In my post Foods That Make Me Sick, I talked about side effects caused by some foods only after I’d lost 100 pounds. With nuts, however, I was dealing with a doctor-diagnosed allergy from my youth that went away over time, then returned as my health got better.
Another Kid With Allergies
When I was 8 or 9 years old my Mom took me to the only allergist in Plattsburgh, NY to see why I was getting sick and having so many issues with breathing. The conclusions?
Exercise induced asthma and allergies to several things like…dust, mold, mildew, dog hair, cat hair, egg whites, peanuts, and corn. Talk about throwing a hand grenade in the middle of my diet. Not to mention my parents ran an animal shelter for a living!
Maybe I should’ve considered living in a bubble?
They didn’t have to quit their jobs. I just stayed out of the kennel and that seemed to work. As for eating eggs, peanuts and corn – I certainly didn’t stop. I guess I got used to eating them because I honestly never experienced any allergy symptoms from their consumption. Well maybe one, I got really fat!
Losing Weight and Feeling Great…Sorta
I told you in the last post about the grain related bloating and gas I’d suffered through but, after losing over 100 pounds, all of a sudden peanut butter and some forms of sugar gave me itching fits. I know some people react far worse, to the point of needing medical attention after eating peanuts and/or tree nuts, but this was so odd.
I’d itch around my neck line, on my chest and on my forearms. I originally thought it was stress related but after I took steps to lower to stress in my life, (Deepening my relationship with Christ being one them) the itching didn’t go away. I even stopped eating peanut butter for a few weeks and the itching subsided, for the most part. I had a couple spoonfulls of peanut butter one day but the itching didn’t come back. Maybe I was wrong about all this allergy stuff?
Not a chance. I’ve recently been finding it hard to avoid a certain brand of “healthier” peanut butter and the itching is back in full force! In fact, I noticed something even more peculiar after eating almonds. My lips would dry out and just feel weird after I ate them – and I mean raw almonds. Almonds are a superfood for cryin’ out loud!
I was amazed to learn that tingling lips are a symptom of nut allergies. This site lists out several other nut allergy symptoms to be aware of if you’re experiencing anything like I am right now. So my itching and funky lips could be from a nut allergy after all. I’m no doctor but I’m taking a couple weeks off of nuts to see exactly what happens.
Question: What struggles have you had with food allergies and how has your life changed having to cope with them?