When most people think food allergy, they think an immediate collapse to the floor, the face turning blue. Yes, this is one type of allergy, the sort everyone fears when they hear about a peanut allergy for example.
Possibly more common is the “delayed onset” food allergy, where symptoms do not appear for hours or even days. For example, when I eat wheat, I don’t notice any symptoms for about 24 hours. Some people might take two days before they feel anything. In rare cases, symptoms may not appear for a week.
This makes the job of determining what you are allergic to very difficult.
List of Common Allergens
Here are 20 of the most common allergenic foods:
- Cow’s Milk
- Wheat gluten (gliadin)
- Gluten (in wheat, oats, rye and barley)
- Yeast
- Egg Whites
- Cashew nuts
- Egg Yolk
- Garlic
- Soya beans
- Brazil nuts
- Almonds
- Corn
- Hazelnuts
- Oats
- Lentils
- Kiwi fruit
- chilli peppers
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Peanuts
If you think you might be suffering from a food allergy, but are not sure which food is causing the problem, start by cutting out all of the above foods.
Other foods commonly associated with allergic reactions (although not necessarily delayed) include:
- Spinach
- Shrimp
- Oranges
- Chicken
- Strawberries
- Tomato
- Pork
- Beef
See the related story Self-Testing for Allergies for a suggested approach.
{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
Question, IgE Alpha-Gal allergy causes allergy to cats too. Is it ok to get shots for cat allergies? The symptoms were the same as the alpha-gal and I think I react worse each time.
I have helped a lot of people over a variety of health issues….many times an allergy or group of allergies is an enzyme deficiency,eating contaminated foods.I have helped animals with same issues.I recommend doing a raw organic vegetable juice diet to wash some of the pesticide and toxins and get your body as close to zero junk in it as possible.do this for a week at least to see how you feel…eat some fruit only use organic ( it does not have to be certified organic if you know or learn the grower,source…)sometimes what is called allergies is not the food it is substances on or in the food.fertilizer,pesticides,fungus.If you have other than o type blood you may not have the proper enzymes to break own and process foods.Especially meats (red in particular) or dairy…Also no one should eat foods with Msg,gluten,corn,nitrites,nitrates.stay
away from grains .Go back to eating your foods from healthy soil and trees.No boxed or canned….Eat at home until you have these issues under control.As you add foods back to diet ,do it one at a time and for a week at a time.See if you have any reaction…if so eliminate that food and try another one for a week.Try to grow 5%-35% of your own food.Or join a co op that you know the farmers that grow the foods.Ask questions about the food they grow…..This is a quick answer….hope this helps someone…..
Get tested for Alpha-Gal IgE… that’s the tick bite allergy to beef link.
I am 44 and last year developed severe hives and angioedema (swelling) about 4 hours after I’d eat beef… it took months to figure out that it was beef that caused it. The hives and swelling affected mainly my face and neck, with severe burning, but no itching. Then after a couple of days, it would dry and peel off, as if I’d had a bad sunburn. My doc said it was some “unusual rash” and he referred me do a dermatologist who prescribed Elidel and Corticosteroid creams. No interest in finding out WHAT was causing it… just treat the symptoms. By chance I noticed that I had no flareups for a few weeks until I ate a beef quesadilla…. then a week later I tested it again by having a hamburger. I’ll miss eating beef, especially Father’s Office Burgers (in Santa Monica) and braised beef short ribs. But the horrid hives and skin damage (my neck skin got thin and papery) is not worth the risk.
Jen,
The biggest thing you got to worry about is when someone else cooks your food and if they know how dangerous it is to contaminate it. I’ve had this allergy for 7 years now and having trouble getting tested for it. What state are you in?
Look into the paleo diet. Go strict with the no dairy & you can do this. Take out your veggie & fruit items & you still have lots to work with. I found this paleo way of eating be more “allergy friendly” than most. There are multiple websites with recipes & ideas to make living easier. There are so many substitutes now for dairy. Keep trying different ones. There’s something out there!
