food allergies and intolerances

[Symphonyod]

I was wondering if anyone here had any real food allergies or intolerances that you found were easier to avoid by doing low carb?

It turns out I have quite a few and now a serious nut allergy..

I'm returning to low carb because I feel better when I eat low carb, I need to lose weight, and also because I'm now afraid of all the garbage in food.

I am also afraid to try new things.. like this flax seed stuff I'm seeing all over the boards.. what is it? Does it LOOK like a nut? LOL..

Just looking for some support, advice and "yeah i've been there's"

[LStump]

Gluten! I have no reason to even go near it anymore (though I'd be lying if I said I didn't every once in a while) so LCing is perfect for me. It makes me so sick for 2 days if I eat it. I realized there's some weird combination of food that I can eat breads with to where it doesn't make me sick, but I never pinpointed it so I gave up. Not good for me anyways :)

[Gypsybyrd]

I've figured out wheat. Not sure if it's gluten or just wheat.

What LStump said about some combo that allows bread to where it doesn't make me sick - I figured that part out. I can eat wheat so long as I don't eat fat or dairy too. If I eat wheat, even a little (as I did Saturnday night and Sunday lunch), then when I eat fat/dairy on Monday, Tuesday (as I did yesterday and will today), I will have severe digestive upset. It'll be better by Wednesday. That said - as for dairy, I can eat ice cream after eating wheat with no problem - just not cheese, milk, cream, etc.

If I don't eat wheat - I can eat as much fat and dairy as I want with no ill side effects.

[Nancy LC]

I've found a few intolerances: Gluten, nuts, seeds, dairy.

Gluten was hard to avoid when I first started LC because I was eating the low carb bread where they substitute out regular flour for pure gluten. Boy was I sick! Anyway, when I figured out what was doing it things turned around quickly.

Casein (dairy) is more subtle. Takes me a while but I'll end up with post-nasal drip and sometimes sinus infections. I think it makes my arthritis worse too.

[RaceGirl28]

My 9 year old is anaphylactic to all tree nuts, so we have to read labels like mad. Going Low Carb - Atkins - makes this a little easier because we are eating more *real* food, less boxed. Not as much work on my part :) Obiviously I won't add *nuts* into my diet as she has reacted via touch in the past.

[LStump]

Hmm.. It's very strange. I can't eat pizza at all, so that says maybe I can't have dairy with my wheat. But I can eat a rueben with the swiss on it. Maybe something with the meat and sour kraut being there helps? Or that its rye bread and not wheat?
No matter WHAT I definitely cannot eat pasta. At all. Or beer. :-(

[Nancy LC]

Rye also contains gluten and I believe most rye bread contains wheat flour too. Just like corn bread usually does.

Some people say they can eat sour dough. The fermenting process breaks down some, but probably not all, of the gluten.

[Symphonyod]

I am intolerant to corn as well. I can handle it in some forms.. such as colas.. with the corn syrup.. but pizza... with corn meal on the bottom.. makes me sick. Corn, in and of itself, TOTALLY kills my system.

Salmon.. I'm allergic to that as well. SCARY!

I suspect a gluten intolerance but when I was going to the doctors to get my allergies figured out my husband switched job.. so our insurance has only just recently gotten figured out again.

[WereBear]

If I don't eat wheat - I can eat as much fat and dairy as I want with no ill side effects.

I'll take that tradeoff!

I'm on Day 25 of the No Gluten Challenge, and loving it.

I had always eaten low carb wraps for sandwiches, but one day at work, celebrating wearing a snug pair of jeans, all was fine until I had my roast beef sandwich on a low carb wrap for lunch.

Got such a stomach bloat I had to unbutton the pants and fasten them with a rubber band! Thank goodness I had chosen a longer sweater that day.

I started avoiding gluten after that; two weeks later the Challenge came along and I got serious about seeing how long I could go without it.

And... so far, no stomach bloat with anything else.

[PaleoCH]

...this flax seed stuff I'm seeing all over the boards.. what is it? Does it LOOK like a nut? LOL..

Flax seeds are about the size of sesame seeds, maybe a little larger, and brown. I put them on salad along with sunflower seeds.

I have a problem with gluten (my #1 intolerance), corn, and all grains -- they all give me joint pain to one degree or another, as does fructose. Dairy results in sinus swelling and, if continued at full bore for a week or more, increased sinus/nasal/asthma symptoms and malabsorption. Low carb fits my food issues nicely, the paleo diet even better.

Christy

[MicheleK]

I'll take that tradeoff!

I'm on Day 25 of the No Gluten Challenge, and loving it.

I had always eaten low carb wraps for sandwiches, but one day at work, celebrating wearing a snug pair of jeans, all was fine until I had my roast beef sandwich on a low carb wrap for lunch.

Got such a stomach bloat I had to unbutton the pants and fasten them with a rubber band! Thank goodness I had chosen a longer sweater that day.

I started avoiding gluten after that; two weeks later the Challenge came along and I got serious about seeing how long I could go without it.

And... so far, no stomach bloat with anything else.

Yep, my IBS is gone since I've started avoiding Gluten. I was in such pain a few months ago I had to go to the ER. I decided right then to give it up - haven't had any issues since.

