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Salicylates Sensitivity


Rachel--24

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Rachel--24 Collaborator

Since going gluten-free I still react to all sorts of different foods and perfumes. I could never figure anything out. Most of my symptoms went away after going gluten-free but I still have some facial swelling and burning sensations on my face, eyes and mouth. Also still have some muscle and joint pains. I came across Salicylate sensitivity and it just so happens that all the foods very high in salicylates are also the ones I have noticeable problems with. Others that are high or moderately high in salicylates I dont noticebly react to but have constant chronic symptoms when eating alot of these foods. Salicylates are also in perfumes and other chemicals that I react to.

Starting today I'm eliminating all foods and supplements high in salicylatyes and I'll see what happens over the next 2 weeks.

Does anyone else have this sensitivity?

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traveljunkie Rookie

Hi Rachel,

I'm very sensitive to food additives and colorants. I'll have to look into that as well. Keep us posted on your "trial." I notice a lot more sensitivities since going gluten-free and it sounds like it's a pretty common thing. Sometimes I think my body is reacting to the "junk" that is put in some food, and is super sensitive, since I've been eating so healthy.

Charlene

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tarnalberry Community Regular

one of the options for treating fibro, as I understand it, is eliminating salicylates. haven't tried it myself, but I've heard some people have success with it.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator
one of the options for treating fibro, as I understand it, is eliminating salicylates. haven't tried it myself, but I've heard some people have success with it.

I read about that also. I dont have fibro but I was reading how after eliminating gluten and dairy...if symptoms persist a low saclicylate diet might be helpful. After looking over the lists it seems like the diet is even harder than gluten-free. <_<

One interesting thing that I read stated that some people who are gluten-free/cf only get completely better after eliminating salicylates *but* it turns out that some of these people arent actually gluten or casein intolerant. They were reacting to the chemicals in gluten and casein containing foods and not the foods themselves. If I do turn out to be salicylate sensitive I'm going to have to figure out if I'm truelly gluten intolerant or not. Having to be on both diets would be extremely difficult. This would also explain why I still react to processed gluten-free foods.

If the diet works and relieves symptoms completely (I've never been symptom free in 3 years) I'll try adding a new food in once a week. After awhile I guess I could test out gluten in a pure form w/out chemicals or additives. I think that would be a scary test for me to try though...anyways thats not in the near future but for now I have new hope with this diet. :)

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Jnkmnky Collaborator

There's a poster here who know all about it.... I can't remember her name. She has a child with this problem. She'd be a great resource for you. Sorry I can't remember who it is!!! :rolleyes:

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StrongerToday Enthusiast

Rachel - what kind of foods do you find salicylatyes in? I'm not familiar with that term. Thanks.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel - what kind of foods do you find salicylatyes in? I'm not familiar with that term. Thanks.

Salicylates are in fruits, vegetables, food additives, artificial colors, preservatives, cocoa, nuts, perfumes, cosmetics, etc..

Its alot to learn (like going gluten-free)...some fruits and veggies are low in salicylates and others are very high. I seem to react to everything that is very high in salicylates. Grapes, wine, dried fruits, beer, all chewing gum, almonds, peanuts, and tomatos are examples of foods very high in salicylates.

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jerseyangel Proficient

Rachel--Oh my gosh--I've never even heard of salicylates but most of the foods you mentioned affect me in one way or another. I also have frequent burning feelings in my face, mouth and feet. I will Google it, but is there any book or other info. that you could suggest? I'm very sensitive to perfumes also--to the point that some will make me feel faint or give me that gagging feeling in my throat.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator

I dont know of any books but I do have some links.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I just learned of this Tuesday night so today's only my second day on the diet. I dont expect to know if its working for at least 2 weeks. I ate tons of the wrong foods all this time. :o

There's a poster here who know all about it.... I can't remember her name. She has a child with this problem. She'd be a great resource for you. Sorry I can't remember who it is!!! :rolleyes:

JnkMnky,

Is it gf4life that you're thinking of?

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Jnkmnky Collaborator
I dont know of any books but I do have some links.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I just learned of this Tuesday night so today's only my second day on the diet. I dont expect to know if its working for at least 2 weeks. I ate tons of the wrong foods all this time. :o

JnkMnky,

Is it gf4life that you're thinking of?

