# How does one eat healthy if they're allergic to most foods?



## NYCGabriel (Jun 11, 2010)

I'm very allergic to all fruits, most veggies (*I can only eat lettuce, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ah.. those peas in a pod{snap peas? they're kinda flat}, cucumbers, spinach*), fish and nuts.

I should be eating healthy (*actually, I only eat junk food twice a month and my intake of sweets is very very limited now that I think about it*) but it's hard when mostly everything either: makes my throat itch, give me severe headaches or make me nauseous. My dietitian was of no help. He simply said take supplements but I showed him an article from either Newsweek or CNN or something from some time ago that there is evidence that vitamin supplements don't provide the necessary amounts of nutrients. He simply shrugged and said, "don't worry, your body will get used to the reactions and overcome."

My primary care provider was not pleased at his response, to say the least.

What does one do?


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jun 11, 2010)

In one way, you're fortunate: the vegetables you _aren't_ allergic to are the very ones that appear most often in salads. And salads are about as healthy as you can get. If you can snaffle a book that only deals with salads, you'll see what a choice you've got! For instance, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and a few fresh basil leaves make an awesome salad: just toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. You can make some kind of lean meat your main dish and accompany it with a different salad every night of the week, and you'll be eating an optimum diet! :eat2:


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## NYCGabriel (Jun 11, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> In one way, you're fortunate: the vegetables you _aren't_ allergic to are the very ones that appear most often in salads. And salads are about as healthy as you can get. If you can snaffle a book that only deals with salads, you'll see what a choice you've got! For instance, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and a few fresh basil leaves make an awesome salad: just toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. You can make some kind of lean meat your main dish and accompany it with a different salad every night of the week, and you'll be eating an optimum diet! :eat2:



i LOVE basil! ty!


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## Punkin1024 (Jun 11, 2010)

That dietitian should have their license revoked!  I popped in here because I was curious about food allergies. I can't eat onions or anything from the onion family and I'm lactose intolerant (though I can eat hard cheeses and yogurt without the awful side effects). I remember reading how to tell if you have an intolerance to a particular food by not eating it for a few weeks and then adding it back in for one meal. If you get a huge reaction to it - then you have an intolerance or allergy to that food. I had a friend that was allergic to just about everything, she had to take all kinds of pills before she could eat. Another friend had severe food allergies and the only thing she felt safe eating (when away from home) was peanuts and raisins. She once spent an entire summer in Guatemala and that is all she ate!

Like Dr. Feelgood said, you do indeed have some good salad makings in your tolerant food group. I'd follow his advice.


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## olwen (Jun 11, 2010)

Punkin, oh I feel for your friend, however I kinda had to chuckle that she wasn't allergic to the very food a lot of people are allergic to - peanuts. I heard somewhere (maybe on the food channel) that people who are lactose intolerant can consume dairy products made with goat's milk rather well. I say try it and see what happens. 

NycGabriel, your nutritionist is a jerk. Go to an allergist instead and see if you can be better helped. I feel your frustration as well since I have several food allergies myself. I can't eat most fruits either in their raw state. Makes my mouth, gums and throat itch. I've found that eating them cooked or mashed up in a smoothie is okay. Now that it's summertime, my blender is getting a lot of use. I always have frozen fruit, ice and some kind of soy free protein/energy powder handy. I've found that fruit smooties give me more energy in the morning than coffee. Can you eat other leafy green vegetables besides lettuce? If you are only eating iceberg lettuce you aren't getting very many nutrients. Can you eat soy and other beans to help supplement the protein?


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## Sweet Tooth (Jun 13, 2010)

I have a huge list of allergies, too. I just avoid the ones with the worst reactions [ie green beans = projectile vomiting scene from The Exorcist], and tolerate the rest... and take my allergy meds religiously. I think the biggest thing for me was to pay attention to what I was eating and what my reactions were. Sometimes it's cooked vs uncooked versions like with tomatoes. Not everything is cut and dry in terms of my reactions.

Feel free to PM, if you wish.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jul 2, 2010)

I just discovered a new salad and was about to pm Gabriel -- and I thought, why not share it? 

4 cups diced tomato
1 1/2 cups chopped bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp vinegar (red wine vinegar preferred)
4 tsp chopped basil (or 1 tsp dried basil)
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp paprika

Toss the first 4 ingredients until everything is coated with olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.


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## NYCGabriel (Jul 2, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> I just discovered a new salad and was about to pm Gabriel -- and I thought, why not share it?
> 
> 4 cups diced tomato
> 1 1/2 cups chopped bell pepper
> ...



that has everything I can eat w/o my mouth/lips/throat getting all itchy! and it sounds damn tasty! ty doctor!!!:happy::happy:


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## EMH1701 (Jan 6, 2011)

***Hugs***

I have IBS so I can sympathize. A lot of foods trigger it. I feel like it's either eat what I want and deal with the stomach upset, or deprive myself totally and be miserable either way.


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