Comments on Karina's Kitchen- Recipes from a Gluten-Free Goddess: Food Allergy Madness

49 comments! I have not read them all yet but I t...

2008-08-11T10:22:00.000-03:00

49 comments! I have not read them all yet but I thought I would add one thing ... Did your doc say if you might not be experiencing a generalized allergic reaction and that you might be able to bring that level of reaction down over time and then re-test for these foods? I am wondering if you may not have a single or few dominant allergens that are kicking your body into an overeactive state.

Immunology is actually not as well understood as one might assume. My rheumatologist would agree with that 100%.

Hi Karina! I am new to your site - but will return...

2008-06-27T00:07:00.000-03:00

Hi Karina! I am new to your site - but will return to keep reading. I too have multiple allergies - gluten and 30 + foods came back on the blood tests 2 years ago. When I got the results, I went out to my car and cried! After much learning and experimentation with alternative foods, I am more positive (and more healthy!!) now - and waaaaaay more CREATIVE with foods than ever before. It DOES get better.

One thing I didn't expect was for the allergic reactions (IGE reactions, especially) to worsen after being off of those foods for awhile. After unknowingly ingesting peanut traces in one bite of a Lara bar (foods manufactured outside the USA are not required to put allergy alerts on their labels), my mouth got tingly and I had intense abdominal pain and trouble breathing. That had never happened before!

Another word of caution to everyone - be aware of your stress levels. As a single mom, with a full - time job and part - time school, stress has been my constant companion. When I've experienced it at high levels, I found I could not eat anything without feeling sick. I also developed asthma and eczema flare ups. However, on breaks from work and school, I could get more sleep and rest, during which time my skin would heal and I could eat again.

Keep your eyes and ears alert, as there is more and more research being done on the immune system, gluten intolerance, and allergies. If you don't already have a good allergist on your team, it is worth the time and effort to find one.

I have also found that simplicity and planning ahead are the keys to surviving allergy cooking. The fewer ingredients in a recipe the better - especially when they are fresh and chemical - free (and higher in nutrients!). Tastier, too!

This is a lot, I know - but it can be done. Again - CREATIVITY!!! Good health and blessings to you and your readers. Karina, keep up the good work!!

Karina, I've been a lurking fan since November, wh...

2008-02-16T19:02:00.000-03:00

Karina, I've been a lurking fan since November, when an antibiotic I took forced me off wheat. During those two weeks, I found that I COULD BREATHE AGAIN. Now that I'm three months gluten-free, I'm noticing that monosodium glutamate and its updated, renamed versions of itself are wreaking havoc on my GI tract. Who knew? I'm going to get food allergy tested in a few weeks, but my honest suspicion is that MSG, a chemical for which there is no allergy test because it is a _TOXIN_ , plays a far greater part in my acid-stomach-for-the-past-20-years than any food that comes straight from the dirt or other parts of Creation/Nature. I have no idea how I'll face that, since MSG and its derivatives are in EVERYTHING, but your post, including your wonderful new "tagline" (Your gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, tree nut, peanut, coconut, chick pea, kidney-pinto-navy bean, green beans, brown rice, alfalfa, Brussels sprouts, chicken, turkey, mollusk, avocado, red pepper, sunflower seed, flax seed, stevia, lemon, orange, pineapple, papaya, raspberry, cantaloupe, honeydew, zucchini, red pepper, summer squash, watercress, okra, curry, ginger, turmeric, mustard FREE goddess), has given me LOTS of hope that whatever it is, it is do-able. Thanks for your recipes, and for your inspiration.

Martine Smith in Newcastle, OK
mamamartine@yahoo.com

Wow, thanks, Karina. That was a lot of informatio...

2008-02-13T08:06:00.000-03:00

Wow, thanks, Karina. That was a lot of information and I obviously have a lot to consider in the testing options. I will have to start investigating and see how far I can get on my insurance first! Thanks again! JJ

Hi JJ-You could try starting with your primary car...

2008-02-11T17:19:00.000-03:00

Hi JJ-

You could try starting with your primary care physician (I didn't have one). If you have insurance, hopefully it is covered. I don't have insurance, so I just paid up front. The food allergy tests were about $125 for the first set; ditto for the second set I ordered after I saw how many foods I was allergic to (the in depth second set covers spices and other less common allergens).

I'd bet there are other labs who do food allergy testing- your doctor may prefer another lab. I recommend the blood test- not the skin scratch tests. I've read that a blood test is more accurate.

Though...

