Low Salicylate Diet

[Jaimee]

Multiple mamas have suggested that the lack of pattern associated with my dd's eczema could be caused by a salicylate allergy. Like everything else that has to do with multiple eliminations I was in denial for a while that this was something I should look into. But also like all eliminations, I am finally coming around to accepting that I will need to try something else. :

Can someone send me a link to a list of high salicylate foods, the Feingold diet, and/or the Failsafe diet? I'd first like to look through my food diary and see if flares are linked with combos of high salicylate foods. Which brings me to my next question, how long does it take to eliminate a build up of salicylates in your body? And if my dd is ebf, do I need to double that time to see results in her?

Thanks in advance!! And thanks to the mamas that have suggested this allergy to me!

[JaneS]

For elimination and dealing with the salicylates, see the discussion on salicylates and phenols at www.enzymestuff.com. I believe there is also a list of foods as well.

Also I'm seeing in several places that intestinal flora is responsible for dealing with this chemicals in the body. So intensive probiotics make also make a difference (as they have been shown in studies to do so with eczema as well). Your DD is still very young, she needs bifidobacterium to aid achievement of oral tolerance.

However, based on our experience I would say it's multiple allergens, you really need to cut out foods for a month or more to see a difference. And other foods besides the top 8 (such as corn and sesame) can also be suspect. What is she eating? or is it just you?

What about doing digestive enzymes and betaine HCl supplements for yourself to help prevent the unbroken down proteins from going into your milk?

[Jaimee]

Thanks JaneS. I found this site off of the enzyme site you posted, it has a well organized list of foods in negligible, low, moderate, high, and very high categories: http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/...ates_list.html

This site has foods with their actual contents:
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/Food/Salicylate.html

[caedmyn]

Failsafe diet:
www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
www.plantpoisonsandrottenstuff.com

When we started the Failsafe diet, I saw improvement in my DD's eczema within about a week. It flared up badly about 2 weeks into the diet, which apparently is pretty common for whatever reason. Her skin was almost clear 4 weeks into the diet.

You may not see a pattern from your food diary, as too many lower or moderate salicylate foods can cause symptoms, not just the high salicylate foods. It could also be a combination of things. I suspected my DD had problems with salicylates because her cheeks would get really red after she ate moderate to high salicylate veggies. It wasn't until we actually did the Failsafe elimination diet that I realized that she had problems with amines as well (another naturally occurring food chemical). I think her body eczema was actually caused by amines, and the facial flushing (I thought it was eczema at the time, but now I think it was just constant flushing/redness) was caused by salicylates.

They say that salicylates take a few days to build up enough to show symptoms and then the symptoms slowly subside over a few more days, but I haven't found that to be the case for us. Symptoms will show up the next day and clear up the day after. It took longer for the initial clearing, though.

The best answer I've found for the cause of food chemical intolerances is problems with two of the body's detoxification pathways, sulfation and methylation. There are some supplements that may help with this...I'm currently experimenting to see if I can fix DD's food chemical sensitivities, or at least increase her tolerance to food chemicals. Lots of good quality probiotics didn't do anything for DD's food chemical intolerances, but they couldn't hurt in any case.

[momandteacher]

i second failsafe. lots of ppl have success on feingold but i have read that that is prob because they are elim enough of the chemicals to see a real dif. but it is best to elim all types of chemicals first and then challenge each one individually to learn which lo may be sensitive to.

i have read up lots on the metabolic pathways that cause chem sensitivities and it seems to come down to sulfation. either not enough sulfur or an inability to convert sulfur to the needed sulfate form. when sulfate isnt avail to break down the offending chemicals then they build up to toxic levels in the body. it takes varying amounts of time to leave the system...depending on how overloaded the body is and for how long etc. and also how strict u are about elim. we had to go right down to just peeled pears and gd apples for fruits to see a dif. initially i saw a dif in DD pretty quick (behaviour wise) but it took longer for the flushing and eczema to totally go away. it was less everyday tho until about 3 or 4 weeks when it was totally gone.

good luck and keep us posted on how it is going. here is a link to a comprehensive site for autism which talks lots about food chemical sensitivity. it has some links to scientific discussions about the pathways involved and such if youre science-minded.

http://www.danasview.net/phenol.htm

[Punchy Kaby]

Failsafe is a good way to go, but I suggest if you dont see big improvements with a month, don't stay on it. I did Failsafe for 6 months, we had improvements over SCD but it turned out that oxalates were the big problem for us. I found out through using a ll of the high oxalate not gluten grains that are on the Failsafe diet that reeked havoc on my system and my son's system.