So delicious brand is good for yogurts & milk. Almond breeze milk has a better texture than rice. Rice is very thin & reminds me of frosting it’s so sweet. Goat’s milk has an aftertaste, but it’s good in dark chocolate ice cream. Coconut milk products usually have a good creamy texture. They’re plenty of cheese alternatives. You have to make your own food. Soy sauces usually have wheat, so we use “soy” sauce made from coconut. My kid shouldn’t have wheat, corn, soy. Dairy makes his allergies worse. Almond butter in creamy texture is decent for sandwiches & smoothies. Other butters are available like sunflower or cashew. They make different veggie chips to munch. You can use lettuce to wrap your “taco”. You have more options being able to handle soy products. Keep your head up.
This is a late addition to this topic, but could be useful for people looking for milk alternative. My magic formula for a truly yummy tasting non dairy alternative is to pour Hemp Milk over my GF cereal and then add some Coconut Creamer on top. This works for hot cereal too, such as cooked oatmeal. The proportion should be about 80% hemp milk plus 20% creamer. It is best is the hemp milk is unsweetened. I don’t know if this would work to replace milk in baking, but just to eat it ‘au natural’, the taste is very good.
So, good luck adjusting.
[Agnes has more to say about adjusting to a gluten free diet, so check the link to read more and leave your comments about her thoughts. Reply below about the milk substitute.]
I am allergic to
Gluten
Barley
Wheat
Corn
Yeast
Green beans
Milk
Peanuts
Swiss cheese
Cantaloupe
And cottage cheese!!!
What can I eat then?? No more corn tortillas? lol what can I eat that is like bread? Or ice cream? HELP
Silvia this sucks and I feel your pain. I have read about rice flour used in baking and also rice milk ice cream. Maybe you would enjoy it… I haven’t tried it yet.
Ive been trying to determine my food allergies for months now…Im 55 years old and have just recently started having food allergies…Ugggh! Wheat & gluten products appear to be my major culprit, so I have recently bought some rice bread at the health food market.,….its very good toasted, and has to be refridgerated..;I make a spread consisiting of organic coconut cream & pure maple syrup…its very good! The rice bread is excellent for sandwiches also, as long as I toast it….Good luck to you in finding a good selection of foods to enjoy…
Search for other types of gluten-free bread as well. The problem with baked rice products, as good as they are, is that they go stale quickly. There are many other types of fantastic gluten-free bread out there!
You will find a way! I would stay away from chemicals too. Keep it simple and eat like people used to eat. I don’t do dairy, beef, pork, lamb or deer. Looking into Ostrich, they say it tastes like beef! lol. If we do we’ll stay by the better hospital you know, just in case!
Try Udi’s bread. It’s the best. I’m right there with u one the many allergies. Mexi food is hard to give up. :(… But I do use Lizanaiti (not sure if spelled that right) cheese- almond cheese is way less stinker than soy cheese! 馃槢 I also like the almond breeze milk, it doesn’t have an after taste and works great in baking. Almond dream ice cream is better than soy dream too. Better consistency. 馃檪 quinoa is an awesome grain to substitute! I found quinoa pasta is WAYYYYY better than rice pasta! And so healthy for you! Bobs red mill has a ton of GF flours out there, I’m lucky to have the store a few miles away to get the bulk flours. But their GF all purpose flour is great! baking GF is a LOT different than baking with wheat flour…you’ll get the hang of it. Betterbatter.org has great recipes (I just use Bobs Red Mill GF flour since its cheaper for me and it tastes just as good. 馃檪 hole that helps!
there is a large variety of gluten/wheat/yeast free baked goods available, although you will have to pay through the nose for them.
(check labels though as barley or corn may be used as a substitute in certain instances),
Ken, that sounded like msg reaction (allergy?) to me. I have had that response before and it seemed to be cumulative. Until i figured out what was causing this bodily response it continued to worsen each consecutive time. One time I thought I might die. I had all of the symptoms you mentioned then vomiting was added along with the others, difficulty breathing and felt about to pass out…should have gone to er. It was scary. Take sweet care of your child! Best of everything..
To Beth…you may be reacting to the casein in dairy products, not just the lactose. If that’s the case, you need to give up all dairy products. I was diagnosed with celieac disease in Dec 2010 and have since given up gluten, dairy, soy, aspertame, eggs, plums, yeast and probably a few others I can’t think of right now. I react by getting mouth sores shortly after I eat something so know I’m having a reaction. However, I can eat many of the things on your top 20 list. I have found that the Paleo diet is the best way to go, no grains, no/little dairy, little sugar, mostly meat and veggies with some fruit and nuts.
