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<p>In my post <a title="Foods That Make Me Sick" href="http://www.witnesspath.com/2012/08/06/foods-that-make-me-sick/" target="_blank">Foods That Make Me Sick</a>, I talked about side effects caused by some foods only after I&#8217;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.</p>
<h3>Another Kid With Allergies</h3>
<p>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?</p>
<p>Exercise induced asthma and allergies to several things like&#8230;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!</p>
<p>Maybe I should&#8217;ve considered living in a bubble?</p>
<p>They didn&#8217;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 &#8211; I certainly didn&#8217;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!</p>
<h3>Losing Weight and Feeling Great&#8230;Sorta</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.witnesspath.com/?attachment_id=330" rel="attachment wp-att-330"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-330" title="nuts" src="http://toddkmarsha.com/s/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/08/nuts.jpg" alt="assorted nuts" width="275" height="183" /></a>330 pounds fat back in 2003. Even as I made a commitment to change and started trying out fad diets like South Beach and Atkins, I never experienced allergy symptoms from eggs or peanuts. Gradually I lost 60 pounds, then in 2010 I really turned on the afterburners. I overhauled my diet and lifestyle completely and lost 50 more pounds in just a year. My diet still consisted of peanuts, eggs, and some foods with high-fructose corn syrup, though.</p>
<p>I told you in the last post about the grain related bloating and gas I&#8217;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.</p>
<p>I&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;t come back. Maybe I was wrong about all this allergy stuff?</p>
<p>Not a chance. I&#8217;ve recently been finding it hard to avoid a certain brand of &#8220;healthier&#8221; 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 &#8211; and I mean raw almonds. Almonds are a superfood for cryin&#8217; out loud!</p>
<p>I was amazed to learn that tingling lips are a symptom of nut allergies. This site lists out several other <a title="nut allergy symptoms" href="http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Nut-Allergy.htm" target="_blank">nut allergy symptoms </a>to be aware of if you&#8217;re experiencing anything like I am right now. So my itching and funky lips could be from a nut allergy after all. I&#8217;m no doctor but I&#8217;m taking a couple weeks off of nuts to see exactly what happens.</p>
<p><em><strong>Question: What struggles have you had with food allergies and how has your life changed having to cope with them?</strong></em></p>
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