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When your child is allergic to SO MUCH!!!

1K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  HaveWool~Will Felt 
#1 ·
Today I found out everything that my ds is allergic/sensitive to....

What now?

dairy (already knew this)
oranges
all forms of wheat (already knew this)
black beans
kidney beans
navy beans
pinto beans
soy beans
beef
chicken
turkey
Sesame
almond
cashews
coconut
hazelnut
peanut
walnut
maple syrup
brown sugar
Pretty much all sugar (already knew this)
cabbage
green bell peppers
zucchini
All forms of grass

I can do this, i know I can....I just don't know where to turn from here.
Already living dairy, wheat and sugar free....
Even if we went vegan....where does the protein come from?
No nuts, beans, meat, soy beans (which is all soy, right?)....

Maybe I just need to eliminiate only one of the forms of protein for now and gradually remove the others...

Oh Lord....I have a headache....

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please.......
 
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#3 ·
That list would have me crying. (((hugs))) to you.

I am thinking about what he is not allergic to--

Carrots, millet, winter squashes, brown rice, sweet potatoes, lettuce, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, brocolli, avocadoes, olives, kale, lettuce, chards, onions, garlic, quinona, sunflower seeds, spinach, green beans, oatmeal, eggs, fish, pork. If he can eat tomatoes, I'd serve tomaotes with things like spinach to maximize iron absorbtion. You could use rice pasta.

Is he allergic to fermented soy? Like miso & tempeh? Fermented soy is quite different from unfermented. Would fermented or cultured dairy also be out? Fermented products are such a different animal....
 
#4 ·
OK,
so I went back and re-read everything from this ND...

He is OK for rice, spelt, lentils, pork, flax seed, barley, avocado, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, winter and yellow squash, yam.

They retested him on the nuts (it looks llike the first time they tested it was showing allergic, but then retested) and it looks like hazelnut and sesame are the only nut/seeds he CAN NOT have.

He is not allergic or even sensitive to dairy. We just don't do dairy in our home for various reasons. Now I am beginning to rethink this. I know there are chemical free organic dairy products out there.

Eggs are OK too.

Protein and Calcium are my biggest concerns.

Thanks UUMom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#7 ·
Vegetarian protein complements (with all essential amino acids)

beans+ grains (lentils + brown rice/millet)
beans + nuts (garbanzo beans + almond butter? I know sesame is a no no for you, is he allowed almonds now?) You could make it into a dip like hummus.

Quinoa and Amaranth are naturally very high in protein so you can use those 2 grains for protein.

And he's allowed eggs which are perfect protein!

I wouldn't worry too much about calcium, it's way too publicised as THE most important mineral, and many sources I have read up on say that we get too much on average anyway compared to the other minerals like magnesium.
If you are worried, some great sources of naturally occuring calcium are fresh carrot juice (if you have a juicer, that would be great!), and you could throw some romaine lettuce in the juice, it's got calcium too.
Also swiss chard, kale, broccoli are loaded with calcium.
Is he allowed mollasses? Lots of iron/calcium/magnesium there too. I make it into a drink by mixing 1 teaspoon in a mug of hot water. It isn't too bad tasting! (Although never tried that on a child before!)

How old is ds may I ask?
 
#8 ·
I don't have much suggestion, just want you to know you're not alone. My DS has just about as big a list for allergies. I'm especially worried about peanuts since it can be deadly. We managed OK. He's very healthy, smart and above average in height and weight. You can broaden your mind and consider all different foods from all over the world, there's got to be more stuff he's not allergic to than the ones he is allergic to. I switched from a mostly rice, veggies, fish and soy products diet to a mainly bread, meat and veggies diet for my family. It might not be the healthiest or trendy diet but works for our family. I had to learn from the beginning because I didn't grow up eating those and had no clue about even the simplest thing like how to mash potatoes.
Now I'm quite good at baking and simple Western dinners, still can't make fancy stuff.

Most likely he'll outgrow a lot of those allergies in a couple years and you can eat those again then.
 
#9 ·
WOW, that's quite a list. You don't have to worry about completing proteins at every meal any more. Research has shown that a variety of foods eaten over the course of a few days will form complete proteins on their own. So if you give him garbonzo beans for lunch and a peice of spelt bread at dinner or breakfast the next day, he will be getting complete proteins.

I wanted to offer a spread that I discovered for ds. He's alergic to dairy and wheat. We eat a very limited amount of meat (the family 2-3 times and myself maybe once a week as I prefer a vegetarian diet).