Bobbi thanks for sharing your story. I hope this helps Beth, in the meantime I will be trying Paleo to find relief from allergy symptoms.
For my 40th b-day I got food allergies! Joy! I am allergic to beef. pork. lamb and deer. I work with two other people that have the same allergies and they are delayed as well. I do take align to help with GI trouble. I do not eat any prepackaged foods and watch my salt intake due to bad reactions to salt. I do react 8 hours after ingestion and have a little pill box with phase 1 and 2 of my defense and 2 epi pens for phase 3! Have to have some kind of humor.
This could have been caused by a tick bite.
Ticks! No way! Your GI tract is your biggest immune organ you have. Mine just went haywire!
It’s not that simple. Ticks carry diseases that can make your immune system go haywire.
Sorry, don’t buy that. What does a tick have to do with becoming allergic a red meat protein? My Dr. says that the genetics of our food is changing and the immune system is so complex our bodies are starting not to recognize food as it used to be. Go GMO’s!!! I work with 2 other people that have the same allergy as well, imagine that! I’d have to have ate the tick then be allergic to the tick!
I seem to randomly be developing a lot of allergies suddenly.
Up until the age of 15 I had nothing except hayfever and fluffy animals to worry about and had no food allergies. Now I’m allergic to
nickel
celery
fertiliser
nectarines
apples
some types of l;ettuce
some herbs
grass
dust
On top of my previous few allergies. The food ones make my mouth develop a rash and in the case of nectarines (which I only reacted to yesterday after YEARS of them being my favoured fruit) just over 36hours after the initial reaction of an itchy throat and mouth; my top lip has started to swell to nearly 4times its size..
any problems with yeasted breads? yeast is everywhere and builds up on things outside, like fruits and veges etc, thorough washing of these things could help if it is yeast
Within the past month I’ve had reactions to peanuts, tomatoes & possibly mushrooms after never having food allergies before. I cut my diet down to basics (literally rice, water, chicken & gatorade) for a few days. On the 2nd day I added yogurt & beets to cleanse & detox my system. My seasonal allergies seem to play a part in food allergies (I’m pretty well allergic to everything allergen inside & out. Pollen & molds being my 2 worst). When seasonal allergens are high I notice my food allergy spikes. I was able to calm my hyper sensativity down with the diet after about 4 days so I could eat tomato sauces in moderation. But a few days ago I had ice cream (i am very lactose intolerant & no med seem to help) along with mushrooms & tomato sauce in the same day & had a bad reaction. Does anyone else find that combinations of food you may be sensative to or eaten not in moderation trigger food allergy attacks? & how in the world do you find out what you are sensative to without accidentally finding out after you eat it? Or is that science fiction & wishful thinking on my behalf? I’m a stay at home mom of young twins & scared to death to eat.
If you eat several foods you are allergic too, you put your body under more stress. Actually, and stress can be additive, for example allergens plus stress at work or at home.
I want to second what Allergy Guy said about things adding up. I used to be a fighter pilot in the Navy. It was stressful, and I think I had a relatively high level of apprehension about some of the dangers involved. Still–I was rated as one of high achievers.
Then I got married. Beautiful young wife. We had our first baby. Six months later the baby had a fairly routine but extensive surgery on her skull to open two sutures.
The surgery was scary. and then the baby couldn’t sleep very well. But then we got good news. Linda was pregnant. This really was good news because we wanted a big family.
But less sleep.
And I started to get dizzy. Not a happy feeling for the pilot of a single pilot jet. So I did just what you did. I got scared to death, which makes everything worse. We often flew late at night and I would come home at midnight and go stand by my little daughter’s crib and wonder who would possibly take care of her when I killed myself in the plane.
My poor wife! She’s not even two years into her marriage and her husband is getting more sullen by the day. I was totally un-fun and self-focused, thinking I had a choice between death if I kept flying or absolute shame and an abandonment of my lifelong dreams if I quit flying.
