Yeast Allergy??

Crafty_camper123
Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Finally bit the bullet and got allergy testing done. Based on my consult I was not tested for major food allergies, except for hops barley and yeast. Probably due to the fact my skin flushes when I drink malt beverages or wine. It's literally the only food type of reaction I have. Aside from that, I do suffer from chronic heart burn and bloating. Could this be the culprit? I am reaching out to anyone who may have expirience on this subject.

The allergist basically told me to avoid bread and alcohol. Easy enough. But upon researching it, I find that there is a whole host of other foods I should avoid. Dairy, all sugar & sweetener, vinegar, all fermented foods, mushrooms, gluten, caffiene, high sugar fruit, processed meats, and the list goes on. WTH?? Is there anyone else out there that had this come up on an allergy test? Did an elimination diet of this scale make a difference? Or not? I feel like most of these sites are confusing candida overgrowth with an allergy.

I'm kind of hoping this is a false posative, and am planning on just doing a trial elimination of bread, vinegar, fermented foods, and possibly mushrooms and other fungi. But is mold/yeast one of those things you need to eliminate completely in all forms like gluten for it to be effective? Or is just reducing sources of yeast enough to be beneficial? I'm struggling to find info from reliable sources on this.

Replies

  • grace42c
    grace42c Posts: 71 Member
    Are you allergic to yeast or alcohol? The flush is common for alcohol allergy, and coincidentally, beer has yeast. Yeast allergy is much trickier than an alcohol allergy. For example I am allergic to alcohol, but not yeast, so can have bread, but not beer/wine/liquor. My son was allergic to yeast, a whole different ball of wax, and more difficult to deal with.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    The skin prick test was for yeast, and I had a reaction. I wasn't tested for alcohol, but was tested for hops and barley and both came up negative. Blood test (not sure what all for) is pending.
  • KIC127
    KIC127 Posts: 20 Member
    I have also received the same feedback. And I also found that there are a lot of additional sources beyond the bread and alcohol as you have. I haven’t been able to give up all the sources completely from my diet, but I have tried to be a bit more selective and monitor how much and how frequently I consume them, and that seems to have helped me some. I’m interested in thoughts on this topic too. Hang in there!
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Thanks! The bread, alcohol, and yeast containing foods makes sense to me. But it seems that the other stuff is aimed at candida overgrowth. Surely that's a different animal? Although with a yeast allergy I suppose one would want to prevent an overgrowth in thier body. I wonder how probiotics play into this? "They" say avoid fermented foods, but I know things like yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, etc can be beneficial in preventing yeast infections in the body.

  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    edited April 2019
    5 pages into my google search for "yeast allergy", (avoiding bloggers as much as I can, and trying to look for reputable medical sites) I found a link that makes more sense then anything else I've read. And breaks down the differences between yeast overgrowth, yeast food allergy, bodily yeast allergy. With no links for me to buy their dang cookbook, lol. lifewithallergies.net/

    I'm guessing an actual diagnosed allergy to yeast must be rare? Considering I can not find any info on Mayo Clinic, WebMD, College based websites, Allergy research type websites etc. They all seem to cover the basic 8 (wheat, milk, eggs, etc). But no yeast/candida. One of them kept correcting me. "yeast allergy" (Did you mean least?) "Candida allergy" (did you mean candid?) Grr.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    My problem is just yeast but only yeast of certain things. I first discovered my yeast allergy when a medication that had yeast in it caused a severe reaction. I had taken it in the past with no problems. The doctor took me off of it and suggest that I indicate on any medical records my problem.

    I also can't eat freshly made yeast breads but just eating a slice of sandwich bread doesn't seem to bother me. I love fresh made bread but not the reactions that it causes. I have not noticed any problems eating any other foods.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    I think I'm starting to figure out that baker's yeast, and yeast extract are my problem children. It's been 1 week avoiding that stuff as much as possible, and I have not had 1 heartburn episode. (I typically get HB indigestion, and bloating 5-7 days of the week.) But now I'm starting to see that yeast exctract is in everything. It seems to have no rhyme or reason as to what it will be in either.(Like at wendy's the breaded chicken patties are safe, but not the plain grilled chicken) Any pointers for eating at resturaunts aside from eating only at chains that post thier ingedients online? Telling the server I have a yeast allergy and having them go in the back and read every lable seems like a total PIA, and very burdensome. I mean it's not like I'm hives & anaphalactic shock allergic. I hate to even bother a server with telling them of my strange allergy anyways. Do yeast allergic people just not go out? Or just deal with symptoms if they choose to go out to eat? Are there any regular options to try and shoot for when I can't go read every ingredient online?
  • asliceofjackie
    asliceofjackie Posts: 112 Member
    edited April 2019
    As someone who has a few allergies myself I can suggest this: try! Unless you have a very severe allergy that causes anaphylaxis there's nothing dangerous with testing some food and seeing if you get cramps/flushing/[insert your symptom here] from eating it. If you don't, no need to stop eating it. If you do, try to avoid it.