1 can garbonzo beans
a good tbsp or 2 of almond butter
1/4 c apple cider
1 tsp cinnamon

I think that's it. Process in a food processor until nice and smooth. I use a little less apple cider because I want it nice and thick. I use it as a sandwhich spread on some spelt bread for ds. He loves it. It's kind of a kid version of hummus.
 
#10 ·
with nut allergies and bean allergies, you want to be EXTREMELY careful if you try any other nuts or beans/legumes (most nut allergic people will avoid all nuts, not just the ones they test positive for since there is a chance of cross reaction/cross contamination and the fact that nut allergies have a high incidence of being life threatening).

Since he is positive to 6 different legumes and 4 nuts, Id be hesitant to try any others....you might be better off avoiding entirely. Does he eat green beans or peas? If he eats those then at least he is getting some kind of legumes (and maybe if those are ok you'd feel more comfortable in trying some others like garbanzo etc)

I totally missed that you said you could have eggs! Thats a lucky one to be able to have. It looks like he can have most fruits, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes,avocado, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice (they make rice bread, rice pasta etc), oats etc.....you'd be surprised how creative you can become with your cooking!
 
#11 ·
If he can have eggs, dairy, pork, and some nuts/seeds that's all the protein he needs, along with other whole grains. Vegetarians eat that without the pork and they do fine. There are many sources for organic dairy out there and if I were you, I would definitely give it to him even if the rest of the family remains dairy-free.

I was a child with multiple allergies, including eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, nuts and some legumes, and we ate very little meat - lots of veggies, whole grains, and whatever forms of legumes I could have (lentils, some other beans, sesame seeds, and for some reason I could have almonds although I'm allergic to all other nuts.)

Barley is a wonderful substitute for wheat, especially for baked goods.
 
#12 ·
Barley has a LOT of gluten in it.

So if he is sensitive to wheat, I would think barley would be out too.

I wish this would be moved to the allergies forum. Missy could help you there.

I would NOT stop with the meat. I think now more than ever, you are going to need good sources for fat and protein, meat offers so much in that category.
 
#15 ·
Ds is 6 years old.
Today he started on the allergy supplement from our ND. She says it is the alternative to the Rx medications out there, like Zertec (sp?)
Hoping that will work for his horrible seasonal allergies.

Ds is a really great sport about all this. Today we went grocery shopping and he helped me so much.

He would pick up an item and ask, "Mama, does this have wheat?"
Poor kid!
For dinner we had a great pot of lentils that I cooked up with chili's, onions, cumin, red pepper, a bit of fresh salsa....cooked those until tender. Bought some fresh wheat-free tortilla's...spinach salad...
It was a great dinner. And all my kids ate it just fine. I think it was my dh that had an issue more...(he'll get over it.)

If this can be moved to allergies, that would be great....I will keep my eyes open about it.

Thanks for all the help and support....I did order a book online today about raising vegan kids ....hoping this will help too!!!!

 
#16 ·
That's a huge list to be faced with so suddenly. I stumbled onto this thread purely by accident and I do think it will probably end up moved to the allergy forum, but since I saw my name I figured I'd offer what I can.

The most challenging thing I see is really helping your son deal with an abrupt change. My ds2 is only 35 months; he's never eaten any other way and he can't miss what he's never had. Plus, the few times he's been accidently directly exposed to an allergen, he's gotten so sick that he really is not even curious about other foods right now.

I agree with the pps who said to concentrate on what you can have. It changes your whole perspective and makes it seem much more manageable. For my son, we've identified a few foods we know are safe and he sticks to that very limited diet. Since he's still nursing, we can trial foods first via breastmilk, so my diet is slightly more varied than his (I get more seasoning
).

I also agree that, if he is allergic to that many legumes, it is better to avoid them all. Same with nuts. It just isn't worth the risk. Not only are the proteins very similar, but there is a huge chance of cross-contamination.

Spelt is an ancient form of wheat and should be avoided by anyone who is allergic to wheat. Barley, like someone said, is very close to wheat and most people with a wheat allergy need to avoid it, also.

We can't do quinoa, but it is the only grain that is a complete protein. Hopefully, your son would eat it.

We do a lot of bison here, but I would bet the proteins would be too similar to beef. Eggs, of course, are a great source of protein and, if you can get hold of raw dairy, it might be worth the effort.

