h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Post here to tell us your food allergy and proove that you are not the only one out there.

I have a problem with tarragon!

Anybody else

FABT

I have come to the recent conclusion that it is likely that I have some food allergy. Unfortunately I am not entirely sure what it is number one suspect ATM is corn

I have issues with eggs. I'm OK with them in cakes and biscuits and things (phew!) but I can't eat them on their own. I get sick

Hmm ... started out with multiple allergy
related asthma. We've got the asthma under
control, but not at lot else. Minor Heart
rythym problems the new one. The allergies
are multiple but minor, which makes explaining
a little tough - and it's a bit like being told
not too eat too many sweets.

Wine is only the remaining real killer, but in theory
meant to be careful with just about everything.

There is hope.

If it becomes really threatening, which mine was,
check out Breaksphere hospital in Hemel Hempstead.
Be warned they charge - hence I'm still ill - but
you might be able to get something on the NHS &
the new Eu Human Right's Act might work in your
favour. Seems campaigning for other peoples rights
can pay in ways you'd never expect

I have an allergy to Red Dye 40 (also known as Red Lake 40) - I'm not sure of the UK name, sorry.

Beyond that I have an allergic reaction to monosodium glutamate (MSG) - also found as gelatin, calcium cassinate, sodium cassinate, whey protein, soy protein, vegetable protein, yeast extract, atolizyed yeast extract, carregaan (sometimes), etc. A related (mild) allergy shows up with Aspartamane (NutraSweet).

Between Red 40 and MSG there are many foods here in the U.S. that are off limits, alas.

At least I know now the pattern of trouble with seemingly unrelated foods such as Jell-O, Cool Whip, Doritos, half of (U.S.) frozen foods, etc.

No, you're not the only one out there. :|

-Hob

I am allergic to peppers, not chilli, only bell. This is very annoying as I am vegetarian and most vegetarian food stuffs (restaurant and pre-prepared) contain peppers. I got this allergy after living in halls at university where the menu contained the same food stuff every night, peppers. I think my stomach just decided to rebel.

There are a number of laboratories in the UK where you can send blood samples off to be tested for food allergies (the one I sent my blood off to was in York). This can be really helpful if you know there is a problem but can't quite figure out what it is. I did this and found that on top of the annoying pepper thing I have intolerance to milk, corriander and the white part of eggs. After a nightmare year of avoiding everything (but becoming a great deal healthier) I have been able to start reintroducing milk and eggs. I think that if I hadn't done the test the chances are I would have developed a full allergy to a variety of foods eventually.

I've recently been diagnosed as being allergic to wheat. I had a severe allergic reaction which meant I suffered badly with asthma and hayfever; I was covered in very itchy hives; my lips and mouth swelled up and I had flu-like symptoms for about 4 days. The rash, asthma and hayfever were bad for about 6 weeks, basically until I stopped eating wheat. One doctor I saw right at the start, thought it was a nut allergy (my brother is severly allergic to brazil nuts). So I cut nuts out of my diet, but even though I kept saying that I was still very itchy (I made my ankles bleed at one point because I scratched them so much!) she just kept saying that there was nothing she could do until the results of my blood test were ready.

Luckily, I had to see the practice nurse for a routine asthma check and she was sufficiently worried about my allergy to ask the on-duty doctor to sign a prescription for an Epipen (emergency adrenaline shot) for me to carry everywhere.

I have been told be two doctors that I am in the high-risk category for anaphylactic shock. But, the doctor (a different one!) who gave me the results of my blood test, told me to "try eating some weetabix to see what happens." He said it would be alright if went wrong because I've got my Epipen!

I'm managing ok without any help from my doctors - they didn't even think a trip to a nutrionist would be of any use. It's been hard and some days I still find it difficult because wheat is used in so many products! Our food bill has gone through the roof as we have to make everything fresh - no ready-made food anymore.

We're adapting existing recipes to be wheat-free and we're also making up some of own. I must admit that since I stopped eating wheat I've started feeling a lot better. I've had food intolerances since I was 15 (I'm now 26) and I haven't felt this good since before I developed those intolerances.

Eating out isn't too difficult - there are some places I can't go to at all now like McDonalds (but, maybe that's not a bad thing). I just have to know in advance where I'm going so that I can check the menu to see what I can eat.

I'm not sure whether this counts as a food allergy or not, but I have developed an extreme intolerance of alcohol. As little as one pint of beer or one dram of whisky can leave me violently ill for several days. My face breaks out in a haemorrhagic rash, my throat constricts, I vomit severely and retch so hard that I feel in danger of rupturing the blood vessels in my throat. It wil surprise nobody to discover that I have now been teetotal for 4 years!
I discovered how severe it is when a friend cooked dinner for me recently using some wine in the sauce. (I only discovered this about a week later) but the day after eating the meal I had to be sent home from work with nausea, dizziness, palpitations and darkening of vision around the edges.
It is amazing how many people will not believe that it is possible to be allergic to booze. For all fellow sufferers I hope and pray that they discover their intolerances and are able to cut the offending ingredient from their diet. I know I'm lucky, alcohol is so simple to remove from the diet. On the plus side, I now feel better than I have done for about ten years, so in my case the cloud had a silver lining.

Migraine triggered (up to 24 hours later) by any contact (smell, touch, kissing somebody who ate them, or eating them) even trace amounts of onion in all its forms (including dried, extract, flavouring), shallots, spring onion (aka scallions), chives, red onions.

I can have garlic, but this still excludes me from eating out with much enjoyment, and means that a lot of my food has to be made from scratch. Okay, so migraines aren't fatal, but if you allow for 6-20 attacks per month (which it was at its worst), that's a lot of my life which got written off because somebody didn't read the ingredients or thought I was just being difficult.

Now that I don't share a kitchen, this is down to approx 4 attacks a year - a huge improvement.

*dusts down thread*

i am lactose intolerant and allergic to Cola/Pepsi type drinks. i am also vegetarian which makes eating out fun! i am also asthmatic and suffer from hayfever and was briefly anemic for a while. avoiding milk is difficult on a student budget and there have been times when the craving for chocolate has been just too strong or there has been milk in something and i havent realised it.