milk, soy, wheat, corn, peanuts, shellfish, fish, chicken. I cannot find practically anything that I can eat that doesn't have milk, soy, wheat or corn in it. Please help!! What am I suspose to eat?

[ChitChatNine]

Hi ...

I wish I could have an answer for you but wanted to say hi and welcome to our community!

C~

[enzymelover]

   How are you with brown rice and vegetables? Have you tried whey protein? Are you taking any amino acid supplements?
Have you been tested for any autoimmune disorders?

[FurballsMom]

I have a lot of food sensitivities myself and have found that most processed and packaged foods are full of sulfites.  I have found that I can eat a certain amount of some foods if they aren't processed and packaged foods.

I have gone back to cooking and eating everything from scratch, because it helps to simplify things.  I got sick and tired of reading labels.  Not all foods have declared sulfites either, which is another problem.  We share the problem with shellfish, because I found out that shellfish and fish are sulfited while they're still on the boat.  All soy products are full of sulfites, too.  

I don't have "true" allergies, in that I don't have anaphylactic shock from the foods I have problems with, but I still get sick from them.  And, my list of problem foods is fairly extensive, too.  I might not die if I accidentally eat something that doesn't agree with me, but I'll still get sick.  I feel for you, because I know it's very frustrating.  I have a huge problem in the produce section of the grocery store.  There are simply too many items there that I can't eat or they'll make me wish I hadn't.

If your grocery store has a natural foods section or a bulk foods section, you can find grains that are NOT part of the wheat and gluten family there.  I have gluten intolerance, so I am aware of this.  I am fortunate that the bulk foods section that is in my grocery store is set up so that the gluten free grains are in the gravity bins, so there is no chance of cross-contamination with someone using the wrong scoops in these bins.  If you're still able to eat rice, you'll find that there are more varieties of rices available in the bulk foods section of your grocery store than you were probably even aware of.  I'm pretty lucky that the bulk foods at the stores I shop at have really clean foods.  I have problems with dust and mold, too.  No doubt this is why peanuts bother me, even though they're not a "true" allergy for me.  They're still not worth eating, since they will only aggravate my migraine issue.  They upset my digestive tract big time, too.

If you live in an area that has a Trader Joe's store, they have good prices on rice and wild rice, which is actually not a variety of rice.  This is important to know for people allergic to rice.  It's just called wild rice, but it's actually an aquatic plant seed and is longer than a grain of rice.  It has a nice flavor all on its own, which is a nice break from rice, too.  Trader Joe's has a couple of rice pastas.  Are you able to eat rice still?

Other grains to look for are quinoa (there are three colors of quinoa available), amaranth, buckwheat (not related to wheat at all) and hulled millet.  Yes, millet is what birds eat, but the hulled millet found in the bulk foods department is meant for human consumption.  If you can find a clean source that isn't too dusty, millet is good, too.  I have found quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) to be very clean, plus it is higher in protein than the other grains.  And, it's not from a grass.  On the days that I'm actually able to eat breakfast, I'll have quinoa with a little bit of flaxseed oil and red sea salt.  If I have rice milk, I'll have that with it, too, like one would eat oatmeal.  It's far higher in protein than oatmeal.  For those of us with gluten intolerance, quinoa is a good option--if you're not allergic to it.  So far, I usually only hear of people who are unfamiliar with quinoa and haven't heard anyone mention they're allergic to it.  I suppose it's possible, since people can be allergic to just about anything.

[enzymelover]

Read the book   Enzymes for Digestive Health and Nutritional Wealth  by Karen DeFelice

Try taking digestive enzymes with all your food for a while and see if this helps. Take proteases for proteins, lipase for fats, amylase for carbs, etc. The enzyme DPP-IV is especially useful for casein and gluten sensitivity. There are several good brands available now.

[allmymarbles]

I found that traditional allergists were of little or no help.  So I went to a kinesologist/physician. For each visit I got rid of one allergy - completely and within 25 hours. The most important were foods - citrus, wheat, alcohol, sucrose, etc., etc. Among other things he got rid of were allergies to roses and lilacs - extremely helpful because I had love them and breed them.

People will tell you that alternative medice is the bunk. Fortunately I paid no attention. Although traditional doctors will not admit it (nor will the FDA or the AMA) many alternative procedures are now finding their way into traditional medicine (which is taking credit for it). Among them are treatments for arthritis that restore cartilage and reduce inflammation and pain without drugs. There is also a large research project under way concerning chelation as a new treatment for heart disease. New? Lots of laughs. Alternative medicine has used chelation for many, many years. I certainly know what it has done for my husband who underwent it 15 years ago in response to two abortive heart attacks.