There are some great rice pastas out there and you've got tomatoes--cool!! We've learned to make a pretty decent sauce from red peppers, but it's not quite the same.

I've also found that it helps to just group ds2's related allergies together instead of listing them all--it seems less overwhelming. His allergies are: dairy, soy, egg, corn, peanut, treenut, wheat, bananas and avocados and latex, mustard, sesame, coconut, barley, buckwheat, quinoa, most fruit and veggies, etc...etc...

And the etc...etc...encompasses the little pesky things like cilantro and cinnamon and capers; wheat includes all grains with gluten; most fruit and veggies means that his only safe fruit is blueberries and his only veggies are carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans. But, if I listed every single grain and every single veggie and every single fruit, I'd just give up. I'd sit in the middle of the floor and cry. Squashing it down a little makes it easier to face.

I'll post again if I think of more...hang it there!!

Missy
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Barley has a LOT of gluten in it.

So if he is sensitive to wheat, I would think barley would be out too.
My ds has an allergy to wheat. He gets terrible tummy aches and diahrea. That's the only grain he reacts to. He handles spelt and barley very well. My theory is that wheat has been altered so much and is really hard for a lot of people to digest. Spelt is an anchient form of wheat. It may not be the gluten in wheat, but something else that he's reacting to. Barley isn't that high in gluten, compared to wheat and spelt. If you make bread with Barley flour you can't use more than 1/4 of your flour as Barley flour.

I don't get it either, but if ds even gets a small peice of wheat cereal we're in for an ordeal.
 
#19 ·
Just read in Dr David Williams newsletter (Alternatives) that Glycine which is an amino acid improves or elimantes a number of health problems one of which is food allergies. Actually food allergies are a sign of being deficient in glycine.

The best from of glycine is in gelatin. Making ones own broth is the best way to get the gelatin.
 
#20 ·
Ok few points,

I would STRONGLY advise you against veganism with such a restricted diet. I would not throw out the few animal proteins that are NOT on your dont have list when they can be beneficial.

I dont like juicers because they are not whole foods....but that is me. Juiced fruits and carrots are WAYYY to high in sugars for us. They just seem to concentrate the sugars and leave out so many of hte good things (like fiber). Juice is a real treat here. We use it to make homemade jello.

Missy, gluten is in ALL grains. You just want to stay away from ones with gliadin. sorry to be a stickler but glutenous rice is such a treat, would not want to mislead anyone from thier sticky rice. Darn peptide chains can be so confusing....
 
#21 ·
Chanley,
Thanks for the feedback. I agree with the fact the veganism would make it really hard for ds....and the rest of us too....
He loves pork, eggs, etc....
This transition isn't all the hard for him...we actually eat very whole food already.

In regards to the juice issue....my kids rarely get to have juice. If they get any kind of juice (with fruit) it usually is spinach/strawberry juice that I have made for them fresh.

I also agree with the fact that we miss out on so much fiber with juicing...

Mainly we juice veggies, wheatgrass, parsley.

Tonight we had grilled tiger prawns, steamed broccoli, carrots and mushrooms with brown rice.
Everyone seems to be liking it....Like I said, this isn't out of the norm for us.

Confession? I haven't bought jello is like 20 years. :LOL I am sure that topic of gelatin isn't related to "jello"....
When you, Chanley, talked about homemade jello, are you using plain gelatin like "Knox" and then adding your own juice to it?

 
#22 ·
Chanley--

If gluten is in all grains, I'm very confused because of the number of "gluten-free" breads on the market. Quinoa, corn, millet, arrowroot, and sorghum are considered gluten-free grains because they do not contain both gliadin and glutenin. Gliadin and glutenin are both components of gluten, but, as I understand it, if gliadin is not present, it's no longer gluten. If gliadin alone is present, while it still isn't pure gluten, it's just as dangerous.

I'm not a scientist, though, or a nutritionist and all my research has been done just in the last few years to keep my son safe, so I might have misinterpreted some of the studies and other materials I've read.

Missy
 
#23 ·
I will have to dig around but my understanding that it is NOT gluten per se but a certain TYPE of gluten we have to be careful with because of the peptide sequences. Barley wheat oats etc...have a peptide sequence w/i the gliadin which we react to.

I am sure you have seen glutenous rice. GLuten exists in all grains but the gluten we have to be careful with is the ones in barley wheat blah blah blah.

I will dig aroudn for someone else who can illuminate this for you.
 
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