Food allergies, elimination diet, help!!

I'm very confused and frustrated on this. I'm no good at coordinating this stuff since I have brain fog and stuff. I decided I was going to really do it this time, but I'm struggling just like the last time I tried. Can anyone advise me on this?

Anyway, they say step 1 would be to eat very basic foods for like 7-10 days or a little more. Then add back one food every 4 days. I always go and refresh myself on all the foods I shouldn't eat. Which is like almost everything that exists but I figured I would just eat chicken, rice, and some veg & fruit. That was my plan.

So I buy a pack of chicken and some organic rice milk (vanilla flavored) and other stuff. However I'm pretty sure the chicken was causing me to have even worse allergic symptoms than what I normally eat. I read online someone else said they can't eat Tyson chicken or most grocery store chicken unless it's the organic super good kind. So because I was trying to eliminate other foods, I ate like 4 chicken thighs in 2 days and I felt horrible. I'm not positive it was the chicken but in the past when I would eat a bunch of chicken in 2-4 days I would feel bad too. Also the rice milk gave me an instant migraine. Usually I drink non-vanilla flavored with no problem, so I guess it's something with that brand/flavor. No big deal but I've been trying so hard, searching for anything to eat, and it's not helping.

I have gone 4 days now, and I feel like I am going to starve if I go much longer, unless I can get meat and other good stuff, I think I should just give up for now and try again later?! The 4 days doesn't even count for anything if I was eating stuff I'm clearly allergic too (chicken because it's minimally processed).

And, I'm positive that I've been having major "allergic" reactions to mold that I got exposed to over the past days, so that's complicating matters. The mold is another hugely frustrating thing for me but that's another topic.

Really all I want is to be able to eat SOMETHING that I am not allergic to. I did get tested by an allergist (MD) so I know a few things I am allergic to, but I read those tests can be wrong too. It just helps to give you an indicator for some things. So I have 3 things that I am sure I am allergic to (and of course they are in almost every food) and another few things I am suspicious of, and then I'm pretty sure I would find a whole bunch more if I could do an elimination diet. And then there are foods where I am not allergic, but they cause me migraines, and I want to know what. The migraine reactions are worse than the allergies. Of course I am not talking about serious life threatening allergies but I mean I can't stand this, pretty much anything I ingest is giving me migraines, making me tired, etc.

My body will not allow me to live off only vegetables obviously. I do best when I am on a high protein diet, so does my mother, she was advised that she MUST eat high protein with plenty of red meat. My body insists on it. I am willing to give up almost all of my favorite foods but this is crazy. Some things I guess I am not willing or able to do because of energy and limited finances and tastebuds. Maybe I will try to assume I am not allergic to beef and have that be my main food...?

I was trying to avoid... all the foods on the migraine triggers list, anything with soy, anything with gluten, anything remotely dairy, anything with nuts, citrus, tomatoes, berries, chocolate, cinnamon, corn, coconut, pork, anything chemical/preservative, anything dried? I could maybe do it if I could eat least eat chicken or beef?! I was even trying to avoid oats because it says that some gluten-intolerant people are okay with it but some are not. And now I read that a lot of honey you buy actually has high-fructose corn syrup mixed in or it was fed to the bees.

I know a lot of people struggle with it but a lot of them don't have CFS to deal with too. And so many intolerances at once? Help?

Thanks for letting me complain...

Flavouring in drinks is not a good thing when starting en elimination diet. I would suggest just drinking water-I know its hard and boring but it really is important. I started with brown rice and a few vegetables and worked up from there introducing things 1 at a time, long and boring it is/was.
Chicken was okay for me, did you cook the chicken in anything? Its very hard and I get the starving thing, I am okay on gluten/dairy/egg free bread (mainly rice) so can tolerate that with dairy free Pure margarine (not soya) for up to a few days at a time if I'm struggling. What I've found is that I seem to be okay with something and then next time feel really rough, doesn't help that.
I don't eat any chocolate, sugar,honey etc.
Hope you find your way through it, my diet is so boring but at least I don't have the terrible symptoms I used to have(well most of the time).

Yeah, what do you do if one time you feel okay with a food, and one time you don't? I'm not sure this is possible for me because I have so many environmental allergies. And my head hurts depending on the temp, humidity, etc.