Momandteacher is right on with the methylation pathway often being hindered. While we were on Failsafe (and not taking any supplements for 6 months) our methylation pathways got further thrown off/shut down/clogged up. At that point I could barely tolerate using 2 T of epsom salts because it was detoxing me too much.

So my advice:keep a food diary. Try low salicylates but if after a month or so you don't see big enough improvements move on. Your food diary will continue to give you clues. You may want to try rotating foods so you can see the affects more clearly.

I am happy to report that after I figured out our problem was oxalates we got better and are clearly on the path to healing. Good luck and know that you are doing a great thing for your child!

[Jaimee]

How many of you have done Failsafe or Feingold while bfing? Specifically ebfing?

Also, did you go "all the way" by eliminating odors around the house (in cleaners, shampoos, plants, etc.) and using a non-peppermint toothpaste? Is all this necessary to determine the allergy itself or should it be obvious with just lowering the salicylate content of our food?

And did you follow a specifically outlined diet or did you simply cut out moderate-very high content foods?

By looking through the lists I have concluded that the following foods are safe on a low salicylate diet (please correct me if I'm wrong):

Peeled pears, bananas, papaya, golden delicious apples
Celery, white peeled potatoes, iceberg lettuce, peas, chayote, leek, green beans, brussel sprouts, green onions
Most grains
Most cheeses, milk, egg, yogurt (whole...what does that mean?)
Most beans, tofu, cashews
Most oils (but not olive)
Sea salt, parsley, garlic
Maple syrup, cocoa, white sugar, malt vinegar, caramel, soy sauce, pure vanilla, chamomile tea

Thanks for your help!!

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by Jaimee

How many of you have done Failsafe or Feingold while bfing? Specifically ebfing?

Also, did you go "all the way" by eliminating odors around the house (in cleaners, shampoos, plants, etc.) and using a non-peppermint toothpaste? Is all this necessary to determine the allergy itself or should it be obvious with just lowering the salicylate content of our food?

And did you follow a specifically outlined diet or did you simply cut out moderate-very high content foods?

By looking through the lists I have concluded that the following foods are safe on a low salicylate diet (please correct me if I'm wrong):

Peeled pears, bananas, papaya, golden delicious apples
Celery, white peeled potatoes, iceberg lettuce, peas, chayote, leek, green beans, brussel sprouts, green onions
Most grains
Most cheeses, milk, egg, yogurt (whole...what does that mean?)
Most beans, tofu, cashews
Most oils (but not olive)
Sea salt, parsley, garlic
Maple syrup, cocoa, white sugar, malt vinegar, caramel, soy sauce, pure vanilla, chamomile tea

Thanks for your help!!

I was (and am) BF'ing although not EBF. Actually Failsafe was quite a bit easier than some of the other diets I've done for DD. I did eliminate cleaners, etc. I used baking soda for toothpaste and deoderant, and baking soda and vinegar for cleaners. It's not just peppermint toothpastes, any flavored toothpaste is out for the elimination diet. The dish detergent I use didn't have much of an odor so I didn't worry about that, and neither did the clothes detergent. I don't use fabric softener but they make unscented fabric softener if you want that. You also need to be careful about what you use for lotion, hair care products, soap, body wash, cosmetics, moisturizers--most of them contain salicylates.

You may be able to get away with just lowering the salicylate content of your diet/life, but if your DD is very sensitive, or if she reacts to things other than salicylates, you may not see much (or any) difference by just doing that. IMO it's better to do the entire Failsafe elimination diet, including eliminating amines. It would be harder at first, but you'll know within a few weeks whether your DD has problems with any food chemicals, whereas if you only do salicylates, it may be that she also has problems with glutamates or amines...or she may only have problems with these and not salicylates at all.

If you're just doing the salicylate portion of the elimination diet, papayas and golden delicious apples aren't allowed (they're low, but still too high until you figure out whether she's very sensitive or not). The apples would have to be peeled, too, if you used them. Only plain yogurt is allowed, and you'd have to make sure cheese doesn't have any flavorings or colorings added. There's a limit of 11 cashews per day initially...they must have some salicylates in them so you can't have too many. Most oils are NOT low in salicylates. The only ones allowed initially are non-expelled or non-cold-pressed canola, sunflower, safflower, and soy oils, butter or ghee, and rice bran oil. Chamomile tea isn't allowed, either, and you're only supposed to use a couple of DROPS a day of vanilla...why they bother allowing that one at all I don't know.

Feel free to PM me if you want help with all of this once you get started.