Beth, you may be allergic to milk. I was in the same scenario as you, having experienced lactose intolerance symptoms with no relief when using digestive enzymes with lactase. I’ve completely cut milk and it’s derivatives from my diet and have lost five pounds. In addition, I can now feel subtle reactions to other foods. I’m about to begin the oligoantigenic diet for a month in order to begin again and figure out what I can eat without feeling like crap. Check out this site as a guide if you want to see if milk is the problem. http://top8free.com/hidden-allergens/dairy-allergen-list/
i have many food allergies. yet the foods i crave the most are the ones i shouldnt touch. Has anyone got a rush, a high, an excited feeling after eating or drinking yeasty foods,? no build up just a turning point wher u are very exciteable.
It is common for people to crave the foods they are allergic to. I can’t speak to the rush you describe after eating yeasty foods, but maybe others can. You can also check in with the Yeast Allergy post which has many comments about yeast allergy.
yeast breaks down sugar (whether it be sucrose, glucose or fructose) to create CO2 and alcohol as byproducts so possibly your just getting drunk, which could explain the cravings too. this isn’t typical but if your stomach isn’t as acidic as it should be and you don’t eat much salt (which retards the growth of yeast), yeast would then be able to survive in your stomach for a short amount of time processing any sugars there rapidly due to the perfect temperature
My daughter has had about 5 to 7 delayed reactions. We just came back from appointed number 4 from our second allergy doctor. We are no closer to an idea then when we first went.
Here is what typically happens….first itchy hands, diarrhea, then hives along with face and ears turning red. One time caused her blood pressure to drop.
Normally happens after we have gone out to dinner. Never with home cooked meals. Chinese food, steak, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, and one time she sipped wine (before her first holy communion).
This sounds like a nitrite/nitrate allergy. Same thing happens to me when I’ve had white wine, which has more nitrites. Also, if one is prone to blood sugar problems, (Prediabetes), the sugar in these products can cause one to have the very same symptoms.
Monosodium Glutamate does this to me. It makes things taste better but it does cause lots of allergic reactions. Used to make me wake up right as I was getting to sleep with an anxious sense of dread. Very strange. (And I had not learned to associate it with MSG.) Then one night after I went to a Chinese restaurant and ate a healthy portion my hands started to swell. I think maybe the flight surgeon asked me what I had for dinner and I said Egg Foo Young at the Golden Pagoda and he told me about MSG.
Anyway–so I avoid the stuff like crazy. About a month ago we were on a long car trip–9 hours or more–I started to eat some chips out of an open bag and in about five minutes I bet my wife they had MSG and they did.
So maybe look for that.
MSG is in many soups, lunchmeat, flavored chips, ketchup, mustard. One of the problems is labeling. Foods can be labled “hydrolyzed vegetable protein” or “autolyzed yeast” but no where else on this list does it say MSG (monosodium glutamate) However, MSG is one of the ingredients in the Hydrolyed protein or autolyzed yeast. There are about 6 things that can be listed on an ingredient list that contain MSG without the package saying “MSG”. The FDA and others tell you we have monosodium glutamate in our bodies naturally. Yes, we do, however, it is the processed MSG that causes problems. Think of it this way….Oil in a refinery is “cracked” or processed and the end results make different petroleum products. It is this breaking down or cracking that makes gas for cars, jet fuel, diesel fuel, etc. So, while we may naturally have MSG in our bodies, the cracked processd version is not healthy and should be avoided at all times whether you are allergic, or just have normal symptom reactions from MSG (hand swelling, headache, etc) Benadryl helps reverse many of the symptoms whether they are allergice reactions or not.
Why is there so much conflicting information about which are yeast free foods? Some sites say citrus fruits are ok(like this one) others say not. What about honey, mushrooms, tinned tomatos. There is conflicting info on all these things. Does anyone know where there is a definitive guide?
Probably everyone will tell you they have the definitive guide.
Also, nothing is truly 100% yeast-free. There is yeast floating around everywhere, just not enough to cause a problem. So some people find out that theoretically, some food might have a tiny bit of yeast in it. Some will tell you to avoid it, others will say no problem.
Mushrooms are a type of fungus and so is yeast. Some people think you should therefor avoid mushrooms. I think this is a bit of a stretch, but suggest the newly diagnosed avoid mushrooms at first, then try them later and see if they feel OK with the. Others might take a more puritanical approach.