Vanilla is supposed to be one the most friendly flavorings, I think I can't handle the rice syrup?! I don't know but that particular milk is evil!

Well apparently they are adding soy to almost all chicken and/or feeding soy to the chickens. Or maybe it's simply because of all the fat? I cooked it with the skin & bones (as I got it from the store). My body seems to tell me to avoid fats.

I boiled the chicken in water and then added three vegetables and some sea salt to make soup. Nothing else added. Maybe the salt is giving me migraines too. Also I think hot foods give me issues, and certainly cold foods.

I had also bought myself nectarines because peaches are supposed to have a low chance of allergies. I think nectarines give me a migraine too. I read someone else said they get that too. I think I get it from apples too. And sometimes grapes and pears. I don't understand why sometimes grapes are okay and other times not? Pears are usually okay if they are more ripe?

Problem is, I doubt I will feel that good even if I ate a perfect diet... cuz of the environmental allergies... so maybe I should at least have food I like. So confused

Hang in there ... No doubt, this is a very frustrating protocal but it can be very rewarding. I'd stick with plain foods and water for now. You can always add foods back in after a few months to a year but this will give your body a chance to detox from all those chemicals and cytokines caused by food intolerances. If you're body is anything like mine this will take a very long time ... I finally feel detoxed after 5 years but I started to digest most supplements finally after 2 - 3 years on this diet.

Non toxic meats include wild fish like salmon, cod, mahi mahi, fresh or frozen tuna (mercury ?), organic or clean beef. No bacon, ham or other processed meats ... Not even Boars Head !!! I just added chicken back into my diet because it literally put me to sleep everytime I ate it before ... Most people can handle veggies like peas, asparagus, brocolli and romain lettuce. And fruits like apples, papaya and pears ... Raw nuts and seeds are a good addition but be careful not to eat too many of these.

An ALCAT or food sensitivity test would help you with some of this too ...

Hi SOS. :Retro smile:

Several thoughts here.

- Please list all your known food allergies (from the testing) so that when we reply we are not suggesting that you eat one of those. :Retro smile:

- Environmental Intolerances = eat only ORGANIC. I can't stress this enough. Bringing into your body toxic chemicals from pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics is a very lose situation for someone with EI/MCS. Its expensive but as many here with some MCS problems can attest - its very much needed.

Basically, you need to reduce the body load of toxic chemicals you're dealing with on a daily basis. Food is amazingly toxic these days. This also means no artificial flavorings or coloring, and really is best to stay the heck away from preservatives. Artificial sweeteners are not good either.

- Having problems with store bought Tyson chicken - extremely likely you are reacting to the antibiotics and hormones they fed that chicken to plump it up in a very sick environment. Even before I became ill with CFS/MCS I wasn't able to eat non-organic meats due to these pollutants in them. I've always had a penicillin allergy and suspect this is the main reason I could not eat non-organic meat.

- The idea of the elimination diet is to eat only what you are 100% sure is safe for you. You do this usually 10-14 days (some say as much as 21) before adding in each new food item. This is to give your body a rest and time to stop all current food allergy reactions so that you can see them when they begin based on an added food. You are right, with your reactions to two of the items you started with - it doesn't yet count.

I'm not really sure why you opted to start with a product you had not tried before (the vanilla rice milk) but with your EI, you shouldn't use anything that has been processed as a starting point for this test. Organic brown or white rice would be best if you tolerate it. Personally, I couldn't start with that because of a rice sensitivity I have had most of my life, so I would have started with something else gluten free - like maybe quinoa.

You can even go grain free with something like this - just veggies and protein (likely a meat sourced one). Grains are not required. :Retro smile:

If you're 100% sure about beef being ok for you, then use that instead of the chicken. At no point should you try to add in something you know you've had problems with in the past until such a time as you have a very good, solid diet in place of safe things - might be even a few months before trialing the possible bad stuff. They just say to use chicken in the diet because of the number of people who are safe with it - same as with the rice listed in the diet. Its a guideline but not set in stone. :Retro smile:

- Chances are pretty high that if you are finding the fats from the chicken make you ill, then it is again due to the toxins stored in those fats and not the fat itself. Those chickens will be very high in Omega 6 fats due to the poor diet to grow them fast. So any chicken fat on them will be high in omega 6 (causes inflammatory response), antibiotics, and hormones. If you are not going to be able to eat grassfed meat then make sure to eat only lean meats that you trim the fat off of as well. (I can't afford grassfed so know how to make things safest. Its very important though to make sure its organic - no antibiotics or hormones. Call local butcher shops around you - our butcher shop charges the same price for organic meat as what we'd spend in the grocery store on non-organic meat so a big WIN!

