In recent years, millions of people have developed serious food allergies that are characterized by closure/swelling of the throat and tightness in the chest cavity. I would like to know how many readers have had a similar allergic reaction, at what age you first noticed it, and what foods/beverages seem to cause this scary phenomenon. Also, please tell us how you treat your condition and what specific ingredients/chemicals in the food supply may be the root cause of your problems. Thank you.
Do yourself a favor and get a book called “Your Hidden Food Allergies Are Making You Fat”, by Rudy Rivera and Roger Deutsch. The title is misleading, it deals with food allergies and intolerances and how they may not only make you fat but can contribute to a host of other ailments as simple as headaches to serious conditions like diabetes or even death. There is a test you can take to determine your food allergies, I’m going to get it done ASAP, which lists what foods give you an allergic response and which foods are safe to consume. I just got the book but think it will help you with your question. By the way, I believe the main foods that can cause the closure of the throat are seafood/shellfish and peanuts/nuts. Other common food allergies include eggs, milk, corn, wheat, but some people are allergic to broccoli and lettuce. Its very individual, but the book is great and would give you more insight. Its shocking how common food allergies are and the potential problems that they are causing. I personally got the book after reading how Poliquin helped a client lose substantial amounts of fat when nothing else worked after eliminating allergic foods detected from a food allergy test, when no other diets would work for the client. Thats reason enough for me, hope this helps.
I personally believe this to be due to how modern society has robbed us of our natural immune system due to us not being exposed enough to dirt, germs, different phytochemicals etc within our obsession for hygiene and because fewer of us are breast fed so the natural antibodies are not being passed on from generation to generation - and with constant elimination of foods from individuals diets I can only see it getting worse. But then again I’m no doctor and i dont have no evidence for this so feel free to flame me if this message pisses off alot of individuals who are allergic to something.
A lot of allergies are also realted to the chemicals used to process food. I couldn’t eat ‘junk food’ if I wanted to, I’m allergic to a few preservatives and they give me headaches so bad that I can’t focus my eyes, and nothing but time alleviates the pain, I have to wait for the chemicals have to get out of my system. MSG is the worst. I first figured it out in college when I bought a box of Ranch Wheat Thins, I ate some then got a horrible headache. The next day the same thing happened. On the third day I ate them on purpose to confirm my suspicions, when I called my doctor he said that preservatives are a very common allergy. I eat very little processed food to help prevent these headaches. I have no other food allergies that I know of. My aunt gets the ‘throat closing’ reaction to many foods, including shellfish (iodine allergy) and some nuts.
I’ve had an allergy to sesame seeds since I was about 3 (at least that’s the first time noticed). My grandparents fed my Halavah, and my reaction was as you described - throat swelling, turned purple, etc. They had to pour a powerful anti-histamine down my throat to get me going again. After a few hours doubled over in bathroom alternating between the dreaded “D” and puking, I was OK.
Over the years, it’s happened to me a few times - particularly concentrated forms send me over the edge - Halavah, sesame candy, etc. Small amounts such as sesame rolls are usually not too much, but I try to avoid any rolls that are very covered, or anything that I know will have sesame oil in it (such as Udo’s). The few times I’ve been exposed without my knowledge, it’s been small amounts, and I feel a scratchyness in my throat enough to know to stop eating whatever it is.
Hope this helps.
In college I was using tuna as primary source of protein. I must have OD’d on the damn stuff because I developed an allergy to all Non-shelled fish. That’s right no salmon, no tuna, no fish period. Interestingly enough I can eat shellfish. Chicken, beef and pork gets kind of old, some days I would kill for fish.
doc. serrano talks about rotating protein sources or you could somehow get allergic, interesting post JD.
I think it is just in peoples head. “I have a food allergy, I am depressed, my ass is too big.” Please, this is not the Oprah Winfrey show.
Chris- I should have said what happens when I eat fish. First my tongue swells then my throat starts to constrict and then my stomach feels like some one used it as a punching bag. I can tell you it is not in my head, nor have I even been a guest on your favorite show, Oprah.
with all due respect to those who “suffer” I tend to believe it IS usualy in your head, I also think britishlifter is correct. the first thing parents do when their kid has sniffles is get them on antibiotics which I do think can leed to their bodies imune systems not being as strong as it should be. there are too many reasons why I believe its USUALY psychological for me to list. peace
I have a fairly rare allergy to all poultry. I have 2 things for those who believe it is “psychological”. 1: an allergy test is an allergy test. If your skin has a reaction, it has a reaction. They don’t tell you what they’re testing you for and where they’re testing you. So, when I was allergic to 39 out of 40 airborne allergies that I had never heard of, I don’t think that was psychological. 2: During visits to friend’s houses or in cafeteria’s, there have been all too many times where I’ve had to go puke up everything I had just eaten. Why? Turkey burger in the chili, chicken BROTH in the spinach casserole, chicken broth in the tamale sauce, etc. It was only AFTER I got sick and I would ask that I would find out it was poultry-related. So, there are several examples of how it literally could NOT have been psychological. With all respect, how can people have such strong opinions about topics they are ignorant about? I don’t mean ignorant negatively; I just mean “completely unknowledgeable”.
jeremy, I said usualy for a reason. I do believe some people realy suffer but I am also sure we all have a friend or relative thats always alergic to just about everything from cats to food to plastic, we all know someone like that, when people that I know who claim to be alergic to cats come over my house I just put the cats (I have 2) in the bedroom and don’t say a word, NO ONE HAS EVER SUFFERED ANY REACTION, one friend I told the next day that when they stopped over my cats were in the other room, by the end of THAT day they were bitching at me about the “reaction” they were NOW haveing. if that ain’t in that persons head I don’t know what is. I do think some REALY suffer, I just think MOST do not.