Allergic to raw fruits and veggies

Journeygirl · January 2014

I have OAS, but really haven't been to an allergist. I violently vomit if I eat any raw almonds or if I eat fresh carrot with the skin. The older the carrot, the easier for me to eat it. I'm also allergic to strawberries (I get hives). I'm sorry I don't have any recipes but I just had to say it's just good to "hear" conversation about this. So thank you.

HotGeekyMama · January 2014

Oh my goodness! I have this as well! People are always telling me I am crazy and you can't be allergic to fresh fruits and veggies, I've even had doctors tell me it was impossible! I just have to cook everything to mush just about....But I have found that childrens liquid benadryl works wonders for me, if I do have a reaction. Though like you I don't want to have to take that every day! I usually steam everything or for like squash I slice it very thin and then saute it until it is nearly clear! Also with fruit baking them does seem to help, though it just isn't the same.

sazzledazzle78 · January 2014

I suffer from this too! Hazelnuts, green apples, carrots, and nectarine / peaches are the worst. I can eat them in a fruit saled however if I have poured orange juice over them and:happy: left for a couple of hours. Cherries were the worst offenders but can eat them in yogurt.

xx

Fuzzipeg · January 2014

I wonder if you tried tinned fruit in, sh, syrup. My problem is principally salicylate and pear in syrup is supposed to be fine. Juices used in the process could upset some.

I've been too frightened of my breathing, joint and muscle pain related issues to go very far up the salicylate scale only to have the realisation about two years ago it gets me through smells as well, other peoples perfumes, washing powder/fabric softener smells being the worst, arms length is sometimes too close in the open air. I used to find getting about difficult because of the pain now its the smells in public and private places which terrify me.

to anyone with food related issues and or anything else, keep your chin up and I hope you find your answers or a good coping mechanism.

chronicallergies · March 2014

Wow! Your story is the same as mine. I ate all these fruits raw as a kid, although, I did have severe allergies to grass pollens. My first reactions to raw foods happened after pregnancy; this is a time when the immune system has to withdraw and change so it will not attack the fetus of the developing child.

During pregnancy with my first child I ate pistachios by the bag full...just couldn't get enough. Some time after the second child I ate 8 pistachios and was in the emergency room..

.then it was a kiwi...then it was a lychee nut...then it was mangos...(ten hours in emerg with two different drugs being pumped in through I.V.s)

I am allergic to wheat, all of it, not just gluten...my daughter and cousin are celiac; they could eat wheat grass if they chose, as there is no gluten in the grass portion...I would break out in hives!! I am terribly allergic to wheat germ, although I ate it when I was younger with no problems...read an interesting article on wheat germ agglutinin to help me understand this allergy...wheat is terribly fattening, btw.

then celery, carrots, parsley, strawberries, apples...if I touch the apples when I chop them up I get severe hives,(not so with the others, except mango, mango is bad!) Then the nuts...my favourite, hazelnut, then almonds, cashews (darn!), no real problems with walnuts. Carrots, celery, parsley and such are related plants. Strawberry, lychee, kiwi are also related, and they are all somehow related to trees and when I had allergy tests it showed I was allergic to ALL trees, especially cedar and birch.

Cooking or freezing solves everything. Sad, cause I want to go on a raw food diet. Funny thing is, it is fairly cyclical, in that I am not always as allergic; there are times when I can eat carrots, and celery raw, but, never mangos. I did have a reprieve with apples for a spell...mmmm...crunching into a fresh apple without having to take benedryl first. I used to take a benedryl, wait an hour, and then eat everything I couldn't normally eat, but benedryll screws with your heart if you take it too often. Arrhythmias.

I found milk, or yogurt seemed to diminish the effects of berry allergies, but I just play safe...if they are frozen and then thawed they are fine, so why take a chance?

When it first started the doctor said it was probably pesticides and such, and suggested peeling the fruit, but that's not it, as I grow organic fruit in my yard...peeling did not help.

My cousin developed a severe shellfish allergy after her pregnancies...there is some information on how progesterone works to stabilize the immune system...very good research.

I have a little sinful, and naughty secret I learned a year ago; I bought a fancy e-cigarette with nicotine liquid for my roommate so he didn't have to go out in -45 to smoke, but he thought it looked dorky; not wanting to waste it and knowing nicotine increases metabolism and suppresses hunger, I thought I'd just use it up....heck, maybe I could finally curb my appetite and lose a few!

so, after only 15 puffs of vapour my sinuses opened up and I could breathe, my lungs opened up and I could breath deeply....did the research...nicotine is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and anti-histamine, so much so research is being done to synthesize it so it can be an over the counter drug.

The best part is that when I am bitten by a bug, or have a reaction to something I just puff away and it is all neutralized without putting me to sleep for hours (benedryl)....so, not something I could recommend to anyone (btw, I have never been a smoker...disgusting taste, and hate the burn in the lungs) I don't think smoking cigarettes is the same thing as there are too many other chemicals involved....and vaporizing is not the same as smoking. My son used pot during chemo and used a vaporizer so his lungs did not suffer.

btw., again, Mayo clinic and several other sources state that nicotine by itself is not addicting and I can attest to that, cause I have no urge to use this gadget, and will forget about it most of the time (and lose it lol)....but it has helped me tremendously with regards to allergies and chronic pain in joints, and the swelling in my lower leg is gone...but, again, not something I could recommend to anyone...you'd have to research how nicotine receptors in the brain affect your body. Very hard to find research on nicotine as an isolate because most research is directed toward nicotine in commercial cigarettes.