I just heard that Dr. Peter Green (celiac expert) doesn't think much of the food allergy blood testing in general; he believes that some of the antibodies that show up elevated can be raised by simply eating a lot of that food before the test.

I hope he's right. I'd love to find out that many of my "allergies" were simply due to over-indulgence that particular week.

So you might want to keep that mind, too. The week before you test, roatate your foods to get a more accurate balanced test result.

Take care!

Karina

Hi Karina,First of all, thanks so much for your qu...

2008-02-11T15:38:00.000-03:00

Hi Karina,
First of all, thanks so much for your quick reply, it's very meaningful when you're dealing with food allergies, because it always feels urgent to deal with them.
Thanks also for clarifying about the testing. Financially it will make more sense to choose just one for now and you have made the choice clear.
So, next question! I have insurance and have a general practitioner as my regular doctor. Should I start there as far as finding a doc to order the tests? I noticed on Meridian Valley website that there's no search option to find doc.s that use that testing. So, I'm wondering how I would go about finding one, if my doctor doesn't do it?
I think that's it for now. I love that you (and all of your experience and knowledge) are on the web and you are a saving grace for celiacs. It's helpful to have friends in this crazy celiac world! Thanks again, JJ

Hi JJ,I elected to have nutritional testing (the S...

2008-02-10T14:32:00.000-03:00

Hi JJ,

I elected to have nutritional testing (the Spectracell tests) to see exactly where I stood with my vitamin and mineral absorption/needs.

The food allergy testing was done thru Meridian Valley.

I found a CNP who used both labs. These tests have to be ordered by a doc/NP/ND.

So- basically- it's up to you whether you want to spend the extra money testing for vitamin levels, too. It's expensive, and frankly, I'm not sure I would do it again (it showed I needed B's, C, E and selenium, all in the vitamins I was already taking, but apparently not absorbing due to food allergies/ gut inflammation).

If I had to do it all over again, I would elect to have the food allergy tests done first, and then retest in a year (I was told I could retest in six months, but I decided to give my immune system a full year to settle down).

Then- after seeing where I stood on food allergy tests a year later, I would consider nutritional testing (if I still had symptoms).

I also had stool testing for candida, bacteria difficile, giardia, etc to rule out any other possible culprits. This is called functional medicine.

At almost nine months of allergen free living I am obviously healing. I've gained weight- and can even handle coffee again. Yay.

I wish every celiac would get tested for food allergies- so often a secondary condition caused by leaky gut. Food allergies- especially to casein- can seriously hinder healing.

Good luck and congrats on getting tested. I'm proud of you. ;) Let me know how you make out.

Karina

Hi Karina, I have a few questions regarding your t...

2008-02-10T14:07:00.000-03:00

Hi Karina,
I have a few questions regarding your testing. I looked up SpectraCell Lab.s and found a clinician only a few towns over. But then you mention that you got your testing done at Meridian Valley Lab further down. In one of your responses, you wrote that you found "a CNP who also used Meridian Valley (I had the allergy blood tests thru them)." So, when I call this clinician, do I request tests from both Spectracell and Meridian? Or maybe I should ask how does Spectracell play into the testing, beyond finding a clinician?
Each day that goes by, I seem to have more and different reactions to more and more foods. Let the testing begin! Thanks so much, JJ

I've recently been diagnosed with a lot of allergi...

2008-01-18T16:48:00.000-03:00

I've recently been diagnosed with a lot of allergies too(most of your list is similar to mine) but since I'm not severely allergic to most things, I'm still eating them....its very hard to give up foods :(

Hi Mistie! Thanks for the info- and I'm living pro...

2008-01-06T14:22:00.000-03:00

Hi Mistie! Thanks for the info- and I'm living proof that the gut needs to be healed before probiotics work. After taking high quality probiotics for six years a test showed I had ZERO.

Eliminating the additional allergens has helped- I can tell (I'm gaining weight and have no symptoms). But I haven't bothered with probiotics yet. Soon. Again- thanks for the tips!

Hi Wellness- have fun with your new bread machine! Have you checked the bread machine post and discussion? Look in the left side bar links. It has a lot of info. If there isn't a mention of the cinnamon raisin bread in there, I'll add it (I forget- at the moment- if I wrote about it or not- sorry).

Hey rkentoff- Spectracell is in Texas. I went to their website (google it) and looked up practitioners who use their testing. From there I found a CNP who also used Meridian Valley (I had the allergy blood tests thru them).

That said, I think you could also simply find a good allergist who uses blood testing.