- The reason some people are ok on oats and not others with gluten problems: A lot of processing plants for oats will use wheat gluten to powder things down on the processing line thereby cross contaminating the oats with gluten. Oats are a naturally gluten free grain. It all depends on where they were processed and an individuals gluten sensitivity.

- Likely you are having problems with the fruit due to the sugar content or the pesticide content if it is not organic. Grapes are a hugely sprayed crop, as are most commercial fruit crops, and so very likely to cause much trouble to someone with EI/MCS. The sugar could be the culprit too though, if you have candida problems or are fructose intolerant.

- I don't know if this helps, but with your list of things you know you want to stay clear of - my daily eating for the past 9 months has been without almost all of it (only sporadic nuts and chocolate, lots of coconut though). The coconut would be easy to remove from my diet - I'd just substitute in EVO (extra virgin olive oil) as most other oils would potentiate more inflammation due to omega ratios. The occasional nuts and chocolate (in the form of organic cacao powder) would be easy to just skip all together.

I'm just saying, the diet you listed can be done. :Retro smile: And even done organically! I have a paleo diet which is even more restricted than the general list you gave but has been really making noticeable improvements for me. So you're not alone in seeking a surprisingly restricted diet, its all just a matter of learning to make it work and sticking to it. :Retro smile:

- tomatoes are on your list, is this due to them being nightshades? If so, also stay clear of paprika, cayenne or other hot pepper spices, eggplants, and all peppers - even the yummy green and red ones at the grocery store.

to sum up a long post:

With your EI/MCS, while doing an elimination diet it is pretty much a must that everything you use is unprocessed and organic. It is the only way to know if you are reacting to the food, otherwise you could be reacting to the added ingredients, toxic chemicals the food is grown with, or the antibiotics/hormones.

Pick two foods you feel for sure are ok for you and go with that for the first part of the diet. Try different grains if you need to, a quick google search should give many choices of gluten free grains. You can even go grain free if you choose - that's what is working for me (paleo diet). :victory:

As someone has already said - drink water, not processed liquids. And drink lots of it it too, you'll likely detox a bit by going off foods that make you ill.

Any questions, just ask!

Good luck and hopefully you'll find some answers to your health problems after your diet changes.

EAT ORGANIC!! :victory:

Lisa :Retro smile:

When I saw an allergy consultant my initial diet was to consist of

1. Lamb
2. Any fresh game that I could get (i.e. wild rabbit)
3. plain white rice
4. pears
5. apples
6. small amount of potatoes

Then add slowly to that

Over the decades I tried many different allergy diets and had tests. Changing my diet has been the area I put the most work into and had the least return. Very little positive change in symptoms.

Fortunately for me, I had EPD injections and could tolerate a lot more foods after that.

Hope you find something that helps.

I must echo ukxmrv's experience. My first elimination diet was the same. except for no potatoes, and with the addition of a few veggies, done in rotation (do not repeat a food wihin 3 days). This was before I was sick, but to treat migraines I've had since childhood. It was no help whatsoever. Then the first doctor who would even pretend to do something or listen after I got sick was an allergist with all sorts of dos and don'ts lists. That didn't help either. The latest was more like a caveman diet - nothing processed, no carbs, gluten free, no dairy. That didn't help either. My truce with diet at this point is:

1. No chemicals, dyes, or preservatives
2. Only free range or organic chicken
3. No fish
4. No chocolate
5. In season and organic produce when possible
6. no alchohol

If I eat anything with chemicals, or regular store bought chicken, or most fish (even wild Alaska salmon), or have even a sip of wine (never red because of migraines), I either feel horrible the next day and/or get a vicious migraine. Gluten and dairy are fine for me. My life is hard enough with few pleasures as it is (I'm bedridden right now), so since I never felt better on months of "diets" at various times they aren't worth the effort for me and the one who has to take care of me, but if they improve one's health they must be worth it, I'm sure. I'm not trying to discourage you, just don't guilt trip yourself if you find you can't do it, or it makes you worse, or it doesn't help you feel better.

