MSG.....and likely other food additives. I really never could....but didn't ID the source of my headaches.
But since chemo for breast cancer 12 years ago, I am also lactose intolerant. Not an allergy just get upset from milk, ice-cream and short aged cheeses. Took me years to figure it out....thought it was just an aftermath of chemo and radiation....but visited for a week where I don't like the milk they buy.....and I felt really good!
invited again and felt good.....and bought a large vanilla shake on the way home! Hoo boy!
So I now eat yogurt on my cereal and stay away from all prepared foods, soups, frozen meals, dips, sauces etc.

Went to a friend's for cocktails last night, was served a lovely spinach dip...had a headachy night, and I suspect it was a Knorr soup mix in the dip....not the wine! No!! NOT the wine!! LOL!
Linda C

Red food dye. One in a while won't hurt, but if I try to have it on a regular basis, I get a rash. First noticed with a prescription medication that I was on for a long time. Now, I empty the Prevacid capsule into applesauce. But I can't take pink Benedryl, which you may notice the also make in a dye-free version. Now why can't they just take the dye out altogether?

Yes, GARLIC. And others also, but they manifest in weight gain. I was tested about 25 years ago for food allergies for weight loss. If I followed the diet of not eating anything I am allergic to, I can, and did, loose 10 pounds a month! Except for one small problem. The two times I went on the diet, I got pregnant! I don't care what pieces parts are now missing, God works too many miricals! I am NOT going back on that diet!

Tami

Benedryl? The quintessential allergy remedy....contains red dye??
LOL! how strange is that!!

My DH just was tested....yeast, barley, tea (black and green)almonds, red, blue, & green dye. He is feeling so deprived (and ill from withdrawal symptoms, I think) Not fun, but we are hoping it will help his arthritis. Many more things, but those are most sensitive. Milk and cheese etc. etc. (He has always been a many cuppa day tea drinker with sugar or honey....no more!)

Another red dye #40 allergy here, and I also have to search for dye-free medications and watch every food that goes in my mouth. Even a tiny amount causes almost immediate cramping and I spend the next couple of hours in misery while my body trys to flush it out. Other times, I shake, tremble, and freeze. It is wicked.

Nope, no allergies to anything at all. The closest I come is that pomegranates and kiwi make my mouth sore. I had a salad in California with a pomegranate salad dressing and the inside of my mouth was so raw that I couldn't finish eating the meal. Next day it was fine.

My old doc said many people have food sensitivities, not actually allergies that are life threatening, but foods we are sensitive to that cause uncomfortable symptoms.

thank goodness I don't have a problem eating eggs, I really like them!

Annie

I think sometimes they come and go. All through childhood and into early adulthood I had real problems with raw onions. I could eat them cooked, but raw, even just a little bit, made me nauseous and the taste of them just would not leave my mouth. Green onions were fine, and after a while, I discovered that I could eat small quantities of red or sweet onions. I still prefer them if I'm eating raw onions, but I think now it's just a learned preference after years of feeling so ill.

I don't know if it qualifies as an actual allergy or simply a sensitivity, but many fruits, if I overindulge, can give me a rash around my mouth, and if I continue, I'll get swollen taste buds and oral sores. I think it's a problem with acid, because while pineapple is the worst offender, as long as it's very ripe, I can eat it with relative impunity. Tomatoes, strawberries, mangoes, some melons and citrus likewise are problems, unless they're quite ripe. Walnuts for some reason are almost as bad as green pineapple, but go figure, if I toast them first I can eat a small amount.

Of course, I am an absolute freak for fruit! lol.

Rachelellen, that's interesting! I am the same way with raw onions-- my mouth tastes like I ate garbage for about 24 hours. I find it so unpleasant that I avoid them completely. I don't think that's an allergy, though-- I can smell the garbage smell on other people's breath also. I have to sautee them very well.

I don't think I have any food allergies, although I do sometimes get a strange, bitter taste in my mouth after I eat pineapple.

No allergies here, if you don't count the waistline allergy to all that is rich and tasty. I do try to limit my fat consumption, for fear of triggering another gallstone. I can and do eat fat, just not gobs of it at once.

Probably not "real" allergies,
But more like sensitivities

Chocolate and anything with any type of sulphur in it,
(such as dried fruits,)
Causes a red itchy rash on various parts of my body.
Any type of Sulpha drug does the same.

