vegetarian with food allergies....Help!
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| Mon, 01-31-2005 - 5:02pm |
I am new here and I've become vegetarian recently. I have some problems that I run into. I have major food allergies. This is really putting a damper on my eating choice, but I am doing my best to struggle through at the moment. I can't afford a nutritionist, otherwise I would have already seen one. OK, I am allergic to wheat, soy, all legumes, all nuts, all fish, pork, all melons, eggs, asparagus, & chocolate <- I told the allergist I'll keel over before I give up my cocoa!!. So as you can see, it's been very challenging to say the least. I can have some wheat and some soy (rotation diet) but the legumes, nuts, fish, etc I can't even have a small bit of. What are some good sources for the vitamins my body needs? I take a multivitamin, but I just don't think it's enough. I have been doing alot of cheese things, but I'm sure I will need to eat something other than cheese LOL
I know this is a difficult way, but I feel very strong in my beliefs, I just need to find something that works for me inthe way of food rotation. Any ideas?
Heather



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Hi there. Thisby mentioned you were having a hard time finding food choices with all your allergies. I'm in the same boat as you, but you seem to have even more food allergies than I do. I'm allergic to legumes, nuts, shellfish, soy, and mildly allergic to some fruits. I'm not allergic to eggs or wheat. I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, the general rule of thumb is to get 50% of your body weight per day in grams of protein. That is, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should be getting 60grams of protein each day (unless you have a health condition that contradicts that advice). To further complicate it, not all protein is the same. Each source of protein has different amino acids and it's important to eat a variety of foods from each source. A vegetarian with no food allergies has no problem fulfilling this task, but it can be really difficult for those of us who do have allergies. I do know that 1 cup of cooked oatmeal has 5g of protein, 1 cup of brown rice has 4g, and 8oz of Horizon Organic fat free milk has 9g, but I have no idea what their amino acid makeup is. I tend to eat those foods plus things like whole wheat pasta, egg noodles, etc, but I know you can't eat these foods.
Since we both eat such a limited diet, another thing to watch out for would be the possibility of getting even more food allergies over time because, with a limited diet, we tend to eat the same foods over and over again. I started out like you with the soy allergy. At first, I just had to avoid soy protein, but now I react to anything with soy in it, even stuff like soy lecithin. The good part about that is that I stay away from all that bad prepackaged stuff and eat a lot more whole food now. I wish I had some better advice for you, but I don't. I'm sorry. I asked a dietician I used to work with about my situation a long time ago (friend to friend, not dietician to client) and she recommended that I eat a lean cut of meat at least once a week. Have you thought about doing that under your dr's advice? I just had a physical and found out that my blood protein is low because I hardly eat any protein. The dr said at this stage there is nothing to worry about, however.
The only thing I might suggest is taking a trip to GNC or something to see what they have for protein shakes. Protein shakes are really big sellers because a lot of body builders don't eat meat either, but they need a lot of protein. The only problem is that most of them contain some sort of soy. And there are other names soy is listed as which makes it even harder. Can you have whey protein? Have you checked out Slim fast shakes or Ensure or something else like that? Unfortunately, I'm allergic to all of them out there. Have you tried to google search any on line dietician or nutritionist sites? I bet there are some out there where you can email a question and it won't cost you anything.
How long have you had food allergies? What happens when you do eat something you are allergic to? Do you have asthma? These are all important things to consider because food allergies can be life threatening or even fatal if you have asthma and end up with a severe anaphylactic reaction. It made me nervous when you mentioned you do some kind of rotation thing with foods you are allergic to. For me, that would be like playing Russian Roulette. I had one near death experience from a food allergy and that was enough for me :) Here's a site with lots of good info about food allergies. They have recipes, food recalls, education tips, tips for deciphering ingredient lists, etc. Maybe you could also write to them and get some other ideas. www.foodallergy.org
Good luck on your quest to find some protein sources. I'm sorry I didn't have any great ideas, but I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone. If you find some good ideas, please come back and share them with the rest of us.
OMG someone out there like me!! I am sorry about your food allergies, they are rough. I can't do the protein shakes or bars, slimfast, nothing like that because of my allergies. I have had a few life threatening reactions, they are definately not fun. I was 5 when they found out some of my food allergies. Apparently they got worse at that point as I was hopitalized for a week since I couldn't hold down food. They tested me then. Since then, my allergies has grown and I do end up with new ones every time I'm tested. I get tested about every 2 yrs. I also do have asthma and a heart murmur! It just gets better LOL. It all sounds worse than I let it be. I too stay away from the processed foods, but it is so hard sometimes. The ease of making a frozen meal. I do make big batches of whatever meal I'm making and freeze it. The helps alot! It stills gets old that I can't have many things and would love to be able to just eat something fast.
Glad to hear about the oatmeal and rice, I can have those LOL.
Thank you for letting me know I'm ot the only one trying to make this work for them with such heavy restrictions.
Heather
Heather-
You mentioned gluten in one of your posts. Were you tested positive for the gluten antibody? Because there isn't an "intolerance" to gluten, really... If you have celiac disease (CD) your immune system attacks the colon when you eat gluten, and rotating it in would increase your chances of developing lupus, rheumetoid arthritis (or any other autoimmune disorder)
I tested allergic to wheat, gluten, yeast, soy, all fish, all legumes, all nuts, all melons, bananas, chocolate, asparagus, and I think that's it..... I'd have to find my testing sheet. Of course all environments are there too.
I do have intestal problems as well as stomach issues that no one has really taken a good look at. My gallbladder was removed sometime ago and I get these weird liver-like attacks that no one can figure out why and what it is. It's horrible!! I was never tested for Celiac Disease, I don't know why. Health care out here is not very good.
I do think I have the food allergy board on my favorites, but I'll look more into the Celiac Disease.
Thanks for the heads up!
I eat alot of cheese enchiladas (I make my own spice mixes as well as my own enchilada sauce. A pasta dish (even though I know it's a no-no), Pancakes (homemade), cereal, etc. I don't have the best diet going, but I'm working on it. The one food I really miss is chinese. I used to love chinese and Thai food and that I haven't had in ages. The only thing I can have is the steamed veggies with rice.
Heather
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