Learn how to do self muscle testing. This has been a great lifesaver for me. You can test foods before you buy or eat them. There are videos on YouTube that explain how to do it. In theory, you can use that in conjunction with EFT to eliminate allergies, but mine keep coming back.

In general, organic is the way to go. You could also be reacting to nitrites which typically can be added to nuts, and strawberries, and probably some other stuff. Those make me feel anxious. The organic won't have that.

Make sure the water you drink is filtered, not plain tap water. It tastes better anyway. I use a Brita pitcher.

Thanks for the advice.

Peas are somewhat common to be allergic to, esp if you know you are allergic to other things. I love peas but may be allergic. I love nuts but unfortuantely I am probably allergic to all or almost all of them.

I forget if I should avoid seeds if I'm allergic to nuts, but in any case, I know I'm supposed to eat very few foods to start. It's a problem for me, I've never eaten lamb before and don't know if I can just start eating it as a main food.

I've never eaten fish in my life besides one or two bites, but I'm going to try 6 oz of cod tonight. I guess I need to figure out if fish is an option for me. I've never liked the taste of fish but I could learn to tolerate it. I wanted to eat tuna but all the packaged/canned ones seem to have soy. They say natural flavors and it's likely soy.

I'm going to try organic chicken and beef. I guess I just "cheated" but my friend convinced me to use spices on my lunch. Not like I've made much progress anyway despite the struggle

I want to eat oats... I am probably okay with them... and I am eating the good steel cut type... but I'm questioning whether the honey I have is okay to use because of what I read about honey (said above). I would really want some sweetener for the oatmeal.

I know soy and milk are bad for me. (I think I'm okay with soy lecithin & soybean oil like most who have soy issues.) And peanuts and therefore probably other nuts? Garbanzo beans and likely other beans. And probably berries and shellfish. And I'm thinking there is much more, like maybe gluten. Hopefully eggs are okay, but you never know. Certainly I don't do well with a lot of the migraine trigger foods.

There is nothing that I'm sure is okay for me. White and brown rice probably are. I don't like to eat brown rice but do like white rice. I do get a dip in energy after white rice though, but I'm hesitant to stop eating that. For the past days, white rice has been my number one thing.

Well I hope I'm not allergic to tomatoes. I love them. Also love green & red peppers. And would suck to have to avoid the pepper spices.

Mostly I don't know how to do it without paying really high prices.

Since childhood I have gravitated away from certain foods already, I think most of them are foods I am allergic to.

I also like bananas but read that ripe ones are a common migraine trigger... yikes, if you can't even eat a banana, that's crazy. But if I could get through approx 10 days then I could test tomatoes, bananas, egg yolks, egg whites, etc. As I said though, I don't even know if my white rice is a problem or not

I do have quinoa and plan to eat it, I've never had it before, but figure it's safer than oats...

I will keep thinking about it I'm sure... every time I get hungry... :worried:

It makes me dream of just being on IV nutrients so I didn't have to get hungry and have nothing decent to eat...

I hate drinking water and most beverages. I am not sure I'm ready to give up the iced tea. It has corn syrup and sugar and dextrose, and two colorings. Terrible I know. I guess I have to find some kind of tea that I can make. Most beverages are too strong for me.

Apples, peaches, nectarines, and less-ripe plums, and some grapes, and less-ripe pears, all give me this weird "acidic" feeling in my jaw... like crampy and painful. I guess it could be from the pesticides. Yikes.

When I drink water, it's bottled, but someone told me that bottled is less healthy. It's so complicated with all the things you hear and aren't sure what to believe. But even if I am allowing myself to drink anything I want all day (except expensive stuff), I go around not drinking much. I don't have good thirst, and part of why is everything tastes too acidic or strong or otherwise bad. Bottled water tastes bad to me. There were a couple times in my life where I got myself to drink lots of water (still less than I should, but for me it was tons, but I don't know if I can drink that much. Then I pee all the time and am uncomfortable.)

Muscle testing... ok, I must look into that. I hope I can figure it out and it works on me. I have muscle weakness in general.