Good luck to everyone with food allergies....what a pain!!!

_Nicklebee · March 2014

Ever think about steaming? Steamed carrots and broccoli and green beans is amazing. Roasted peppers? mmm. Or even, as some have said, grilling fruits with meats? Chicken with pineapple?

I've never heard of such a thing- it seems impossible in my mind. Fruits and Vegetables.. they're our main source of food, really. But i guess if i was you, i'd literally steam cook everything.

bcattoes · March 2014

You don't need to add anything to fruits or vegetables for cooking. Things like salt, fat or sugar are added for flavor. Boiling, steaming, microwaving, baking are ways to cook without oil.

Have you tried looking for fruits and vegetables grown in a greenhouse? There should be no cross pollination with hay in those.

fannyfrost · March 2014

I have grilled veggies on a BBQ and they are awesome that way.

Bananas with just a little cinnamon
Pineapple
Apple just a little cinnamon

Basically you want to cook them on high heat. Add cinnamon to fruits that aren't as sweet. I even saw them say you can do with Watermelon or oranges.

using the broiler in the oven would work too.

For berries - Try microwaving them with just a 1/4 tsp honey. I bet that would come out great.

fannyfrost · March 2014

Oh for veggies, I buy frozen and microwave them. The steamfresh bags are great, comes out tasting quite good and the plain ones have not added salt.

eddiesmith1 · March 2014

For those who haven't heard of it, there's a pretty good explanation of Oral Allergy Syndrome on Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome] but the gist of it is that people who suffer from hayfever are sometimes allergic to raw fruits and vegetables because of cross-pollination. Cooking the food removes the allergen. That means that I can't eat raw apples, but I can eat apple pie, for instance. I've dealt with this almost my whole life. Some fruits and veggies are worse than others. Blueberries, for example, make my mouth a little itchy but only if I eat a lot of them. Peaches, on the other hand, make my skin break out if I just touch them. Even being in the same room while they're being cut makes me sneeze and my throat gets scratchy. I had one scary run-in with boysenberries where my throat actually started to close up; but other days I've been able to eat them with only minor scratchy throat. Usually I can take Benadryl and that helps a lot, but I'd prefer not to take it every day. And like I said, I can eat them if they're cooked - just not raw.

Anyway, it makes trying to eat healthy really difficult sometimes. I would love to be able to eat an apple for a snack, but I can't. Raw carrots would be wonderful. I can't even remember the last time I had a slice of fresh peach.

Does anyone have any ideas on some alternate ways I could fix them? Every recipe I know of adds butter or sugar, and I know a lot of the nutrients get cooked out anyway. Anyone else have OAS?

Worst offenders - these are the ones where I often break out if I even touch them:
Peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, blackberries, boysenberries, mangoes, guava, passion fruit, figs

Not quite as bad, but these give me a very scratchy throat:
Apples, carrots, kiwifruit, tomatoes, pomegranates, parsnips, peas, broccoli, cauliflower

These make me a bit itchy if I eat a lot, but I can tolerate them for the most part:
Almonds, avocados (but I don't care for them), pears, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, hazelnuts, walnuts, cucumber, sometimes watermelon, potatoes, parsley, peppers, coconut, pecans, cranberries

Usually no problems:
celery, bananas, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, oranges, tangerines, sunflower seeds, pineapple, dates, grapefruit

Apples I make Applesauce just with apples or with apples and cranberries, no added sugar (the apples have plenty) I just cook it slowly (no added water diced up fruit) - you could do the same with pears peaches, nectarines, plums, and any berries you like, you can mix and match and just cook until done (longer cooking will take you down the apple butter road)
Sorry about the allergy that would drive me nuts
As for apple pie - I l=know a lot of people add sugar and cornstarch etc to make a pie, I never do, Sliced apples maybe a tbsp of sugar and cinnamon - works fine but is a lot tarter than the standard pie

EDIT - and as pointed out you can grill almost anything (in fact Grilled fruit is great particularly peaches )

sillyvalentine · March 2014

Baked pears.

Ingredients:
6 Pears - ripe

Peel pears and cut in half lengthwise. Place open side down in a baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake 375 - 400 for 15 - 30 mins, They're done when they are soft

Lizzy622 · March 2014

OAS is horrible my daughter has it so bad that she can't even eat cooked apples anymore. She is okay however with bananas and oranges and can actually eat most berries. She eats a lot of salads. Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and cucumber don't seem to be a problem. She almost was in the emergency room though after drinking carrot juice. Good luck and don't forget to carry your epi pen.

luvpink12 · March 2014

Have you found great alternates? I have oral allergy syndrome as well & I HATE IT...

Allergic to raw fruits and veggies

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