[purcy55]

I don't know if my allergy is to grains or gluten, but I gave up both and my joint pains are gone, along with a lot of stomach area swelling. I can just move easier and breathe easier. I can confirm this by eating something that contains grain (haven't done this in over 6 weeks) and by 2 days later I have the pains and swelling back. :idea:

[HappyLC]

No matter WHAT I definitely cannot eat pasta. At all. Or beer. :-(

There are a couple of brands of gluten free beer out there. I've had Red Bridge, which is wheat free and gluten free. It tasted okay to me, but I'm not much of a beer drinker. :)

[anniede]

I discovered a year ago that I was gluten-intolerant - every time I have gluten, I get a raging migraine. Makes it so easy to stay LC. LOL

As time progressed, I ended up dropping all grains and going Paleo, which really improved my general well-being and energy levels.

Then during the summer, I had a run in with a bag of shredded cheese...and came to realize that dairy was evil. I've always had a little trouble with lactose but it seemed that the my intolerance strengthened as I switched over to clean, whole foods and stayed away from grains.

Plain and simple - if I want to be strong, have a lots of energy, and lose weight, I have to stay away from dairy and grains/gluten.

Anne

[purcy55]

I discovered a year ago that I was gluten-intolerant - every time I have gluten, I get a raging migraine. Makes it so easy to stay LC. LOL

As time progressed, I ended up dropping all grains and going Paleo, which really improved my general well-being and energy levels.

Then during the summer, I had a run in with a bag of shredded cheese...and came to realize that dairy was evil. I've always had a little trouble with lactose but it seemed that the my intolerance strengthened as I switched over to clean, whole foods and stayed away from grains.

Plain and simple - if I want to be strong, have a lots of energy, and lose weight, I have to stay away from dairy and grains/gluten.

Anne

I just wanted to say, that I love your kitty in your avatar. :)

[SlimJen]

I can't eat soy, peanuts or wheat.
On a normal diet you'd go mad knowing you can't have those things, but on Low carb its like you don't even notice =]

[anniede]

I just wanted to say, that I love your kitty in your avatar. :)

Awww...thanks!

[Deezil]

I was constantly sick for a couple years before I was finally referred to an allergist for testing. Turns out I'm allergic to wheat, corn, peanut, celery, carrot and apple, also wet moulds and two types of dust mites.

Just cutting these things out of my diet made a great difference in how I feel..but then I became obsessed with rice and potato products..lol..not good for the body type that does better with lower carbs, for sure! ;)

So here I am, back to the basics. I can't avoid the dust and moulds and still need my benedryl, but there is no doubt the lightbulb went on and I will stick to lc..not just for weight loss but because the majority of hc foods are really just poison to my system...I honestly don't know why I strayed from this wol.. :bash:

Btw..corn is in EVERYTHING! :mad:
It pisses me off that it's used as a thickening agent in sour cream, yogurt, granulated splenda (maltodextrin), vit c (ascorbic acid), and a poopload of other stuff...including the dang glue on envelopes!

I have most certainly learned that it's important to do my research and read labels!

[oblong]

I used to get headaches and migraines regularly 3 years ago before I discovered low carb after a nutritionist suggested I cut out wheat and sugar from my diet. Before that point I was eating what I thought was a healthy diet: cereal or toast for breakfast, sandwich on wholegrain bread for lunch, pasta or rice for dinner, fruit juices, very little meat, 3 eggs a week at most, you know the sort of thing. Of course I couldn't stop at one bowl of pasta, and my cravings were so bad I would eat junk in between the meals as well like muffins and chocolate bars.

Anyway, after changing my diet, I figured I must be intolerant to wheat. I have worked out that I can manage a little wheat here and there but certainly not 2 or 3 times a day, every day.

I went to Thailand for 7 weeks before Christmas last year. Low carbing went completely out of the window, and I was eating rice and noodles twice a day and having toast with my breakfast. After a few weeks of this I started suffering from the kinds of stomach cramps I remember getting when I was a kid that had me curled up in bed in the morning, clutching my belly and gasping for air. Perhaps I am intolerant to rice as well?

[Requin]

I'm wheat, corn, and legume (but not peanut) intolerant. Thank heavens I can still have nuts, and I don't believe I'm dairy intolerant.

Being wheat and corn intolerant prevents a lot of binging. Simply not buying other things like chocolate or wheat free cookies helps. Because the baked goods I make now are usually so high in protein, fat and/or carbs, binging on them doesn't really happen either.

Doesn't prevent me from eating waaaay too much yogurt/cream cheese/whipping cream, nuts, or berries and carb overloading, but it does make it easier to stay on the lower rungs and with the friendlier carbs.

[teaser]

I don't trust corn. Gives me hives if I shuck it, and I get itchy just walking past corn that other people have been shucking in the supermarket. I also don't trust gluten, too many celiac/gluten intolerant people in my family, so I don't bother trying to see if I have a problem, I just sort of try to avoid the stuff. I'm also allergic to lawns, walking past people mowing them can get me wheezy.

[LStump]

I don't trust corn. Gives me hives if I shuck it, and I get itchy just walking past corn that other people have been shucking in the supermarket. I also don't trust gluten, too many celiac/gluten intolerant people in my family, so I don't bother trying to see if I have a problem, I just sort of try to avoid the stuff. I'm also allergic to lawns, walking past people mowing them can get me wheezy.

Weirdest thing.. I've noticed I'm becoming allergic to washing machines. Doctors can't explain it!

[jschwab]

I have a new allergy to shellfish and 99% sure the other allergy that causes anaphylaxis is dairy but I am still waiting since the testing for dairy was negative. I'm sorry you are going through this with the nut allergy - I have yet to fully absorb what I am dealing with (basically, my throat closes, but it's never lasted more than a few minutes and it's never been life-threatening although I am warned next time it could be different). There are very few resources for adults with sudden onset of anaphylaxis.