Still a little worried about gauging whether I'm allergic to something, because of the environmental allergies and other things causing me symptoms. I guess a food would be challenged more than once if I'm not sure.

I bought meat that said no antibiotics, no hormones, all natural. But I guess it's not organic or they would've said. (And it would have cost even more.) So that's not enough or is it? That meat was somewhat expensive but I felt it was worth it, most organic food I don't know if I could buy because of the price. (As I said, the Tyson chicken didn't work for me. And it was marked as "all natural" and minimally processed.)

I don't trust the organic label I guess. Just like when they say "natural flavoring", it could have soy. Or if they say the hens/cows/whatever were fed a vegetarian diet, doesn't that mean they probably ate soy, and I'll be allergic?! Since it's a cheap form of protein.

I have hemp protein but it mixes horribly. I heard I have to mix in oil first, but I don't want to buy a huge bottle of oil. I'll look around but I wish I could just use the coconut oil. I love coconut too and hope I'm not allergic.

This made me laugh ... I can certainly relate ... lol ... If only it were that easy ... It does get easier though. Your cravings will go away eventually and you'll look forward to eating your new foods. It took awhile but now my friends and family watch out for me when it comes to gluten cross contamination or eating unhealthy food now too. Obviously, they can see the difference in me.

I'd stay away from high glycemic foods as much as possible. They'll just make you crash later ... FWIW .. I ended up on a Paleo / low carb / low oxalate diet after experimenting with GFCF + whatever free diet for several years. It just works better for me. The Paleo diet is supposed to have more of what our cells want and need. Cordain explains this really well ...

Water is for cleansing your cells and you should be drinking at least 8 glasses a day. I like Target brand, Zephyrhills or the one that Big Lots carries ... Geyser spring, I think. My PUR water filter left the water tasting gross still ...

I eat a wide variety of fish so that I don't get tired of it. There's a list of safe fish on the web I'm sure ... crab legs, scallops, lobster and oysters are expensive but a nice treat.

On the positive side, I am lucky that I love eating broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I have barley grass drinks, though I've been forgetting to have those, I will start again. My CFS friend said the less healthy you eat, the grosser the barley grass drinks will taste to you. And I liked them right off the bat.

I also was eating seaweed for a while, but haven't for a couple months. I'm not sure if this is a food I should be avoiding? Migraine trigger or otherwise bad? It's the little rectangle Korean snack type that's pretty heavily salted. I would prefer if they had less salt, it's hard to wipe off since the seaweed is thin.

There are many things I have been avoiding for a while. I do think caffeine helps my migraines, I read that some people it hurts and some it helps. I don't usually have caffeine much except in tea. I usually don't like any teas (or any beverages) except for one brand of iced tea.

Really hope I am not allergic to corn, citrus, etc? I've had days where I got regular oranges and grapefruit from the store and had many of them all day, just because I liked them. Or days where I ate 5 servings of corn, or ate a huge bag of corn tortilla chips. I think I would have noticed if I was allergic to them? Maybe not

I can't believe it took me my whole life to realize that peanuts and milk are problematic...?!

But I do wonder if I should spend my money and time on other issues like my mold situation

Yeah, unfortunately I pretty much eat no seafood. I think I may be allergic to shellfish so I naturally stayed away. Also most fish is cooked with butter, so that kept me away. But I'll try to make myself like fish. The only thing I've had in my life is tuna, when I was young. Tuna I can tolerate okay, especially albacore. But as I said, I believe they add soy. Ideally I would find a brand that didn't add anything and was good.

I feel like I have to stop eating hot foods period. And cold foods. I hate water when it's room temp, but the fridge makes it too cold. This all takes a lot of planning and my brain doesn't work that well.

Another problem for me is socializing. I am already confusing and strange to other people. Now I feel like I cannot even meet someone for lunch or coffee. And I would be jealous if they talk about food. Also, I hate to say it, but I feel bad because a lot of people don't understand why anyone would pay more for organic. They think it's a scam and that anyone who does it is silly. I don't agree but I worry what they will think of me. I would only be doing it because my body is MCS.

