Allergy — Gluten Allergy / Gluten Free Diet / Yeast Allergy / Asthma / + other Allergies — Page 33

Gluten-Free Diet Story by Ashley

by Allergy Guy

A gluten free diet can be very beneficial to many people. You may experience more energy. Cutting out gluten may turn your whole life around.

Ashley left this comment on another article (gluten allergy symptoms). It is such a good and useful comment that I’ve turned it into an article.

Ashley talks about the problems she had and how cutting out gluten helped.

She also explains the battle she had with doctors who did not understand that she has a gluten allergy.

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Delayed Anaphylaxis

by Allergy Guy

Delayed anaphylactic shock is a new idea in the world of allergies.  Previously, it was assumed that anaphylaxis comes on within minutes of being exposed to an allergen, or not at all.

Research carried out at University of Virginia has uncovered a severe delayed allergic reaction, which they call Delayed anaphylactic shock.

It appears to be specific to a meat allergy: beef, pork or lamb.  Anaphylaxis can occur 3 to 6 hours after eating these foods for those who are allergic to it.

Symptoms can start with itching, progressing to hives on the skin’s outer and deeper layers.  Swelling, intestinal irritation come next, along with airway constriction, chaotic heart beat and a rapid drop in blood pressure.

In mild cases anaphylaxis may include only the less serious symptoms, but it is possible for this to progress to the more sever, life-threatening reactions.

“Our conventional understanding is that anaphylaxis happens within seconds or minutes of exposure. The notion that it can be delayed for several hours is a paradigm altering discovery,” says senior study investigator, Thomas Platts-Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at UVA and head of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The surprising thing about this allergy is that it involves a sugar, not a protein as with the allergies that science has so far become familiar with.

The reaction is triggered when IgE antibodies bind to galactose-?-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), a kind of sugar.

So what causes the IgE antibodies to alpha-gal to be produced in the first place?

Researchers suspect it is connected with the bite of a ‘seed’ tick, the larval form of various species of ticks such as deer ticks, dog ticks etc.

The researcher suspect that seed tick bites can occasionally cause a meat allergy in people with type A or O blood.  Those with B or AB blood appear to be protected from developing IgE antibodies to alpha-gal sugar.

The study also found that the most common allergy testing method used by allergists, the skin prick test, does not detect a red meat allergy.

Many allergists still believe that allergies do not develop after childhood.  This study makes it clear that adults can develop an allergy to meat due to larval tick bites.

When hiking in areas that may have ticks, wear clothing that protects you from tick hijacking.  If you discover a tick on your skin, remove it as soon as possible in a way that removes the head of the tick from your skin.

Clothing repellents that contain permethrin (eg Permanone) can greatly reduce, but not necessarily eliminate encounters with ticks.  Do not apply such repellents directly on your skin.

If you experience significant itching and redness around the bit, talk to your doctor about getting screened for an alpha-gal antibody.

There was a link to the original article used to research this one, but they have removed the page.  This link may be to the same article.

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Anaphylaxis

by Allergy Guy

This section contains information about anaphylaxis.

See below for a list of related articles.

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Back after being away

by Allergy Guy

For those of you who left comments about allergies on this website, and didn’t see them show up, you’ll be glad to know that I’ve sorted through them (most of them anyhow) and you should see yours now.

I was out of town for a while and so I slipped behind with comment maintenance!

I’ll write up an article about my experience at the hotel when I get some time, it was interesting to see how they managed my gluten-free needs.

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Allergy – Taking Responsibility for Yours

by Allergy Guy

When you first discover you have an allergy, it can be devastating.  Suddenly, you can’t eat all the food you are used to eating.  Suddenly, going out for food with friends becomes complicated, as does being invited as a guest at someone’s home for a meal.

Depending on what you’re allergic to, this could also affect going out for a drink (how many bars serve gluten free beer?), going into buildings (house full of mold?  I’m out of there!) and travelling (they mostly eat wheat?  My gluten allergy says I’ll starve there!)

You can let your allergies stop you, or you can find ways around these problems, deal with them, and carry on.