    Since you mentioned gluten: having an allergy isn't the same as having for example coeliac disease, which is an autoimmune response in the body when eating gluten. So you don't need to be as strict with your allergens unless they cause severe allergical reactions.

    EDIT: Also, flushing from drinking alcohol isn't always due to allergy, but possibly due to a deficiency in ALDH2 which breaks down acetaldehyde in alcohol.

    More here: https://www.healthline.com/health/red-face-alcohol
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    asliceofjackie wrote: »
    As someone who has a few allergies myself I can suggest this: try! Unless you have a very severe allergy that causes anaphylaxis there's nothing dangerous with testing some food and seeing if you get cramps/flushing/[insert your symptom here] from eating it. If you don't, no need to stop eating it. If you do, try to avoid it.

    Since you mentioned gluten: having an allergy isn't the same as having for example coeliac disease, which is an autoimmune response in the body when eating gluten. So you don't need to be as strict with your allergens unless they cause severe allergical reactions.

    EDIT: Also, flushing from drinking alcohol isn't always due to allergy, but possibly due to a deficiency in ALDH2 which breaks down acetaldehyde in alcohol.

    More here: https://www.healthline.com/health/red-face-alcohol

    I am super thankful it's not a life threatening allergy! I guess I will most likely have to figure out which restaurants bother me through trial and error. It would just be nice to have a game plan so I don't have to decide between going out and feeling bad, and eating at home and not feeling bad.

    As for the alcohol thing? I'm blonde haired and fair skinned. I flush at everything!! So, I suspect alcohol isn't one of my main triggers. After a while of allowing my digestive tract to heal, I'll try various drinks and see what does what.

    At least I can have cheese! :heart:
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
    Fermentation is caused by Yeasts, alcohol is made by fermentation!

    Yeast can be related to candida, candida is a form of yeast. I do not understand the eliminations of dairy or meat because of yeasts - these are usually prepared in an hygienic environment rather than out in the open air, yeasts natural ones are in the environment. Dairy avoidance could be recommended for those with autoimmunity who show up with it as an issue.

    Generally dietary reactions which do not cause anaphylaxis are referred to as intolerances. For short hand it is often simpler for "others" to understand allergy rather than intolerance. You don't get the raft of questions. You may find, I think its a site by Alison Avery, an Australian life coach who works in the area of Histamine intolerance and produced the Candida Diet. Its a broad, complex subject. Thinking, meat could come up in regard to histamine intolerance, its to do with the rate of decomposition, some with histamine intolerance can't eat meats which have been hung which is customary and need to avoid cold cuts because they can cause reactions in others, people can have similar symptoms created at greater or lesser levels.

    Prebiotics can be very helpful in calming some intolerances, they promote the digestion of different foods. I know of one brand which is helpful for those who are histamine intolerant because it does not contain microbes which increase histamine adding to the issues.

    I react to salicylate which is what many plants create to combat moulds and mildews. Paraben is another of my issues, its used as a preservative in foods, cleaning products, medications - in more or less everything and does not need to be specified, there are hundreds of the chemicals. thinking dairy - casein is my problem rather than lactose. Casein is the protein which comes in 4 variants, types 1 through to 4, bovine dairy is dominant type 1 casein. Goat and Sheep are dominant type 2, close to human milk, many with lactose issues when they change to goat or sheep milk loose their lactose problems. Types 3 and 4 are present and do not seem to cause issues probably because they are not great in number.

    I strongly advise no one to enter the world of eliminations unless they have very good reasons to do so, probably medically advised because you can expose yourself to vitamin and mineral deficiencies which makes for an even more vicious cycle. I recommend finding someone to advise you because its all to easy to mess yourself up because a little knowledge...………….. is a dangerous thing.

    I've opted to use digestive enzymes for my salicylate and casein issues. Digestive enzymes are readily available to cover more or less everything, eggs, lactose, proteins like casein and other problems. there are a couple which cover salicylate but these are more difficult to find, looking on line would be helpful.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    @Fuzzipeg Thank you for your feedback! I just wanted to address a few things I've found while doing research into this thing. Maybe it will be helpful to someone else out there googling away like me, lol!
    Fermentation is caused by Yeasts, alcohol is made by fermentation!