I gave up ice cream (and gave up other dairy except for eggs) for six months last year, but I feel my life is worse without it I love it and eat it at least twice a day on average, since I started eating it again. Mostly only the natural ice cream (Breyer's) but I'm not sure, maybe it's giving me more long term side effects. I would rather eat it and feel a little bad for an hour, but I don't know how much it's affecting me.

Hi SoS :Retro smile:

I'm going to be very blunt here. I'm not doing it to hurt your feelings or criticize, only to save you as much confusion and difficulty with foods as possible.

I would suggest you sit down and do some thinking. Think for a few hours, a few days, a few months even if needed - but you'll find things a lot easier if you make a decision.

Do you want to try changing your diet to find out if stuff you are eating is making you feel bad or do you want to not worry about diet and try working on something a bit easier? Nobody is going to think less of you if you opt to work on something easier for now. You can always do diet at a later date when you are more ready to tackle drinking water and organic produce. :Retro smile:

About nine months ago my partner and I did a radical diet change, pretty much everything we used to eat we don't and everything we didn't eat we now do. Minus the junk food, that was never really there.

We went from being fully vegetarian and mostly vegan to being massive omnivores who consume over a pound of meat a day - each. Used to eat lots of grains, legumes, and a minor amount of veggies. Now we don't eat any grains, legumes, and TONS of veggies. Used to try and keep as much fat out of our diet as possible, now we actually cook with coconut oil and leave in a fair bit of fat.

Since making the change we have more energy on our good days, almost no blood sugar spikes at all, and are losing weight despite eating probably 10x's as much fat each day. Our bodies are finally naturally detoxing on their own and for a while this spring when we weren't fighting a lot of infections, we were actually seeing a dramatic decrease in our chemical sensitivities.

Others here have said diet change didn't do a thing for them and that's certainly a possibility too. All depends on what is going on with your body, none of us can know which way you'll end up - have to take the chance if you want to find out.

But here's the thing about diet change, you either do it or you don't. Its totally ok to ease into it, but have a goal in mind and keep going to it. This is because some things can really throw you out of whack for a long while. They are finding that if someone is sensitive to gluten, even trace amounts of it can effect them up to 18 days after being eaten. So if you want to find out if food is making you unwell, you gotta commit to your plan and be solid. Otherwise, you may never really know.

Personally, I went with paleo just as xchocoholic has done. I opted to follow this diet because it sounded like one that actually helps promote health, is something that would be safe to eat the rest of my life, and also addressed some candida problems my partner had. Its much easier I think to pick out a diet that has a lot of documentation on it than it is to put one together on your own. Granted, my form of paleo also addresses leaky gut, inflammation, and candida so is a bit more restricted than the average paleo.

Word of warning on fish - keep in mind the mercury content and the sluggish detox of EI/MCS people. Don't eat tuna if you're going to eat fish, tuna is pretty high in mercury. If you are going to eat fish, keep to the fish listed as safe to eat if you're pregnant or a kid - it will make sure you stay at safer limits. Also follow their amounts recommended, its not an every day sort of thing.

As said, just want to help. Its hard to make a lot of diet changes and takes a surprising amount of energy, as well sometimes the body takes months to readjust to the new food. But cheating all the time with ice cream and ice tea if you're trying to get off dairy and non-organic stuff won't let you see if you have trouble with food you are eating.

Here's a great link http://whole9life.com/2010/05/whole-30-v2/ to info on changing your diet. It should explain all sorts of good stuff much better than I have here.

You can do it! Lisa :Retro smile:

Hi sickofsickness,

I wonder if a sulfite sensitivity might be triggering your migraines. Especially as you say the ice tea you drink has corn syrup and dextrose in it. They usually contain hidden sulfites that don't require labelling. There's a lot of good info on this site;

http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm

And re the idea of chicken and rice being some of the least allergenic foods, personally, I'm very sceptical. My cat was diagnosed with gastrointestinal lymphoma and was on death's door until I discovered, at the eleventh hour, that he was allergic to chicken and rice--the staple ingredients in virtually every cat food available. The vet assured me that it was highly unlikely. Foolishly, I believed them. Everyone is different. I'm allergic to rice too.

And sulfites can affect people differently. Asthma, rashes, headaches, brain fog. All sorts of lovely stuff. The tricky part is that you might not have an instant reaction to a sulfite, it can take days for levels to build up in your system.

