What allergens linked with what symptoms?

Submitted on Fri, Jun. 8th at 8:41 am by Stephanie

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

I'm in the re-introduction phase of the diet, and I was curious whether anyone had discovered food allergies already, and what foods caused what symptoms.

I know the reactions are very individual, but I also know there are some tendencies with different foods. For example, I found research on gluten and dairy that said gluten and casein are related to ADD, which I and two of my children have, and that diary is related to eczema, which the other of my three kids has. So I took the kids of gluten and dairy. One of the ADHD kids -- the more severe one, thank goodness -- responded to the gluten- and dairy-free diet with as much improvement as the medicine had made. (She still needs the medicine to function, but now she can.) It didn't make any difference with the other ADD kid, who isn't hyperactive, or with me. The dairy-free diet also improved the eczema on my other daughter. So I was able to "target" the exclusions, since kids aren't going to do well on as restrictive a diet as the UltraSimple diet.

But the eczema isn't gone completely, and now that the scaly part is gone, we can tell that some of it is different, it's like tiny blisters on the sides of her fingers that are so swollen they hurt, and will itch really badly if she scratches them. They showed up after she got some butter on her fingers -- can dairy cause this by contact? Are there foods that cause bumps like this? Anyone know some good web sites with this kind of info?

‹ Discovering Allergies
 

You may have more than one

Submitted on Tue, Jun. 12th at 3:34 pm by wolfsuit

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

You may have more than one cause to deal with, hence the mixed results.  (Remember the moment in one of Dr. H's lectures when he says if you pull one of two tacks out of your foot you're not 50% better.)  So maybe you have a toxicity to address as well, or another, unidentified food allergy, or something else...  I think it is good to be as systematic as possible with the elimination.  Use the scientific method, and eliminate every suspect food, and then reintroduce only very slowly and while taking obsessive notes.  Then you'll have real control over your results.
Also, I remember that he described one patient with awful exczema who responded to a direct application of omega-3 oil to the affected area.  In her case she was so starved for the nutrient that her skin took it in directly.  IANAD, of course, so I don't know if it would help.

thanks for tips

Submitted on Tue, Jun. 12th at 8:31 pm by Stephanie

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

I can't take away all common allergens at one time; my daughter is only 12, and very small for her age. She's so small, in fact, our GP sent us to a pediatric endocrinologist, who sees her twice a year, to monitor growth. She's like negative five percentile on the charts (I know that's a mathematical impossibiloity, but you know what I mean.) We do feed her, and she does eat -- and much more healthily than any of the other kids we know -- but limiting her food choices too much is not a good idea; variety stimulates the appetite, and we've already got her off all dairy. Plus, Dr. H said not to do the USD on people under 18. So I think that for my daughter, this approach is contraindicated.

So, that's why I was hoping to find out what other allergens commonly cause eczema; then I could take those away one at a time, and see if it helps at all. The dairy made a noticeable difference, and it's apparently not the only cause. We have her off corn now, because I read a site where a woman had similar symptoms from corn. Tomato is after that, because it sometimes causes skin problems, and one study showed that 40 percent of grass-allergic people had tomato allergies, too. (My daughter is allergic to all but two types of grass, and those probably don't grow here.)

I'll try the omega-3 oil topically, but I'd be surprised if her diet is deficient in that; I have cooked almost exclusively with olive oil for at least a year now, and lately, of course, with extra-virgin organic olive oil. I had already ordered some fish oil capsules for the kids, so those will be in soon, anyway.

Common Allergens

Submitted on Sat, Jun. 16th at 8:43 pm by nutritionist

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

This is general medical information only. For analysis, diagnosis and prescriptions, consult your doctor or other medical professional.

You will find information on food allergies at www.foodallergy.org and www.foodallergysurvivalguide.com Both review the most common allergens which include dairy, wheat, shellfish, fish, soy, egg (often associated with eczema), tree nuts, peanuts, and we would add from our experience with eczema gluten, yeast/molds, corn and in kids citrus and strawberry.

 I would definitely recommend the continued dairy and gluten exclusion as you trial the elimination of some other potential offending foods.  You may want to have her tested for both IgE and IgG antibodies.

  Kathie Swift MS RD

 

Thanks!

Submitted on Sun, Jun. 17th at 10:35 am by Stephanie

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

Since my daughter isn't growing very fast, anyway, I let her have the gluten back when I took her off corn. The eczema is healing as well as it did off both gluten and dairy, so I don't think the gluten affects her. We have a few more days off of the corn before we re-try that.

Thanks for giving me some direction in this; I hate taking very much food away from a kid, and this will give me some ways to test without being any more restrictive than I have to!