Jim<\/B> asks:<\/p>\n
hi!
\nI have allergy for peanuts (all kind of nuts), soya, curry, mustard and leguminous plants. so I wonder if you know what I can and can’t eat.<\/p>\n
Yours sincerely\/Jim<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Note:<\/b> This is my opinion and is not to be taken as qualified medical advice.<\/p>\n
That’s quite a list, Jim!<\/p>\n
There are a few things to sort out here. <\/p>\n
How serious are your allergies<\/a>? There is a big difference between a nut allergy causing anaphylactic shock<\/a>, and an allergy that just causes mild discomfort! You need to know this to evaluate the risk factor.<\/p>\n How sensitive are you to these various allergens? This is partly a matter of risk factor, but also a matter of how far you have to go to avoid allergens. For example, if nuts cause you to have anaphylactic shock<\/a>, you will want to avoid all traces of nuts, even a single grain that may have floated across the table from another dish. If you have mild to medium symptoms<\/a>, and you are not very sensitive, you can be more relaxed.<\/p>\n For example, I avoid wheat<\/a> because it makes me feel absolutely awful for a couple of weeks, and crappy for another month after that. However, a little soy sauce (which contains wheat) does not seem to be a problem for me. But that’s just me. Everyone is different.<\/p>\n By and large, nuts<\/strong> (and peanuts<\/a>, which are actually a legume<\/strong>, not a nut) are an added bonus ingredient<\/a> if foods, rather than a staple ingredient. You do have to watch out though. Read the ingredients of everything<\/em> because you never know what deserts, breakfast cereals, energy bars, soups or main courses might contain nuts.<\/p>\n Watch out for nut oil.<\/strong> Peanut oil is common.<\/p>\n Mustard<\/strong> is more of a spice. This should be easy to avoid, but again, check ingredients.<\/p>\n Curry<\/strong> – well curry is made up of a number of ingredients. So I doubt you have a curry allergy<\/em>, although you may be allergic to one of the ingredients in curry. Why do you think you have a curry allergy? Curry powder is made with ingredients such as turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, chili and black pepper<\/strong>. Curry could have some or all of these ingredients, and other ingredients besides. Notice that curry might have mustard in it, which may be the problem in your case.<\/p>\n Legumes<\/strong> need more attention, especially soy. <\/p>\n Soy<\/strong> is in everything, including tofu, soy sauce, TVP (textured vegetable protein), oil, infant formula, soy milk, meat replacer\/meat filler, etc. etc. etc. I should write a whole entry just on soy, it is that common an allergen, and that common an ingredient.<\/p>\n