Some folk who have sulfite trouble can also have problems with high sulfur foods like garlic, onions, eggs, and the cruciferous veggies--cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower. I think dairy and soy are high in sulfur too and you've said you know they are bad for you.

More sulfite info...

http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsulphites.htm

You may also have a problem with salicylates too, which are concentrated in under ripe fruit, in the skins. Often, a sulfite problem, and a salicylate problem go hand in hand, as they are detoxed by the same pathway in the liver. Aspirin is a salicylate, as are most anti-inflams. Have you ever had a bad reaction to these drugs?

Re the vanilla, I think I've read that it interferes with the processing of sulfites so is best avoided if you do have a sensitivity. Also, rice syrup can be fermented using aspergillus which could affect you if you have mold issues.

Fun, isn't it...

What are EPD injections?

Im with the one who said you need to sit down and form some kind of plan to what you are going to do with all this.. write it down. (it may make it then easier to stick too.
That comment you put about the fish.... i think that will screw you up from the start if you plan to try to have that as one of your main foods and you dont even like it!! You need to start with food basics which you like.. and slowly then add other foods back.

Some on doing this kind of food testing add a different food every 2 days rather then 4 days.. and when you add in a new food to the very basic ones you start off on.. you need to in testing time eat a lot of it (morning, lunch and dinner have that food included) as sometimes with food sensitivities we are okay with a small amount but not okay with a bigger amount.

Start of from a few basic foods... it sounds as if steak would be a good one for you.. steak and 2 or 3 basic vegatables of the ones people are least likely to react to. (be aware that some react to rice! and appearently rice sensitivities are becoming more common).

Be aware that fructose malabsorpion, A CFS study showed that 50% of us have a malabsorption issue with it..so fruit can add to our issues!!!
So i suggest to not include fruit right at the start
there is a test which can be done in which one can find the out.. (some kind of breath testing which tests the chemicals coming out after one has fructose).

what you drink is JUST as important as what you are eatting when you are doing a food ellimation diet... a drink of something counts the same as a food item. Beaware that things which are really affecting us bad, may at times be also those things we get cravings for. i really wonder about that drink you said you cant do without.

Also when doing this, you should do it with all organic things.. other wise you could be reacting to chemicals rather then the foods themselves.

Those with MCS are best eatting organically anyway.

Sulfites -- probably so. Oh! I also know I'm allergic to bromelain and apparently that is sulfur containing, so that makes sense I'd be allergic to sulfites. So I avoid pineapple and papaya obviously. I hate to have to avoid a bunch more fruits, I love many fruits.

Maybe the fructose malabsoption. Salicylates - I seem to do okay with Tylenol and other OTC. For me I guess it's something that changes with ripeness (maybe sulfites do?). I think I am not allergic to peaches, nectarines, etc when they are good and ripe. But am allergic most of the time when I eat them within a day of getting them from the grocery store.

Yes, I clearly need to try some good fruits & veg from the farmer's market. Would be a lot easier if I had someone going on the diet with me, and if I could afford to spend more on food.

That crampy jaw pain I get is clearly some kind of chemical allergy. Yesterday I realized that I get the same pain when exposed to certain chemicals, like just fumes at a gas station, it happened when I hadn't eaten anything. I'd like to know what that pain is called and why it happens. It's like the muscle right under the cheekbones.

I'm willing to give up lots of foods, but if it gets to a certain extreme, I'll probably give up. If I "only" have to avoid gluten, soy, milk, peanuts, and eat organic and avoid preservatives/etc and a couple other things, then I will. It's already obviously I need to avoid those, gluten is the only one that I'm not sure of. If I start finding out that I'm also allergic to corn, tomatoes, and eggs, and yogurt, and beans, and all nuts, and citrus, and peaches, and berries and bananas and rice for example. Then I guess I'm not going to avoid all stuff I'm allergic to.

Yeah, I do understand what's being said about white rice, but I may not be able to go without. I'll think about eliminating it.

One interesting thing is that my sister is autistic. She won't eat most foods and I bet it's because she is sensitive and can tell that she's allergic. She will eat white rice and cauliflower though, two of the foods that are supposed to be least likely to cause allergies. I am pretty sure she's not allergic to white rice. I am kinda distant from my family but I bet they could get her to eat more if she were presented with good (paleo, and probably other) organic foods. My brother is also "picky" about foods and I was as a child. (Obviously I mean, a lot pickier than average children.)