In the end, use any information you find on this website and others as a guide and starting point. Then experiment to see what works for you.
Finally, there is a big difference between avoiding yeast due to a yeast allergy, and avoiding sugar due to yeast overgrowth. These two problems are easily confused, so that advice for one may be given for the other when not appropriate.
So… what does one eat?
Good question!
This website has quite a bit of information about what you can eat gluten-free.
In general, you have to look at all the many fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy etc., and then cross off what you can’t eat. Then focus on what is left, which for most people, is a lot!
Just see it as an adventure!
I’ll see if I can come up with a better response than that and write an article about it. Initially, it does seem very hard because all you see is what you can’t eat! But over time you begin to realize how much there is that you can eat and enjoy.
Thanks for the encouragement. I know flour products and nuts are biggies but when I saw SPINACH?? And chicken? Yikes!
Does that include free range chicken too? I wonder because I read an article talking about the omega 3s in – yes – chicken. It is supposed to be in there naturally but mass produced chicken has none or only trace amounts. So I wonder if the allergens would also be the same. (Same goes for grass fed beef.)
I will be watching for your article with perhaps some recipes included. I am almost afraid to try this. 馃槈
Please send me more info on a gluten free diet
Please see $gluten free diet$ for more information
Def the Raddish, I had the same eating a raw beetroot, weird dry throat almost immediately.
Original in P
Mescobri que sou alergica a mauitos alimentos inclusive ao fermento de p茫o. Alguns minutos ap贸s ingerir o alimento contendo este fermento meu abdomem fica distendido e endurecido, dolorido a palpa莽茫o, tenho dificuldade respirat贸ria. muitas vezes fui parar na emerg锚ncia com diagn贸stico de abdomem ag煤do, quase fui submetida a laparotomoa exploradora. J谩 fiz duas colonoscopia uma deu normal e a outra o aparelho n茫o passou do sigm贸ide. Larguei o tratamento com o gastroenterologista e procurei um alergista. ap贸s sofrer edemas de glote consecutivo, pela incapacidade respirazt贸ria que venho sofrendo entrei em depress茫p profunda e quase abandonei o tratamento, mas meu alergista est谩 me incentivando a mant锚-lo. Nunca deixem as coisas chegarem aonde eu deixei. cuidem-se!!!
Google Translate
Mescobri I’m allergic to food mauitos including the baking of bread. A few minutes after eating food containing yeast that my abdomen is distended and hard, painful to palpation, have difficulty breathing. often ended up in emergency diagnosis of acute abdomen, almost laparotomoa I underwent exploratory. I’ve done two one colonoscopy was normal and the other device has not passed the sigmoid. I left the treatment with a gastroenterologist and allergist tried. laryngeal edema after suffering consecutive inability respirazt贸ria (breathing?) I’m going through I went into depress茫p deep (deep depresion?) and nearly abandoned the treatment, but my allergist is encouraging me to keep it. Never let it get where I was. take care!
[editor’s note: translation is not perfect!]
Faith Savage:
I would suggest tasting each of them individually to see if it was celery or radishes that triggered your reaction. Most likely it was celery, but it could be anything. Try to remember if you came into contact with anything else, like if you had something on your hands, the counter, etc.
Our body wants to eat what can destroy the body and make us sick.
I was cleaning celery and radishes. While doing so I ate a few pieces before putting it away. That night I woke up and thought that I was either getting a very bad cold cos my throat hurt when i swallowed. In the morning my cheeks on the inside of my mouth was very bumpy and swollen my gums were tingling and my lips were very swollen. I don’t know what caused it. Never had an allergic reaction to anything nothing. What could have caused this.
Hi, Sounds like it may the radishes. I have a client who is extremly allergic to radishes and radish seeds are even worse. Hope that helps…
See Delayed Anaphylaxis
Ok! I am sorry! I was wrong. You should has sent the link first, I have been watching so many podcsts about allergies and such. My allergy Dr does not know where to get me test to make sure that it is for sure what I have. That was mind blowing! We could have an epidemic! Is it worse than Lymes disease? Can be worse I guess
I did call the other people I know that have the same thing to give them the heads up as well.
Thanks