Food intolerances / allergies

(Allie) #1

After being carted off to hospital with anaphylaxis a couple of weeks ago, I decided to get checked for allergies / intolerances.

Most of what’s been flagged is no issue as it’s stuff I already knew about and avoid, but three things I have been advised to eliminate from my diet are… coffee as I’m 100% intolerant apparently, which to be fair I suspected based on how my body reacts to it so had already reduced to two cups a day only. It will go, but not until I’ve worked through all the unopened packs I have in the cupboard…

Also… butter. OK, I can deal with that. Only really use it in coffee and for cooking, switch to coconut oil.

But… cheese! Along with a strong advisory to be careful with all dairy products :neutral_face: Many years ago, pre-keto, I was dairy free as I knew it affected me badly, but over the keto years it’s crept back in and now makes up a big chunk of my diet, so now I have to rethink EVERYTHING I eat, and drink, and it’s so hard…

(Bob M) #2

A couple of things to try. Try “raw” dairy. That supposedly can help return your enzymes so you can digest dairy.

Another thing to try is A2 proteins. There is A2 milk, but other stuff is hard to find. But goat’s and sheep’s milk have A2 proteins in them. How do these make you feel?

Also, you should probably go an elimination diet (whole 30?) for a while, then add back in A2 dairy (or raw milk products) to see what happens.

Now, what happens if the raw milk is not A2 but instead A1/A2? I have no idea.

And if you don’t know what A1/A2 is, it’s easy to do a search for A1/A2 proteins and dairy. Here’s one:

For a long time, I thought this A1/A2 stuff was bunk, until I listened to a podcast of a woman dairy farmer…who couldn’t have her own dairy. It wasn’t until they bred all A2 cattle that she could again have dairy.

And I’ve tested this myself, and I do think A2 dairy does nothing I can find to me. But, I’m also not that intolerant to regular dairy.

(Jane) #3

Oh man - so sorry!

I would give up coffee and dairy if it caused me the kind of reactions you had… but :scream: I would be hard to live with until I got over my caffeine withdrawal!

Like @ctviggen suggested… maybe you can tolerate goat cheese? It is natually homogenized (unlik cow’s milk) and the proteins are smaller and more delicate.

(Laurie) #4

Bummer!

I’ve had to cut way back on coffee, since I drank way too much of it on a recent road trip. Now my stomach just says no.

I eat too much dairy. Mostly yogurt; cheese, not so much. I kind of wish my body would say no to yogurt, as it’s hard to do it with will power alone.

I love butter, but somehow, the way I eat now, I hardly ever use it.

Good luck with the adjustments.

(Bob M) #5

I guess I should’ve remarked about the coffee…I cut back quite a bit, down to 1/3 cup or less, for a test. STILL had a headache the day I didn’t drink anything.

Can you handle tea? Like Pu-erh?

(Robin) #6

Oh crap!!! Everything about this is heartbreaking! I have slowly weaned myself onto strictly decaf coffee and tea. I also made the excruciating move from heavy whipping cream (also for the coffee) to Nut Pods. Butter would be easy. But losing cheese would be absolute torture. Hang in there. Hopefully the day will come when you feel so much better that you’ll think it was worth it. Hang in there. You got this.

(Butter Withaspoon) #7

Owww they’ve hit you where it really hurts! I hope you can find some new loves in the safe foods. You’ll need some special treats :hugs:

#8

I’ll second this! I’ve been diagnosed lactose intolerant twice, dairy used to screw me up pretty bad Raw milk / dairy causes ZERO issues. Also made my skin better which is a thing apparently.

Look at that wonderful difference!

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(Allie) #9

I don’t think there’s any separation between types of casein here in the UK, not that I’ve ever seen anyway, and although there’s a raw milk farmer not too far from here who I’ve bought from before, it takes way too much time out of my crazy busy schedule to be a viable thing regularly.

So… the cheese is gone, as of three days ago.

The coffee, which was already reduced a couple of weeks back, is now limited even more, to just one a day. My head is pounding, I’ve had my one coffee and I’ve had a caffeine tablet too (as it’s not caffeine they say I have issues with, it’s the coffee itself), and taken headache pills too, but still suffering.

I’ve finished the last of my full fat organic milk this morning (not including the eight pints still in my freezer) and have unsweetened almond milk and MCT oil powder to blend into my morning shakes instead of it, as of tomorrow.

But my head, seriously it hurts :pleading_face:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

I’ve gone caffeine-free several times over the past forty years, and the headaches generally stop by the two-week point. Those two weeks are not particularly fun, but they are survivable. Hang in there!

(Jane) #11

Caffeine withdrawal headaches are horrible and pain pills have no effect.

The last time I had to wean off coffee I did it over a 2-week period by mixing decaf into my regular coffee. Started out 75%-25% then a few days later 50-50, then 25-75 the second week. By the end of the second week was totally on decaf with no headaches

(Allie) #12

I’m not sure it was the caffeine withdrawal that caused my head yesterday as I’d had more caffeine than I’d been having each day for the last couple of weeks… actually wondering if it was to do with the cheese as that’s the only thing I’ve stopped outright :thinking:

I’ve been reducing the coffee for weeks and today have had just one cup and been fine, whereas yesterday I had two cups and a caffeine tablet.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

Was it one of those mouldy ones, or was it starting to go off? Some of the bacteria that ferment cheese can do things to certain people, and the moulds that make food go off aren’t good for anyone. (The same is true of the by-products of fermenting grape juice into wine, btw.)

(Allie) #14

No just cheddar, I can’t stomach the mouldy cheeses :nauseated_face:

But I stopped all cheese since Friday then had that blinding headache all day Sunday :thinking:

Mould is the top allergen on the “environmental” list of what I need to avoid.

(Bob M) #15

I did find some raw milk in a local store, although it’s one we don’t go to often.

I just don’t know what to do with milk. I haven’t had a glass of milk in…30 years? I was thinking of putting a small amount into my coffee, and stopping the small amount of cream I use. But a pint of cream now lasts me a really long time, and the expiration date of the milk is not that long.

So, I haven’t tried raw milk yet.

(Bob M) #16

Look for cheese made from goats or sheep. It’s A2 protein.

Cheese made from raw milk might also be good (but with cow’s milk), but I can’t test this, as cheese doesn’t really seem to affect me. (I was looking for cheese made from raw milk, as these typically have higher vitamin K2, at least for the few studies I’ve seen.)

(Edith) #17

I can’t handle dairy, but a few months ago I tried some sheep’s milk cheese. I seemed to be fine afterwards. Maybe it’s just cow’s milk causing the trouble?

Of course, the next question: do you really want to risk another anaphylactic reaction testing things out?

#18

I only experience anaphylactic shock from aflatoxins/mycotoxins. Black dots on nuts, pre shelled nuts, peanut butter, etc…

Have you tried hard Italian cheeses? Grana? Parmigianno?

(Allie) #19

No, I don’t.
It’s just not worth the risk when I can make changes and avoid known triggers.

Sure it’s going to be challenging, but I’ve fought hard to make my life my own and make it the way I want it to be and I’m not throwing that away.