Since a bout with bleeding ulcers several years ago,
I find garlic and onions upset my stomach,
A LOT!
I can eat a few onions as long as I stick with the very sweet ones.
Either raw or cooked, as long as they are not fried.
Caramelize them and I get really sick.
Garlic I try to avoid all together.

Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant,
All members of the Nightshade family
Cause pretty severe Arthritis flare-ups.

Rachelellen, have you tried yellow tomatoes?
Growing up on a farm
Where we raised almost all of our own vegetables,
And much of our own fruit,
My Mother always planted a few yellow tomatoes,
Just for me.
Red tomatoes burned my tongue something fierce,
But I could eat the yellow ones just fine.

For some reason, I don't remember any of the cooked dishes
containing tomatoes
Being a problem,
Just when I ate them raw.

And I did then,
(and still do)
Love a tomato sandwich if the tomatoes are home grown!

Rusty

I got tested for food allergies, and the test said that I had mild (ranking 3 in a scale of 0-5) for wheat, soy, oats, rice, and barley. So basically, I'm not supposed to have grains, I guess, and so I decided to ignore the test. I did find out that I am NOT allergic to dairy or eggs, and I had thought that those might show up, as they can give me an upset stomach - depending on what else I combine with them. Milk always upsets me, but dairy products do in varying degrees, and it almost seems to come and go. While I was in Texas for one week, I had no problems with my stomach, and that could possibly be because I ate more meat there and a smaller portion of grains. I am also on somewhat different BP medicine, and that seems to be helping. I got off HCTZ and got on something else instead that is a more powerful diuretic but does not give me diarrhea.

Lars

Years ago I was tested for allergies and found out that mustard, peas, and cantalope were culprits. The mustard and peas I've never had a problem with, but sometimes cantalope will make my throat sore, usually if I eat it for breakfast first food of the day.....odd. More recently I discovered that drinking organic milk did not cause the throat irritation that I experienced with regular processed milk. That was an easy fix.

Teresa

As most already know, I have many food allergies (intolerences?),some that show on tests, others are anecdotal. Nonetheless they cause itching, stomach issues and weigh gain. I eat no wheat or yeast,grapes,tuna, plums, melon or peanuts. Soy or beans of any kind(although it didn't come up in testing) make me very ill. Onions leave the same awful taste and cause definite allergies, milk products are better tolerated than before, but some not others. A number of foods cause an odd lightheadedness,but I can't nail down exactly what causes it. Potatoes are very limited, they can and do cause headaches and/or itching.
I take a nightly antihistamine and then a half of Benadryl if necessary during the day. It stinks, but I have lost 70 lbs. I can eat more than I did initially, but it's still quite limiting.

More later...

I am not an expert in the topic of allergies. I have this uninformed believe that diversity in food intake can lower the possiblity of allergies.

Isn't it true that Alcohol can make allergies worst or cause allergies in some people?

Asians are alcohol intolerant.
Asian, African, and Native American are lactose intolerant.

dcarch

Interesting thread...

My nephew has a nut allergy, not peanuts, they are a legume. He carries an epi pen. When he was younger he also broke out in hives when my sister would peel potatoes which is something I've never heard of before.

My almost DH has a shellfish allergy. Over the years he'd given up shellfish after having an "itchy" throat happen. When he was in his early 50's he bought a seafood/grill take-out restaurant and one day when he was cleaning shrimp, he went into anaphlactic shock. He collapsed onto the floor and luckily the customer at the order window was a nurse. He was in the hospital for 3 days. He put the restaurant on the market and I bought it, which is how we met! When we travel or eat out we always tell our server about his allergy and he carries an epi pen too. He also is sensative to contrast dye used in CAT scans which we discovered the hard way... Did I mention he's allergic to black flies and bees, too?...always an adventure... :)

Corn syrup(high fructose and regular) - terrible rash, itching all over
Pomigranate juice (not the fruit itself, only juice), probably skin get processed when the juice is made
Hibiscus flowers- added as a color to most of the fruit teas - hives

Early diversity is believed to exacerbate allergies. people had fewer allergies when babies consumed only breast milk for a year.
Never heard that alcohol causes allergies. Most allergies are caused by protein, whether from wheat, fish or bee venom.