I used to seek out white rice a lot too. And I do understand about foods you crave being the ones you are allergic to. So maybe. But I think it's one of the foods my body considers safest. Sometimes I get these certain IBS things happening, I don't get it that often anymore but I used to. Or sometimes I just feel so bad because of not having eaten for a while, and I would always start with white rice or oatmeal.

I love the idea of eating just fresh fruits, veg, and meats, but my brain chemistry seems to go weird on me if I do. When I eat carbs I'm pretty sure that gives me a good boost of serotonin and keeps me in a better, happier, less-anxious mood. Also without them my sleep schedule gets even crazier. Maybe just quinoa and oats... and rice...

If I can't eat nuts at all, that's a big deal to me, that's like a whole food group in terms of having a restrictive diet. Also legumes/beans/seeds, I wish I knew which ones I could eat. Hopefully I can eat them if they're processed a decent way. I bet I can eat most meats and eggs if they are organic. I bet I can't eat berries, nuts, legumes.

Anyone know about the organic meats and soy? I'm afraid I'll buy some expensive stuff or go out of my way to get it, and then it would give me symptoms, because the chicken was fed soy.

I don't mind that much if I have to eat fish and the meal is just... tolerable. The fish yesterday was nothing I would have chosen to eat, but it wasn't much worse than albacore tuna. Albacore tuna is not something I like either but I can eat it for the nutritional value. And yes I worry about mercury in fish and tuna.

I want to see a DO who knows a lot about toxins, nutrition, vitamins, etc. But I want to see how much progress I can make before I go, because otherwise they'll just tell me the basics. I want to have some results to show the doc so he can analyze them and give more advanced tips. May be a long way down the road.

Allergic to life

I have been at this over 30 years, allergies.... environmental and food.

It's difficult. Not just the hunting down the culprits but then avoiding them.

I have a LOT of allergies, hence the title "allergic to life." My allergist simply shakes his head.

So much for my background..... I wanted you to know I not only sympathize with you but have walked in your shoes.

It is frustrating when dealing with food allergies, being SO LIMITED. We are in a constant mode of "being denied." Being denied a food which we would love to indulge in. Also, it is time consuming working around the "allergies" and harder yet with the brain fog to figure it all out.

So this is where decision comes to play, are you going to proceed, really hunt down the allergens, can you get assistance with the hunt.... a friend...and medical help.... are you going to pour the time and effort into this.... AND will you follow through..... (I ask because I know how overwhelming this is).

AND, THIS IS WHERE MY MIND SET HAD TO CHANGE. Rather than look at what I could not eat, I had to be happy with what I could eat. OK, this is not easy, but it is do-able.... and a much better way to walk through life. If we remain in a "being denied" mode, we will be miserable...most of the time....

Yes, going out to eat, being around others, TRYING to be social is difficult. Recently I went to a BD party out of state, and brought my own food to eat as it was too much to ask ANYONE hosting a party to work around MY dietary restrictions. And of course being social brings to the forefront of what I cannot eat.

I am trying to work around being social without it involving food.

Back to YOUR matter at hand. Lisa wrote two phenomenal posts. Her first, a technicallly sound approach to sorting the food thing out and ....secondly, advice for you to take some deep breaths and think things through. You need to be completely committed to doing the elimination properly or you will not reap correct outcomes, then you will really be frustrated.

Our food source has become very very complicated and you need to bring everything down to basics. Very hard indeed especially with a foggy brain.

I was fortunate in that I had help and support from an allergist but unfortunately I am allergic to so much. As bad as that was, I have also eliminated a little more when I brought my diet more in line with the paleo eating style. That was a choice.

And there it is.

SOS...... this has to be a choice. Not being denied..... It is a change of attitude. I choose not to eat the foods I am allergic to because I want to feel better. It is my CHOICE. I am not denying myself, I am CHOOSING to eat this way.

OK, yes it is hard, I have fallen off the wagon of choice over the years numbers of times. I am human. But I do strive to keep positive

I would recommend reading Lisa's posts again. They were great. Good luck.

June