For me personally- the Spectracell showed typical vitamin deficits- the B vitamins, E and selenium. I knew I was also anemic.

The difficult part, for me, was finding supplements without my allergens.

In my opinion, food allergy testing is the first step. Eliminating the allergenic foods for six months to a year will heal the gut and decrease the inflammation. In the meantime, I just take basic B's and vitamin C (I've yet to find an an E without soy or other allergen). I cook with an iron pan, and eat meat now, for iron.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

Karina, I just found your website. I too thought ...

2008-01-06T13:34:00.000-03:00

Karina, I just found your website. I too thought that going gluten free would cure me of my ailments, but have had no luck with the elimination diets to see what else I am allergic to. Did you have the Spectracell test done at Meridian Valley Lab also? Are these two different tests? Any advice on how to go about getting the right tests? Thanks in advance.

Karina,Thank you SO much for your amazing life sha...

2007-12-31T23:21:00.000-03:00

Karina,

Thank you SO much for your amazing life sharing blog. I am the wellness coordinator for a prominent holistic center. My role there is often to help others live a healthy life despite food and environmental allergens and sensitivities. Your blog not only gives me a plethera of information to help these patients live a healthy and tasty life, it also helps ME deal with my own Celiac and Corn allergies, and Crohn's disease. Since finding your blog my life has been much more palatable :-) and I thank you for it immensely!

On a side note, I got the breadman machine with the GF option for Christmas and I can't wait to try it out! As soon as life gets back to normal I intend on making several tasty loaves. Any particular favorites you can describe (I know you've tried cinnamon raisin)?

Karina, sorry for getting back to you so late - th...

2007-12-23T17:53:00.000-03:00

Karina, sorry for getting back to you so late - there is an allergen free probiotic available on iherb.com (a very reputable supplements site) called Dr. Ohhira's 12 Plus Probiotic Formula, just do a search there and read all the reviews. By the way, I too was taking probiotics for a while but didn't seem to get better, after doing plenty of research I found that I probably have a leaky gut (and with your celiac it's pretty much a given that you have it too) and this is why I have so many allergies to foods. There is an amino acid called glutamine which can heal it, it must be taken on an empty stomach though. Google it and you will see. I am just starting to take it. Even on PubMed there are good results on it - it has been shown to decrease intestinal permeability which will reduce our allergies. It is my understanding though, that this leaky gut must be healed first before benefitting from probiotics. Good luck!!

Hi Christine!Thanks for the info- I'll look into i...

2007-09-13T01:40:00.000-03:00

Hi Christine!

Thanks for the info- I'll look into it. And I hope you're right about the additional food allergies. It would be fab to be able to eventually add a few of those foods back into my GF diet. We'll see!

Take care!

Karina

Hi! I've just recently found your blog and love i...

2007-09-10T20:35:00.000-03:00

Hi! I've just recently found your blog and love it! I found out about 6 months ago that I had both genes for gluten intolerance, so my family of 6 is now on a GFCF diet. I'm sorry to hear that you have even more allergies but its sounds like its just like finding out about celiac, now you have answers and now you can get well! Anyways I saw that you were looking for milk & soy free probiotics and wanted to let you know about the one my doctor recommended, Klare Ther-biotics. They are dairy, wheat, corn, soy, yeast, gluten, casein free. Also no sugar, starch, magnesium stearate, maltodextrin, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, salicylates or preservatives. Ah but it doesn't mention eggs :( But maybe something to check out? My doctor claims that gluten free is life long but dairy allergies go away in 50% of people, once their immune system isn't being attacted anymore. And most other allergies will go away too, hopefully that is true!

Hi Anon, Thank you- it is heartening to realize ...

2007-09-06T12:40:00.000-03:00

Hi Anon, Thank you- it *is* heartening to realize you're not alone- that others have struggled with the same issues.

I was taking probiotics for years- unfortunately, my research this summer has uncovered that most probiotics contain traces of milk proteins, and if not milk, then soy. Which explains a lot!

I am on the look out for gluten-free dairy-free soy-free egg-free probiotics.

If you know of any, I'd appreciate hearing from you. ;)

Thanks for your kind comment.

Karina

Hi Karina, I've been looking at your blog for a wh...

