My oldest son’s food intolerance
My 8 year old son started getting eczema when he was a baby, right after he first started eating little pieces of bread. When he was 4 years old I decided to start making my mother’s yummy homemade bread for my family. My children LOVED the homemade bread, but after eating the bread for a day or so, my son started complaining of a stomachache and a headache. He also all of a sudden had a bunch of new painful patches of eczema show up at the same time. I was so confused! The only new thing he was having was the bread, and he ate store bought bread all the time! I wondered if it was gluten, but that just didn’t make sense to me. I prayed and asked God to help me figure out what was causing my son’s symptoms. I did a bunch of research that day. All of a sudden it was impressed upon me “yeast”. I decided to test and see if yeast was causing the problem. I found a recipe for yeast free flat bread and made it the next day. Less than 24 hours of eating the flat bread and no other foods with yeast in them, my son’s stomachache and headache went away! After a week of no yeast, to my surprise, his eczema that he’s dealt with since he was a baby almost completely disappeared! Another week and it was gone! I had my answer. My son has a yeast intolerance. Since then we’ve realized that he has a milder allergy to pecans and walnuts, as they make his ears and throat itch and bothers his stomach when he eats them.
My youngest son’s food allergies
When my youngest son had a couple pieces of scrambled eggs for the first time, he vomited right after. I knew immediately he probably had an issue with eggs and avoided them for a year. I was told by a doctor that trying eggs again in a year would be a good idea to see if he grows out of it. I had him try a muffin more than a year later and he vomited within minutes of eating it.
When he had cashews for the first time his lower lip tripled in size and his mouth and throat started swelling. My medical training kicked in and I immediately grabbed the kids Benadryl and gave it to him. At the emergency clinic they found him to be doing just fine all because I gave him Benadryl so fast. We had him tested for other nut allergies and had him tested for an egg allergy. Turned out he is extremely allergic to eggs, cashews, pistachios and a little allergic to hazelnuts.
Cross Reactivity
Now, here’s the part that blew my mind! My youngest son would daily say while eating that his stomach was hurting. Which was frustrating and confusing. I started using Garbanzo beans/chickpeas in my boys diets to help them get more good proteins for their metabolic disorder. After a few days of having hummus or the chickpea cookie dough as a snack, he broke out in welts and hives! I was in shock! How could he be allergic to a bean!!!! I prayed and researched. I remembered that cashews and pistachios have similar proteins, so I tried to figure out what those proteins were so I could see if garbanzo beans also had that protein. It was really hard to find, but I finally found a website that shows all the foods that share similar proteins, also called cross reactivity. Allergyresources.co.uk. Lo, and behold, garbanzo beans/chickpeas share one of the same proteins as cashews, pistachios and hazelnuts. Not to mention multiple other foods, quinoa, chia seeds, and sesame seeds. Which were the culprits of his stomach hurting when he was eating.
I was in utter disbelief, and was very disappointed and upset that the allergist and doctors didn’t give this information to children’s parents so they can better take care of their children with allergies. Now, the proteins in these foods are SIMILAR, not exact. That is why a person could be allergic to some and not to others. Why my son can have flax seeds, but not chia seeds.
Some of our favorite top 9 allergen safe snacks
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Owyn Protein shakes: My boys and I love these shakes. Not only are they allergen safe, but they are dairy free and have greens and probiotics without tasting like it has greens.
Yum Earth organic Lollipops: Yum Earth has a bunch of safe treats and snacks to choose from. Such as fruit snacks, chewy candies, sour candies, gummy bears and jelly beans.
Nut and egg free
Veggie straws: Does not say its top 9 allergen safe, but is vegan and nut free.
Natures bakery fig bars: My families favorites are the blueberry and strawberry bars. They also have gluten free options and a chocolate brownie.
Theres also a book about Allergy and cross reactivity if you’re interested in learning everything you can about cross reactivity.
God Bless you and your family on your food allergy journey!
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