Food Allergies :(

[Warlock]

Hey everyone,

 

I have a problem and I hope someone will be able to give me some advice on this.

 

Ever since I turned vegan I've been struggling to get enough protein in my diet. You see, I'm allergic to a lot of things and I develop food allergies pretty quick. I've always been allergic to nuts, but luckily there are enough other proteinsources. For some time I got my protein from various sources, but mainly rice, and then I developed an allergy to rice. Then I switched to soy, which worked well for the past two years. But now I've developed an allergy to soy as well and I'm kind of lost.

 

Any thoughts?

[damdaman]

If you're just worried about protein, you could try a hemp protein shake once a day to shore up your daily protein intake.

 

Hemp is a complete protein and provides other valuable nutrients, such as essential fatty acids.

[DV]

Can you describe your symptoms? True food allergies as you described are rare although food intolerance might be more likely.

 

If you have been relying solely on one particular food group (or powder supplement) then you may get better results from combining all of them. Giving your body smaller amounts of numerous sources will help it from developing an intolerance. You may find that you can re-introduce those intolerant foods in small quantities to see where your limit is.

 

As for protein powders, perhaps hemp, pea or buckwheat may work for you (there are varying availability depending on your country). High gluten foods (seitan) combined with lots of greens (especially spinach) are another option, however you'll need to check the amino acid profile on that combination to see if any are lacking.

 

However, if you get hives, itching, difficulty breathing, swelling (especially of the face/throat) from anything you ingest then you have had a true allergic reaction and should not eat that food again.

 

I hope you find something that works for you. This must be very frustrating!

[Warlock]

If you're just worried about protein, you could try a hemp protein shake once a day to shore up your daily protein intake.

 

Hemp is a complete protein and provides other valuable nutrients, such as essential fatty acids.

 

Thanks, I've considered this. But I like to try and get my protein without shakes as it is very likely I'll just develop a hemp allergy.

[Warlock]

Can you describe your symptoms? True food allergies as you described are rare although food intolerance might be more likely.

 

If you have been relying solely on one particular food group (or powder supplement) then you may get better results from combining all of them. Giving your body smaller amounts of numerous sources will help it from developing an intolerance. You may find that you can re-introduce those intolerant foods in small quantities to see where your limit is.

 

As for protein powders, perhaps hemp, pea or buckwheat may work for you (there are varying availability depending on your country). High gluten foods (seitan) combined with lots of greens (especially spinach) are another option, however you'll need to check the amino acid profile on that combination to see if any are lacking.

 

However, if you get hives, itching, difficulty breathing, swelling (especially of the face/throat) from anything you ingest then you have had a true allergic reaction and should not eat that food again.

 

I hope you find something that works for you. This must be very frustrating!

 

Thanks for the post. My allergies are quite serious, severe swelling of my face, lips and throat (which makes breathing impossible) have happened several times. I think I will try to cycle proteinsources from day to day, and see how that goes.

[DV]

Wow! That's bad.

 

Do you work with an allergist? Some allergies that seem unrelated have a common allergen, such as a pollen or protein. If you develop food allergies so quickly then you might want to look at the underlying cause and see if something can be done. I'm no allergy specialist but it sounds as though your immune system may be a bit unbalanced or you have an allergy to a protein that is found in particular foods.

 

You may want to stay away from seitan/gluten as this would make your life even more complicated. If I were in your situation, I think I would eat a lot of varied legumes and grains (and vegetables). You can search www.nutritiondata.com for plant foods that are high in protein and you can search the individual amino acids as well. "Nutrient Search Tool" is the section for individual searches.

 

Good luck!

[gogh_me]

Wheat gluten. Start making some homemade seitan so you can season it without soy sauce.

Potato starch. I know that Delallo's gnocchi has a suprising amount of protein from this source.

Beans. Hummus, falafel, refried, minestrone, chana masala.

Beans. Cajun black-eyed peas, pasta e fagiloi, bean tacos.

Beans. There's a million ways to make them.

Lentils. They're dahl-isious

Seeds.

Quinoa.

Oatmeal.

Hummus.

 

Check out recipe blogs like fat-free vegan and vegweb.

[Warlock]

Wow! That's bad.

 

Do you work with an allergist? Some allergies that seem unrelated have a common allergen, such as a pollen or protein. If you develop food allergies so quickly then you might want to look at the underlying cause and see if something can be done. I'm no allergy specialist but it sounds as though your immune system may be a bit unbalanced or you have an allergy to a protein that is found in particular foods.

 

You may want to stay away from seitan/gluten as this would make your life even more complicated. If I were in your situation, I think I would eat a lot of varied legumes and grains (and vegetables). You can search www.nutritiondata.com for plant foods that are high in protein and you can search the individual amino acids as well. "Nutrient Search Tool" is the section for individual searches.

 

Good luck!

 

Yeah, I'm not really genetically gifted. I've also suffered from asthma and skin problems for most of my life. It's gotten a lot better since I turned vegan though. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out immediately.