Food Challenges, Allergic Girl

So I didn’t get very far on the below list from last year. But I am determined to do more this year. Remember: regardless of food allergy testing, a food challenge is THE gold standard to tell your reaction to a food. So I need to simply get my groove on, and try these, either at home with a safe friend and medications on hand or in the doctor’s waiting room. Wish me luck!

Here’s last year’s list with what I tried and what I have left to try:
FA stands for known food allergy.
FI stands for known food intolerance.
NF stands for a new food, something I haven’t eaten.
If nothing it means it’s a food I used to eat without issue, stopped eating for some reason and want to reintroduce in order to expand my diet.


***

Flax seed – NF- I have a bag of seeds on my kitchen counter. I need to set up a time when someone can sit with me.

Hemp milk – NF – I have samples from the Hemp Milk people, I just need to do it already. I haven’t heard of anyone having adverse reactions.

Coconut water – I have a container in my fridge waiting for me.

Coconut oil – haven’t ingested but have used Tropical Traditions samples of virgin organic oil as moisturizer without issue.

Coconut milk - am OK.

Mango – will wait until they are back in season.

Papaya – NF- will wait until they are back in season.

Melons – FA- will wait until they are back in season.

Winter squashes – have some butternut in my fridge now, mocking me. I haven’t tried it yet.

Eggplant – FA- too afraid.

Lemongrass – FI/FA – I have some teas that were sent to me with lemongrass. Shall I try? Afraid.

Goat’s milk – FI - burpalicious. What they say about it being less-lactose-filled wasn’t true for me.

Sheep’s milk - FI - Also burpalicious. What they say about it being less-lactose-filled wasn’t true for me.

Yogurt- FI - frozen and regular - burpalicious but it’s doable in a pinch. Thankfully!

Fish like tuna, cod, flounder, sardines, anchovies – haven’t even begun to contemplate. Tinned sardines or tuna might be my first foray if I get there.

Shellfish-shrimp – oy. Haven’t even considered this yet.

Wheat – FI – who has a few days to take off and try? But I will.

Soy, tofu, edamame, soy milk – FI – haven’t tried yet.

Cow’s milk – FI- whole milk Lactaid gave me some serious FI issues. Cow’s milk may be pushing it.

Pumpkin Seeds – need to get on this one.

Sunflower Seeds – have a pack in my cabinet. Will get there soon.

Comments

Portside said…
Good luck with your food challenges! I've continually struggled with trying to find the balance between my fears of trying new foods and expanding my limited diet.

Of your list, which ones are you most interested in testing?
Allergic Girl® said…
hey portside: tuna - i should do fine with that. flax b/c it's everything that's GF these days. winter squash as it's in my fridge. and the seeds, pumpkin and sunflower.

do you have a list?

allergenius: thanks!
Unknown said…
Hi, AG,
An ambitious project! I'm lactose intolerant and have never found that I'm able to more easily digest alternatives such as yogurt. which supposedly doesn't cause as much distress.

-Jonah
Portside said…
@AllergicGirl. Yes, the current top food challenges for me are FlaxSeed, Eggplant, and Chia. Next round would be coconut water.

If winter squash ends up being ok for you, you might also want to try toasting the seeds for the O-3's - Personally, I haven't had a problem with acorn or butternut squash seeds, but have rxns to pumpkin and sunflower. Go figure.
Unknown said…
Hiya AG. I've hopped over here from Twitter.
Sorry your foods are still so limited.
When I was going through all this allergy stuff
I had blood tests for anything I thought was suspect.
Turned out far less stressful for me too and unearthed more things I hadn't really suspected!!
Just a thought.
Don't try anything light heartedly. Remember it's the 2nd ingesting that will unearth the answers- once your body has decided to react or not!!

Take Care. Susannah

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