For an example of what I’m talking about, here is a question someone asked me recently:

My son is 15 and about 3 mo ago we found out he is allergic to beef , now this gets complicated for school lunches! he is not a cold food eater so he just refuses to take a lunch on the days he can’t eat there, the school said they would let him warm up 1 lunch a week. lately its been like 3 or 4 days a week he cant eat there. Is there a program that accommodates allergies and kids for school lunches? we already get the free/ reduced lunches, we just can afford to do this on a constant basis. anyone have any ideas pleas feel free to e-mail me we live in Illinois I don’t know if that makes a difference or not ?

The implication here is that we can do nothing about the son’s refusal to eat a cold lunch, therefore the school cafeteria should be reasonable and accommodate him.

From the point of view of an allergy sufferer, it would be great to be accommodated.  But how practical is it at the other end?  There are other things to consider here too, especially considering the age of the allergy sufferer in this story.

Here is my reply:

I understand your dilemma.

We all have certain restrictions in life – some more than others.  This isn’t just about what food you can eat, I’m talking about talents, skills, time, money, education, opportunity … you name it.

Those who do well in life are flexible and learn how to get around, over, under or through their obstacles.

If your son refuses to accommodate his allergy by bringing his own lunch to school, well, how you do anything is how you do everything.  He’ll be inflexible in other areas, refuse to help himself, and not get very far in life.

Better he learns to accommodate his allergy by adjusting.  Don’t expect the school lunch program to accommodate 25 different allergies for 28 different students.  I’m sure they’ll do the best they can, but it would be impossible for them to accommodate every last allergy every day.

Your son will have to manage his own allergy.

This may not be the answer you are looking for, and probably not what your son is looking for, but I think it is the best answer.

It may sound like I don’t have much sympathy for the son.  Actually, I do.  I’ve had my own battle with staying on the right side of my allergies, balanced with the social pressure to fit in.

The hard facts are that the world will not conform to you.  You have to accommodate the way the world is.

If you have allergies, you have to accept them, work out compromises with yourself and the rest of the world that keep you healthy and well fed, then carry on.

What is your opinion about allergies and school lunches?  Please leave a comment with your feedback.

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Gluten Free Diet and Fisherman’s Friend

by Allergy Guy

Fisherman's Friend | Gluten Free Diet I just pulled a package of Fisherman’s Friends out of my desk drawer, and suddenly had a moment of doubt.  What if they contain wheat in some shape or form?

There is no ingredients on the package, because it comes in a paper and foil package, originally housed in a larger box with many other packs.  No doubt, the ingredients are one the larger box, but that box is in the store, and I am at my desk, far far away.

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Gluten Free Beer and Wheat

by Allergy Guy

Gluten free beer wheat Most types of beer are made from barley, and many others are made with wheat.

It is these two gluten-containing ingredients that put most beer off limits for celiacs and those with a gluten allergy (the two main reasons people go on a gluten free diet).

And what if you are allergic to wheat?

If wheat, rather than gluten is your main problem, then you have more choices.  You can probably buy your beer in at your local shop, being careful to read the ingredients to make sure the beer contains no wheat.

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Bread Allergy

by Allergy Guy

Talking about a bread allergy is not really accurate. Bread is made of a variety of ingredients. If you are “allergic to bread” then you are surely allergic to other foods made up of some of the same ingredients.

Also, consider that bread is made of flour (ignoring the type of flour for now) and realize that by grinding the grain into tiny particles, the food oxidizes, making it rather toxic to your body.

Also, bread is so easy to eat, so it is easy to become lazy with meals and snacks, eating far too much bread, resulting in far too much carbohydrate intake.

If you do have a “bread allergy“, you are most likely, allergic to one or more of the following:

It may also be that eating white bread causes a spike in your blood sugar, causing you to feel tired. This is not an allergy at all.

Some breads have specific ingredients that may be a problem for you. This means that if you eat certain types of bread, and they have something in them that makes you sick, you may tie your symptoms to the bread, even though it is a particular type of bread with a particular ingredient in it that you can’t tolerate. Examples include:

Check the ingredients of the bread you eat to look for clues.