About 1/3 or the Asian population lacks the enzyme to rapidly metabolize alcohol and experience the "asian flush"...or blush...

A large part of the adult population of any ethnicity is lactose intolerant but for those from groups where dairy is an important industry. And even then a fair proportion of the population produces the enzyme to digest milk.

But the inability to digest milk and the supposed Asian intolerance for alcohol is not an allergy, but an absence of the enzyme to efficiently metabolize these things.
Linda C

I had food allergy testing done because I started having sores in my mouth. Tests came back that I am allergic to a number of things - 3+ on most - shellfish, oats, almonds, strawberries, oranges, nutmeg, cauilflower, mushrooms and of all things - celery! The allergy doctor says most allergies cause stomach problems headaches etc, not rashes or sores unless it is a nut allergy. Anyway - I know that I had been eating lots of oatmeal when the weather was cold and was in hopes that it would lower my cholestrol. Ha - turns out the stomach issues I was having was probably due to the oats!

I avoid most of the things now - will eat a little crab once in a while and if the celery is in something else I eat it. I do avoid the almonds and the oats which seemed to be the worst.

I think I am also allergic to something that is found in the seasoning I use on my Standing rib Roast. It is called Everglade Seasoning and makes the best roast. Anyway, I had a severe reaction - swelling eyes twice after eating meat I had cooked with it. First time I ended up in the hospital for three days - made the mistake of saying that it started with a shortness of breath. Several tests later I learned that I have a slight narrowing in a small place in one artery but no biggie.
They were not worried about the eye swelling - but it took a week to go away even with heavy doses of Benadryl, Claratin and Prednisone. Happened a second time to a much lesser degree - I got out the Benadryl and allergy pills immediately and got it under control. I still carry my Epipen and Bendaryl with me wherever I go, though.

Turns out the mouth sores are probably from a Galvanic Reaction to the amount of metal I have in my mouth from fillings and crowns. Took several months to run its coarse but will crop up from time to time. Keeping myself hydrated helps as does a good Vitamin B. Some thought it was called Geographical Mouth, which the same things are suggested for it. One interesting fact is that the mouth issue, eye swelling issue and the heart issue all occured about the same time. Bloodwork during this time also showed my potassium level was low. Since then I take a Potassium tablet every day.

As a young child I could eat oranges, but by late elementary school they gave me hives.

Sweet potatoes and clams made me sick by the time I was an adult, but I can eat any other kind of potatoes or seafood. Go figure.

Since my thirties, anything with sulphites can trigger asthma.

Since my fifties, nutmeg and mace cause weird swelling inside my mouth.

Fortunately, all of these things are fairly easy to avoid, and I can comfortably eat so many other things I'm not complaining.

DD is allergic to Blue Dye #1. Guess what the Sam's Club generic for Zyrtec has Blue Dye #1 in it! Last year I almost made the mistake and bought the darn stuff!

I went on an elimination diet and was shocked at the positive results it gave me from my arthritis. I don't know what my allergies are yet but I am guessing dairy (I had a little feta yesterday and could barely stand upright with 1/2 hour after consuming) - which is interesting after Dcarch said north american natives (which my Dad is) are lactose intolerant. I also plan on going gluten free (and have been for 6 weeks) quite easily to my surprise. I hope to get allergy testing for help. "Wow" is all I can say after researching foods.

Peanuts. I'm also allergic to Benedryl, which is what they give you when you're allergic to something lol

You think I was allergic to eggs, but I just can't stand them in any shape, form or fashion.

Wow! I don't have any of the allergies/reactions that so many have listed. Knock on wood that I never will. I feel for all of you.

Nut allergy. As a kid, trips to the hospital for adrenaline.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE I ever ate ... had nuts:)

Cathy in SWPA

Oh yeah, because this is so new to me and I am over analyzing everything and am forgetting the basics. As in, I was somewhere that had puffed wheat cake and I said to another lady "Do you think it has gluten?". How I forgot the obvious, gah, felt like a moron. Of course her response was "Yeah, it's puffed WHEAT". She didn't add a dummy on the end but yeah, it was in her eyes.

I know you ask for de-caf and may get regular coffee, but check this out:

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Can't imagine how stupid!