Recent Posts by SimplyV

Topic: Allergy Support Group / newbie with lots of allergies

You’ve hit the motherload of allergies, and my story was somewhat similar with health problems galor until found out it was all food allergies. (Btw you’ll probably find that your IBS and other intestinal problems are the result of your food allergies and go away with strict allergy avoidance)

If you haven’t seen it already. Go to Conner’s Corn Allergen list online, and start looking at your ingredients. Much of what you are reacting to could be cross-contamination.

Most chocolate has corn and soy. Avoid any chocolate with vanilla in it or soy lecitin, I think Dagoba makes chocolate drops that fit this criteria. Trial pure cocoa powder to see if you’re allergic to chocolate.

Leafy greens can be hard to digest, so it may take a while for your gut to heal before you can eat a lot of that. Also most greens are tainted with corn, so you could be reacting to that as well. Eat only organic full head greens, not any prepackaged ones or boxed ones. Hydroponic lettuce is the safest, and watch contains for biodegradable PLA made from soy and corn.

Quinoa has to be rinsed really really well or it can cause upset stomach from the natural soap that is on the outside of it.

Btw those powerbars sound great! Though do watch your sunflower butter, some sources of it do contain hidden soy. (and if your doc didn’t say anything, I’d advise you to not eat any beans of any kind with both a soy and peanut allergy).

With a corn allergy (not to mention the others), nutritionists aren’t always the best help as they aren’t always aware of where all corn hides and some are not very sympathetic. I’ve heard quite mixed reviews on how helpful nutritionists are with this allergy, and I wouldn’t put a lot of hope into it.

You may also find the http://corn-freefoods.blogspot.com helpful.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Be careful of bug spray

Most bug sprays use ethanol in the propellant or other corn derivatives. So the sensitive corn allergy should avoid most bug sprays.

Badger Balm has a bug balm which is supposed to be corn-free.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / cornsyrup

Most recipes (real recipes) are corn-syrup free. It just depends on what you’re looking for?

Look for gourmet cooking cookbooks, cookbooks written prior to 1960 are often good. You’ll be doing a lot of cooking from true “scratch”, so if you don’t know how to cook very well you’ll learn quickly.

William’s & Sonoma cookbooks are fantastic as well.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Coping with Multiple Food Allergies

Breakfasts without Eggs, Milk, or Wheat:

Check into Chebe mixes and use an egg-replacer mix for the eggs. This will give your husband some “biscuits” and I think you can make pancakes from them. You can also adapt the plain mix to make cinnamon rolls, cookies, etc. They’re very versatile.

Use banana in pancake recipes instead of the eggs. I’ve also heard of using zucchini to make pancakes. – Look for wheat-free pancake recipes to start with, or gluten-free ones will work as well.

Otherwise, there is buckwheat groats instead of oatmeal for a change of pace, or even quinoa.

Bacon, Breakfast steaks, ham, sausage, etc. are also good ideas. Getting a good protein in breakfast also helps the diabetes.

Fresh Fruit is also a good idea, and a great way to spice up oatmeal. Even just adding some frozen berries to the oatmeal can help change things up.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / frosting w/o powdered sugar

Actually allergygrocer.com sells a corn-free powdered sugar, and during passover season you can sometimes fine KFP powdered sugar which doesn’t contain corn.

Otherwise, the extra-fine baking sugar with a little safe starch (tapioca, potato, arrowroot, whatever) should work ok. The icing might be a touch grainier due to the extra-fine baking sugar not being as fine ground as powdered sugar, but it shouldn’t be too noticable if anyone notices at all. (You can also put sugar and starch in your blender to make powdered sugar, but its really hard on your blender and you can only do a very small amount at a time without “burning” the sugar or destroying your blender.)

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Overweight due to allergies

Allergy induced weight gain isn’t fun. I know. Before finally figuring out food allergies, I was gaining 25lbs a year no matter what I did. Can you say blimp? I lost quite a bit just removing my allergens.

First, stop worrying about the weight. It’s not a big deal. You’re still breathing. Thats what matters.

Second, REMOVE those allergens. I know it can be hard. Some allergens are yummy yummy stuff, but when they pack on 20lbs they tend to lose their yumminess. Eating your allergens, especially if they cause you to gain weight, can also lead you to be at risk for some really unpleasant medical conditions such as digestive problems, IBS, heart problems, hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, and possibly diabetes.

To be honest, I was on the verge of type two diabetes myself, after putting on nearly 75 lbs in 3 yrs. Diets didn’t help (I could gain weight on 1000 calories a day), and exercise didn’t help much either. Avoiding my allergens, I lost 50lbs in the first year. The rest took longer to take off, but the 50 was well worth the sacrifice. My blood sugars also have stabilized and I’m no longer a diabetic risk, I don’t even have the insulin resistance I was first diagnosed with.

Allergies do a lot more in your body than you realize. Allergic reactions cause chaos in your body and your body tries to adapt as well as it can. Help it out, and stop eating your allergens. Period. You’ll thank yourself when you realize how much better you feel and how much more energy you have!

Topic: Allergy Support Group / newly diagnosed - tons of allergies

Oh no where to start. Seacoastfan – without knowing exactly what all you tested postitive to, its nearly impossible for anyone to recommend anything. Hypoallergenic anything, isn’t always allergy-free for all as they have to make it out of something so if you have an odd allergy it may not be safe for you.

jwsoccr13 – I have a corn allergy and I have to say that I nearly got sick to my stomach on hearing that your allergist said HFCS was safe, and peanut oil is safe for a peanut allergy. It honestly varies per person how sensitive they are with their allergen. I know people with a peanut allergy that have to use an EPI if they get even one drop of peanut oil in their food. I know much many more people with a corn allergy that have major problems if HFCS is in their food. Corn allergy can be a really scary allergy to have, as its everywhere! Please see the link provided above with the corn allergen list.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / wheat allergy question

They really should change the name for buckwheat, because it confuses a LOT of people. The following flours should be completely safe for a wheat allergy as they are no where near related to wheat or grains:
Tapioca
Potato
Buckwheat
Amaranth (pigweed)

Happy Baking!

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Nutritional Yeast

It honestly depends on how specific your allergy is. Many people’s bodies are not that picky about what they react to, and thus wouldn’t be able to tell nutritional yeast from brewer’s yeast. But some people have those lucky bodies who are only allergic to one specific thing, and their body never reacts to similar items.

So it honestly depends on you. But its not a risk that I’d take, unless my reactions to yeast were very very minor, as I’d expect to react hoping to be suprised if I didn’t.