SOY, WHEAT, CORN ALLERGY - WHAT TO EAT!)

[Tammy Price]

It Is My Understanding That An IgE Testing Is Not Super Accurate As Far As Looking For Food Allergies. 

The Gut Reaction Is More Of An IgA/ IgM Reaction.  The Best Way To Check Is Elimination.

I Have Had Undiagnosed Celiac Disease For The Majority Of My Life Which Lead To Chemical Sensitivities And Multiple Allergies/Intolerances  To Additional Foods. 

Known Triggers/ Allergies And Intolerances/ Sensitivities For Me Are Gluten/ Grains/ Corn/ Soy/ Additives/ Preservatives/ Latex Fruit Syndrome/ Spinach  & Quinoa..  And A List Of Other Randomness.   



It Took A Lot Of Food Journaling, Eliminations. Rotations And Adding.. Subtracting..Trial And Error .. Etc..  It IS A Process. 

I Cook Everything From Scratch.  I Try New Things All The Time.  I Use Most All Coconut Products. 

[Ra3chel]

The gold standard is reaction history, but IgE is the closest medical test. In general, allergy testing has FAR higher rates of false positives than negatives, SPT even more than IgE blood tests--I don't have the stats on hand, but I'm sure someone here does--and non-IgE blood tests aren't reliable as allergy tests, period.

If you think you have allergies, please see a board-certified allergist--and if someone suggests panel testing without measures like food diaries and elimination diets, it's probably time to find a new doctor.

[Donna Woods]

Hi,

I have just found out that I am allergic to soy and corn. Could you please help me in finding the foods without these ingredients. It's so hard because they are in a lot of foods.

Look forward to hearing from you

Donna

[rebekahc]

Hi Donna, I'm sorry to hear you're having reactions to soy and corn.  Honestly, there is really no way to avoid both those ingredients and eat anything that comes in a package - especially corn since it does not have to be listed on the ingredient label.  Your best bet is to make everything from scratch and from whole ingredients.  Everything should be as minimally processed as possible.  Even regular table salt has corn in it.

How were you diagnosed with your soy and corn allergies?  Was it based on testing alone or also reaction history?  If it was based just on testing, that's good news because there are many false positives.  I'm really hoping you don't need to avoid both corn and soy because it is so very difficult to do so.  Thankfully, when my DS was little and was reacting to both those I didn't have to work outside the home - keeping him fed safely was practically a full time job.

[RudderBird]

Hello! I have multiple food allergies, one of which is wheat. I am also a vegetarian. The bulk of my diet is fruit and vegetables because they are safe. I make a LOT of soups from scratch. Most of the soups I make are actually vegan. I also use rice noodles that you can find in the Asian section of the supermarket. And I eat quite a bit of nuts and nut butters for protein. I have found that Pinterest is a God-send when you are trying to cook with food allergies. Great source to look for recipes.

[lakeswimr]

How did this thread get so many people posting who were new and apparently diagnosed as allergic based on test results and who didn't reply once we told them that testing can't diagnose a food allergy?  I don't get it. 

RudderBird,

Welcome.  I recommend you make a new thread if you haven't already so that you get more replies.  You might try the main forum.  Best wishes. 

[twinturbo]

wrong thread

k, no it disappeared. weird.

[bethan]

I have recently been tested for food allergies because eating most anything was making me sick.  I had a naturopath do muscle testing, the first time I've gotten good information.  So many foods showed up that I have totally changed my diet and it is working.  I can not have wheat, corn, dairy, soy, sugar, nightshades, many fruits, esp. tropical, white potatoes/rice, eggs, legumes, nuts, mushrooms, yeast products, including Udi bread. Has been hard to wean off of breads and sugar but I was tired of being sick.

Have found a great plain coconut yogurt called SO delicious for snacking, have a protein shake with unsweetened aloe vera juice for breakfast.  My diet is mostly grass fed beef, hormone free chicken, turkey, fish, brown rice products and all vegetables.  Take several supplements, vitamins and have cleaned out my digestive system with coffee colonics (at clinic) and enemas (at home) I use stevia for sweetener.

My daughter has some of the same allergies, my son less, mostly wheat and nightshades for him.  Is a genetic component.  Eating foods causing allergic reactions for me created weight gain, inflammation, extreme fatigue and cramping/bloating in the gut.

Now I am working on getting the candida out of my body.  It has been a journey and took me almost my entire adult life to solve the mystery of my horrible, painful reactions to food.  I am in my 60's, too long to not know about food allergies and how to get my life back.  Many doctors seen for this problem and none of them correctly diagnosed the problem.  Was very maddening.  Alternative health clinic has saved my life.  Highly recommend that avenue for all who suffer with food.

[CMdeux]

naturopath do muscle testing

Well, firstly-- naturopaths are not equipped in any way, shape, or form to diagnose or treat IgE-mediated, true food allergy.

They also have a rather sketchy relationship more generally with food intolerance diagnosis/treatment.  http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/igg-food-intolerance-tests-what-does-the-science-say/

Interestingly, most practitioners who diagnose such allergies also recommend supplements that they can provide to patients. 

Diagnostic tests can be as pseudoscientific as treatments. To evaluate, we ask the following:

    Analytic validity: How reliable is the testing? This includes within-laboratory and between-laboratory precision.
    Clinical validity: How consistently and accurately does the test detect an objectively-measured clinical status? The test should be both sensitive (few  false negatives) and specific (few false positives). Patients in the same circumstances should consistently have the same test results.
    Clinical utility: What is the natural history of the disorder? Will the use of the test make any difference in the outcome? Interventions taken should be evaluated and compared against no testing.
    Ethical, legal, or social implications : What are the potential patient consequences of the use of the test, and its results? What if the results are erroneous?