2007-09-03T00:35:00.000-03:00

Hi Karina, I've been looking at your blog for a while now and always enjoyed looking at your recipes and wonderful pictures! I haven't done a lot of cooking yet though, since I also have a lot of food sensitivities (wheat, eggs, milk, peanuts, soy, and recently corn). So I just came back today after almost a year to see how your blog was doing, only to find out that you have many more allergies - I was wondering if you have ever taken probiotics? You can get them in supplement form and they are good for the immune system. "Allergies" such as ours can be caused by a lack of beneficial flora in the gut. Taking probiotics consistently over time leads to a more balanced digestive system. They have helped me a lot though I'm not totally well yet - I am hoping that with time my system will eventually normalize, as these are delayed food reactions, not anaphylactic-type reactions which you are pretty much stuck for life with. So, I just wanted to make that suggestion in case you were not aware. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel.

PS:: I went through my Nurse Practitioner - which ...

2007-08-31T20:48:00.000-03:00

PS:: I went through my Nurse Practitioner - which cost $85 for the visit to order the test, then $85 to get the results - twice, because I staggered the two sets. So I don't know what the additional fee is, but it cost me another $340 to do it thru her.

Hi Cindy, The first Basic Set of 95 foods was $125...

2007-08-31T20:44:00.000-03:00

Hi Cindy,

The first Basic Set of 95 foods was $125. It checks the big ones: casein, whey, goat milk, soybean, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, fish, corn, gluten, oats...

The Extended Panel (with an additional 95 foods) was also $125.

I don't have insurance, so I paid out-of-pocket.

It was worth it, as I never imagined I was so allergic to almonds, cashews, lemon, avocado, pineapple...coconut! :(

I tried doing an elimination-style test on my own to figure out my culprits, but unless you literally start with one food, and only add one single element at a time - you're liable to miss the infrequent foods, or spices and flavorings - like mustard, or papaya, or ginger. And lemon - it's in "natural flavorings". Sigh. So how can you pinpoint exactly what you're dealing with?

And sunflower seed! Do you know how many foods now have sunflower seed oil in them, or the seeds themselves? Oy. It's a nightmare.

Good luck with the test - and let me know how you make out.

Karina

Karina,If you don't mind me asking, how much did i...

2007-08-31T19:53:00.000-03:00

Karina,
If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to get the allergy tests (the A and E panels as well as the general test)? Did you use a doctor or pay yourself- I saw there's an extra fee if you go to them directly. If I did decide to use the same service, could I get you a referral bonus or discount?
Thanks for the info!

Cindalou,
GF, DF, and NF (sigh)

I have been gluten free since 1993, but no doctor ...

2007-08-31T14:16:00.000-03:00

I have been gluten free since 1993, but no doctor I've seen since then, even when being diagnosed with an ulcer, has suggested that I be tested for food allgeries. Reading this-- it makes a lot of sense that I do so. I would like to say I will right away, but since I will be paying for it out of my pocket... soon.

Thanks!

We just got some simple blood/skin prick test done...

2007-08-20T15:33:00.000-03:00

We just got some simple blood/skin prick test done. Now I'm thinking to go back and get what you had. I never feel 100% and might have more allergies than I think. Thanks for the post.

Hi Katherine! Thank you so much - for the kind wor...

2007-08-19T19:54:00.000-03:00

Hi Katherine! Thank you so much - for the kind words, and the *knowing* support. I appreciate it. ;)

And thank you for the slide show thought - wow! Georgia has always been a hero(ine) of mine, so I am tickled pink.

xoxo

Karina

My son went through kind of what you are going thr...

2007-08-18T22:04:00.000-03:00

My son went through kind of what you are going through now but at the tender age of 3. I really appreciate and echo your encouragement of parents to have children who show food allergy or intolerance symptoms to get them tested. Parents should follow their instincts based on the observation of their children.

Hugs to you too Karina. You are doing great and I know it is hard at times.

Didn't know where to say this, but your slide show is gorgeous. You are the Gerogia O'Keefe--or something like that--of GF food photography!

Katherine
www.gfcfmommy.blogspot.com

Hi Freckle Faced Mama! Yup. The truth will set you...

2007-08-18T13:30:00.000-03:00

Hi Freckle Faced Mama! Yup. The truth will set you free. Allergen free. :)

Hey Cindy! Thanks so much.

Danielle - Wow - you have your own Big List as well. It is a challenge - and hardest on days when you're hungry and have not planned ahead [or are stuck in the car running errands].

I've still not tackled the "planning ahead" part very well. Some days there's plenty to eat in the house - potatoes for potato salad made with olive oil, polenta, fresh veggies, smoked salmon - but other days I come up short. Nothing to eat for lunch but carrot sticks because I've been busy writing and not paid attention to the pantry.

Ack! ;)

Karina