    Yes, all alcohol is derived from yeast. Brewer's yeast is what starts the fermentation process. From perusing various forums it seems some can have an allergy to one type and not the other. Also, I've read that distilled liquors such as vodka are better tolerated by some with allergies to brewer's yeast. The distillation process removed most of the yeast from the fermentation process. So I'll try different kinds and see what happens.
    Generally dietary reactions which do not cause anaphylaxis are referred to as intolerances. For short hand it is often simpler for "others" to understand allergy rather than intolerance.

    Not always. Some food allergies tend to be worse then others. (Peanuts for example have a high rate of severe reactions). Other people it just makes them feel bad. Mild allergic reactions do include stomach cramps, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal issues. Those also tend to be the same reactions as food intolerances. I would suppose the only way to confirm (be it gluten, yeast, or anything else) would be to get a skin prick test. For some reason, I'm finding yeast allergies tend to manifest themselves through the digestive tract more commonly then through the airways and sinuses.
    Source: lifewithallergies.net/
    You may find, I think its a site by Alison Avery, an Australian life coach who works in the area of Histamine intolerance and produced the Candida Diet. Its a broad, complex subject. Thinking, meat could come up in regard to histamine intolerance, its to do with the rate of decomposition, some with histamine intolerance can't eat meats which have been hung which is customary and need to avoid cold cuts because they can cause reactions in others, people can have similar symptoms created at greater or lesser levels.

    Can't find this person. Perhaps you have a link you can find? On the meat thing- Just by reading through ingredients lists I'm figuring out why one would want to avoid it or watch it carefully. They inject yeast extract into all kinds of things. Chicken, cold cuts, and dried meat seem to be the most common ones I'm finding. Also, the Candida Diet is more aimed at ridding your body of a candida overgrowth then it is for avoiding it as an allergen. They can co-exist, but aren't the same thing.

    This link seems to break it down. allergy-details.com/yeast-allergy/yeast-allergy/
    I strongly advise no one to enter the world of eliminations unless they have very good reasons to do so, probably medically advised because you can expose yourself to vitamin and mineral deficiencies which makes for an even more vicious cycle. I recommend finding someone to advise you because its all to easy to mess yourself up because a little knowledge...………….. is a dangerous thing
    100% agree. I think we've conversed a bit while I was contemplating trying out whole30. I ultimately decided against it since it is so restrictive. Since the yeast allergy diagnoses, I don't think whole30 would have singled it out anyways. It's a big reason I was rather concerned going into research mode when first discovering this. All these dang websites conflate candida overgrowth with yeast intolerances and allergies, and none of those things are the same. Many suggest everyone go on the Candida Diet. And that thing is like Whole30 and Keto had a baby. Super low carb, + NO fruit, NO dairy, or anything that could "feed the yeast". Why would I subject myself to something so restrictive if I don't have to? I knew there was more to it then the doctor's order's of "No bread, or muffins or alcohol", but I'm 99.999% certain candida overgrowth isn't my problem. (Thank goodness).
  • ladyzherra
    ladyzherra Posts: 438 Member
    edited April 2019
    Hi there! I have a lot of food sensitivities, and yeast is a food that causes a reaction that verges on allergy for me; I have had an anaphalatic response to yeast before when I went for a couple weeks without drinking Kombucha (I used to be obsessed) and then had one. My tongue swelled.

    Candida and yeast allergies are not related necessarily. However, I have an incredible candida overgrowth problem in my body that took a long time to diagnose, and I struggle to get it under control still, even after a few years. I think I must have had it since I was born, as candida overgrowth can be passed to a fetus and my mother has an overgrowth as well.

    Because I have a long history with food sensivitities (I got tested when I was a kid and got allergy shots for them, and indoor allergies too, such as pet dander), my personal approach is eat the foods that make me react in moderation rather than elminating them. I eliminated foods plenty before and found that if I accidentally ate something that caused a reaction in me, it was BAD...really bad. I once ate a candy on vacation at a B&B and didn't know it had gluten, and my face swelled up and I had an itchy throat for the day, and got a migraine. So now, I eat all of my allergens weekly, in small amounts. I find that I have a lot less reactions and I am not afraid that my body will over-react if ingested.

    Jenn
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited June 2019
    Oh man, hugs - that is a hard one!! Especially as you've noted, there is a lot of information out there on 'yeast' that doesn't apply to what you have at all.

    I used to have one friend with a true yeast allergy like yourself, and yeah - really difficult. She ended up becoming a professional chef, I think in part because she was sick of not being able to have so many nice tasting foods, so she learned to make them herself WITHOUT yeast, LOL.