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Cooking Quinoa

by Allergy Guy

washing quinoa

Cooking quinoa is easy, but there is an important step you must follow, or you risk developing a sensitivity or allergy to quinoa.

Quinoa is a very nutritious grain, and an ideal food as part of a gluten free diet.  It is very popular with celiacs and those with a gluten allergy.

However, a small minority of people report becoming sick after eating quinoa, usually after consuming it for some time.  This is a real shame, as quinoa is very tasty, extremely nutritious, and easy to cook.  It is versatile, and can be used in many ways.

The most likely problem is saponin, which protects the plant from insect and fungal attack.  This is a soapy substance which can be washed out of the quinoa pseudograin.  It has a bitter taste, and possible minor toxic effects.

Because of the bitter taste and possible toxicity, it is important that you wash out most saponin before cooking the quinoa.  It certainly is not a very dangerous substance, nor is it as bitter as fish bile, so you do not have to take the same care with washing your quinoa as you would with preparing a puffer fish or something.

Washing Quinoa

There are several ways to wash quinoa.

You can put it into a sieve, one with a fine enough mesh to trap even the smallest seeds.  Then run it under the tap, shaking the sieve gently from side to side, until the water runs clear.

Or you can immerse the sieve in a big bowl of water.  Rub the seeds with your fingers to help shift the saponin.  Repeat two or three times until the water is clear and no foam forms on the surface.

Or you can put the quinoa in a blender with some water, and pulse it a few times to agitate the mixture, but not actually chop up the seeds.  Drain it through a sieve.

Cooking Quinoa

Put quinoa in a pot, with water in a 1:2 ratio (twice as much water).  It takes approximately 12 minutes to cook.  Allow a little longer (15 minutes or so) if cooking with other acidic ingredients.

A dash of salt brings out the flavor, although some people prefer to cook without salt and are used to the reduced flavor.

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Gluten Free Diet and Oats

by Allergy Guy

Gluten Free Diet Oats

Many on a gluten free diet wonder if they are safe to eat oats or oatmeal.  Some sources say that oats are safe for celiacs, others say stay away.  So which one is it?  Are oats safe or not?

There are two problems with oatmeal.  Even if the first problem can be solved, the second one makes solving the first pretty much irrelevant.

The first problem with oats is that they can be contaminated with wheat, and wheat contains gluten.

The contamination may only be slight, but the contamination problem is huge.  Because the distribution system is not concerned with keeping oats separate from wheat (or from rye and barley either), wheat and other gluten-containing grains can show up as the odd plant growing in the field, or in the harvesting equipment, transportation equipment, grain elevator, mill, packaging equipment … you name it.

But how much gluten from wheat, barley or rye might end up in your morning porridge?  Not much.  Probably none most of the time.  But if you are the unlucky one to get a grain of wheat in your oatmeal one unlucky morning, then that’s all it takes to ruin your day, and probably the next few weeks besides.

“Gluten-free oatmeal” does exist.  It is specially handled to reduce or eliminate the chances of contaminating wheat and other gluten-containing grains entering the system.  Does that solve the problem?  Read on.

The second problem with oats makes the first one irrelevant.

Oats contain gluten.  Some argue that the gluten is sufficiently different from wheat gluten as to be safe for celiacs.  Others believe that they are too similar to be safe.  Even some proponents of gluten-free oats say that it should be consumed in moderation.  Perhaps that statement alone tells the whole story.

The fact is we don’t really know for sure if oat gluten is really safe for celiacs or not.  Some celiacs do not do well with oats, which serves as a warning to other celiacs who don’t notice any obvious symptoms.

In the end, you are best to avoid oats completely if you are celiac.  There are plenty of other grains and pseudograins to choose from when avoiding wheat and gluten.

The up-side of eating oats is a bit more variety and convenience.

The down-side is illness and potential organ damage by ingesting oat gluten.

Conclusion: avoid oats if you are celiac.

What is your experience with following a gluten-free diet and eating (or not eating) oats? Comments welcome!

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