It all boils down to a single question that must be satisfactorily answered before we proceed with testing: How has this test been validated?

I don't mean to be harsh toward those who have found that they feel better after following the advice of a holistic or alternative practitioner, by any means.  But whatever the issue, it's probably NOT a food allergy in the technical sense, and calling it so diminishes the seriousness of the term in public perception due to misuse/overuse of the medical terminology.

Food allergies are reaction to food proteins. They may be categorized as immunoglobulin E (IgE)–mediated (immediate) reactions, non–IgE-mediated (delayed) hypersensitivity reactions, and mixed reactions. IgE-mediated reactions are the ones we worry about when we hear about a "food allergy": flushing, itchy skin, wheezing, vomiting, throat swelling, and even anaphylaxis. These reactions can occur immediately following exposure, and are the consequence of the interaction of allergens with IgE located on mast cells. The interaction causes the release of inflammatory chemicals like histamine and leucotriene, triggering the the allergic response which is typically skin related (itchiness, swelling and rash)  but may be anaphylactic as well.

Not all reactions follow this cascade. Non-IgE-mediated allergic reactions can cause localized (e.g., contact dermatitis) or generalized reactions, which are usually gastrointestinal or dermatological in nature. Celiac disease is a non-IgE related allergic reaction. Finally, some allergic disorders are both IgE and non-IgE mediated, such as atopic dermatitis (eczema).

Beyond the IgE mediated reactions, there are a number of possible reactions to food, which may be termed "food intolerances". Not immune-system based, they're more common than allergies. They include conditions like lactose intolerance, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), enzyme deficiencies, metabolic conditions, infections and other processes. It's a catch-all term by definition.

Finally, know this:

And from the the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) Practice Paper, Current approach to the diagnosis and management of adverse reactions to foods:

    Some tests are considered unproven in regard to the diagnosis of specific food allergies. Those for which there is no evidence of validity include provocation-neutralization, cytotoxic tests, muscle response testing (applied kinesiology), electrodermal testing, the "reaginic" pulse test, and chemical analysis of body tissues. Measurement of specific IgG antibodies to foods is also unproven as a diagnostic tool.

[CMdeux]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesFood/story?id=4520699

Question: I was diagnosed with food allergy by a naturopath/homeopath. Should I see an allergist before I start avoiding foods?

Answer: So there's really two answers to that question. It gets back to an earlier question we reviewed it which is, "How do you accurately diagnose food allergy?" And at this time the only meaningful modalities for diagnosing food allergy are the skin test or the IgE RAST test.

Other methods that may be used by naturopaths or homeopaths have not been validated.

[Chana]

For those who can't consume wheat,soy
Or corn : you can eat quinoa ,buckwheat (does not have wheat ) amaranth,
Millet . In the Internet there are tones of recipes that can help with the transition.

[heidi]

 :dunce on the food allergy deal, I was diagnosed with corn, wheat ,soy,strawberries, and sesame was high on the list also...blood test allergies. Can somebody out there provide a list  or some tips on what you CAN eat. Its very frustrating, looking at allll of these label out there the ~)y all have one or the other...is a paleo diet the way to go ..? Any advice would be appreciated

[YouKnowWho]

Heidi - were you diagnosed only by blood and not by reactions?  Blood tests sans reactions are notoriously unreliable.  If you are reacting and cannot pinpoint your reactions, you may need to start an elimination diet with the help of your allergist.  Preferably a board certified allergist who specializes in foods, not an enviromental allergist who dabbles in foods.

There is no one set diet that will help over another.  Sesame, corn and strawberries are not required to be labeled within products.  Corn can be found in meats (solution used to preserve them and it doesn't have to be listed). 

[ashley]

I need help my daughter broke out real back over 2 yrs ago and we finally got allergy testing done well that test came back she was allergic to a lot of trees weeds etc. this past week she starting flareing up out of nowhere so I took her back to the dr. today and they did a food allergy test on her and comes back she needs to be on a glutin free diet also shows that she is allergic to soy, wheat all nuts, barley, core, potato, rye, chicken, turkey, all basically all the fish. what could anyone recommend me to feed her? I have been going through my cabnets and everthing I have has soy, corn syrup, or wheat in them. im so lost what to do now

[rebekahc]

Hi Ashley and welcome!

What kind of doctor did you take your daughter to?  You need to see a good, board certified allergist who is very familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of food allergies.  Allergy testing is not accurate, so you'll need a good doc to help you figure out what (if any) foods your child is really allergic to.

I'd suggest reading the posts in this thread by our active members - those with 1000s of posts - because they contain good information.  I'd also suggest you check out this Other foods/MFA/EE section of the board for posts about multiple food allergies (MFA) and corn.  Soy and wheat also have their own sections. 

Like I said earlier in this thread, you will not find a packaged food that is free from corn, soy and wheat - it's just about impossible.  If she's really allergic to all three, you'll probably need to feed her whole, minimally processed foods like fresh produce, rice, fresh meat, etc. - basically anything that just has one ingredient. Beware, most seasonings will have corn in them, even table salt.  Here's a link that might help you avoid corn ingredients http://go.livecornfree.com/list

Right now, pollen is really bad in many areas of the U.S., so it could be that your daughter is simply having reactions to that or it's making her system hyper aware so she reacts to things she would normally tolerate.  Do you have her on a daily non-drowsy antihistamine?