    One thing she mentioned to me once, that you might not have experienced yet, was that location can impact yeast allergies, as well. Her family moved around a lot and one thing she discovered was that in areas that had much higher levels of natural yeasts (due to more favorable conditions, I'm guessing?), she would react worse. One area, it impacted her so much it started affecting her skin and she'd get these weeping fissures in her skin because of her reaction to yeast. 0.0

    I wonder, in your mention of some things conflating mold and yeast, if part of that may simply be some similarity in growing conditions that favor both of their growth, so there might be similar higher levels in the same foods, so people who have issues with either have to avoid both? No idea, really, just a thought. More likely it's probably just ignorance. :-)


    Sympathy hug for dealing with a difficult allergy that seems to be in so many things out there. Pain in the butt, yeah?

    Although as a food to check out, if you haven't seen it already, you might like Socca bread - chickpea based flatbread, French, and it's pretty much chickpea flour, water, salt, oil, and that's it.

    And lastly - you might find this one gal of interest (might - I honestly don't know, but figured I'd put her in, just in case). Her website is called 'Healinghistamine.com.' The gal use to be a reporter before she started doing health based research, and her website reflects that kind of 'sell' mindset, IMHO, which is just not that nice to look at.

    She does not have yeast allergy information, specifically. on the site. However, the disorder she focuses on (histamine intolerance and mast cell disorders) involve reactions to histamine. And histamine is one of the byproducts yeast create when they ferment foods, and so most histamine intolerant or Mast cell folks like myself can't tolerate fermented foods either (so let me just say I feel your pain for losing fermented foods like alcohol and vinegar).

    So what she does have sometimes is information on fermented foods that might be of use to you. Like, she is where I found out that black tea is fermented during processing. She was the first place I had found out what you already have, about brewer's yeast being used in making vinegar. So it's possible she might have some informational tidbits about food processing or fermentation that could be helpful. :-)
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
    edited June 2019
    Healinghistamine is a very good site. Yasmina put all her investigative efforts into this subject. She worked for CNN. It is a much wider subject than you would think. Daosin or something similar could help, as could increasing b6 and vit C they both combine to produce the enzymes to eliminate histamine. Mast Cell activation is more than an interesting read. Sometimes digestive microbes can be helpful unfortunately some of the little things increase histamine production. There are some products which do not use histamine producing microbes.

    I'm in two minds about candida diets, true candida is one years but it is representative of a whole list of yeasts which can become problematic because of an imbalanced microbiome. Someone can end up with a poor microbiome for many reasons, using antibiotics, many medications including the contraceptive pill. The common factor when dealing with yeasts is they love sugar, regrettably grains and other similar foods become refined to a substance similar in size to sugar so do they or do they not act as sugar, I think the jury is out on that one. So in principal you could achieve great benefits from following a candida diet.

    You could also benefit from using olive oil and coconut oil in your cooking, both are acclaimed by many functional physicians, both are high in salicylate which is similar to that is aspirin, but salicylate is a chemical made by plants, most plants fruits and veg in order to reduce their susceptibility to mounds and mildews, these are relatives of/ and are yeasts in the broadest terms.

    The product I used in the way of digestive microbes was one designed to take with or after antibiotics, it did not have the microbes in it which increased histamine.

    You could look into Allison Vickery too, Australian I think.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    @shaumom Thanks for your insight!
    This yeast allergy is kind of a pain in the neck! It's in most everything- but randomly. I can never predict what it will or won't be in. Since I refuse to only ever cook at home for the rest of my life I just kind of have to gauge what restaurants make me feel bad, and which don't. I'm just thankful it's not corn and/or soy! That's in LITERALLY everything even down to friggen' Tylenol! The only yeast source in med's I've found so far was my selenium. Which explains why I always felt bad after taking my nightly supplements and meds, lol.

    You bring up an interesting point about the reaction being worse regionally- that kind of makes sense. I have not noticed feeling better or worse in different regions, but I could see how varying humidity can make wild yeast worse, therefore increasing exposure levels. My climate is very dry so it might explain why I've never had a reaction that I can recall to skinned fruits?

    And the molds thing? They do tend to coincide! Actually mold is another one of my severe allergens. So far however, I think it's more environmental molds (like rotting leaves) then food mold. Fall tends to be the time of year my allergies are worst, actually. That one is something for me to keep an eye out and observe. I do not recall eating cheese (like cheddar) and feeling bad like I do after eating a yeast donut.
    I just found the conflation of the two kind of annoying. Mold, yeast, and bacterial fermentation are all different things. So someone who is allergic to one may or may not be allergic to the other. It made little sense to me why as a yeast allergic person, I should also avoid healthful bacteria fermented foods like yogurt or sauerkraut. I suppose in super sensitive individuals there may be some cross-reactivity going on? Or maybe yeast tends to lurk in those places as well, but in trace amounts? Not sure though- purely speculating.

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