I'm not sure. Sorry. My brain is over-loaded with Christmas preparation for three kids and all the other stuff that goes along with it! :wacko:

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jerseyangel Proficient

Rachel--Thanks for posting all of the links--this is interesting. Hope the diet helps you find some answers. Have a Merry Christmas :)

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bluelotus Contributor

Rachel, I hope this work for you. I know you haven't been feeling well in a while. Thanks for all the info on salicylates - I could not recall ever hearing that term or hearing of the diet. Good luck to you!

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christine 25 Newbie

Rachel,

but how are you supposed to brush your teeth? Cant use mouth wash either?

How are you suppose to have good oral hygene?

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Rusla Enthusiast

I have been allergic to coloringsm, additives and perfumes for years. Which also attributes to many of my food allergies. I have not ate red meat in years mainly I don't like it but I was allergic to the color additive and the hormones in them.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel,

but how are you supposed to brush your teeth? Cant use mouth wash either?

How are you suppose to have good oral hygene?

I've been using Tom's of Maine the last couple years because I noticed burning around my mouth with the other brands...also I stopped using mouthwash a long time ago for the same reason. Now that I've found out about salicylates I'm using baking powder for now. I've known people to use baking powder instead of toothpaste for whatever reason. If it turns out I have this problem I've found a couple websites that sell or have lists of products that are salicylate-free. Expensive of course...I think the toothpaste was close to $10. Oh well I'm pretty much used to having to pay extra for everything these days....I supposse a few extra bucks for toothpaste wont kill me. ;)

I have been allergic to coloringsm, additives and perfumes for years. Which also attributes to many of my food allergies. I have not ate red meat in years mainly I don't like it but I was allergic to the color additive and the hormones in them.

I only eat organic meats and I get very bad reactions to salmon due to the added color. Now I stick to only wild fish...nothing farmed and no added color.

I wonder how all this came about...I used to eat anything and everything. How does that just change overnight? :unsure:

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Ursa Major Collaborator

This is very interesting. When five years ago I was researching cures and causes of fibromyalgia, I came across a book called 'What your doctor may NOT tell you about fibromyalgia', by R. Paul St. Amand, MD, and Claudia Craig Marek, RN.

Now he claims that ALL people with fibromyalgia can be cured with a natural medicine called guaifenesin. And for that to actually work, you have to avoid ALL salicylates. I tried it for about a year, avoiding all salicylates, as well as everything he said causes hypoglycemia. I felt somewhat better, as the diet cuts out almost all bread, and I also lost some weight. But I never got significantly better, and eventually gave up on it.

I read about a study, where a group of people tried the guaifenesin for a year, also following the no-salicylates diet. None of them got a lot better, so it was declared another quack cure. They didn't follow all the other diet restrictions in the book, if they had other symptoms, so celiacs weren't covered.

This is what I think: The people that got better according to the book (including the good doctor himself) likely were intolerant to the salicylates (or other things he covered), and got better because of avoiding them, not because of taking the guaifenesin.

Also, he said that the people with bowel problems were supposed to avoid a lot more foods, and the ones with ....................you get the picture. Eventually everybody with celiac disease, salicylate intolerance, hypoglycemia and a host of other problems were mostly covered, and felt better. Not due to the guaifenesin, but due to their severely restricted diets.

Now this book, which isn't very expensive, has some very good advice (if you ignore the guaifenesin nonsense). And it has a list of the 1000 (yes, one thousand) most common salicylates to avoid.

They do include a lot of the things I am intolerant to. But if you look at 1000 things, you ought to find your most common intolerances, I think. On the other hand, it also includes a lot of things I don't believe I've ever reacted to (I may be wrong, though).

But my pain never got any better until I eliminated gluten. I hope I am not intolerant to salicylates as well. But I know I can't tolerate gluten at all, I react severely to it.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator

Ursula,

I came accross that info about fibro and guaifenesin while researching salicylates. Sounds a little like quackery to me too. I dont have fibro. but seem to just be intolerant of both salicylates and amines. I printed that list of 1000 ingredients to avoid. I found it really hard to find cosmetics free of salicylates...especially lipstick. I spent a good hour looking over ingredients in the drugstore the other day. I finally found suitable replacements for everything I use. What a a pain though.

Its been about a week since I got serious about this diet and I've noticed alot of improvement which leads me to believe I'm on the right track with this. In the beginning of my illness 3 years ago I had to stop using alot of my everyday skin and cosmetic products because they were burning my skin and causing skin irritations. My lips, tongue, mouth and throat would also burn at times. I was dx'd with rosacea but clearly never had it. It seems obvious to me now that salicylates and amines were playing a BIG part in my health problems. People with these intolerances also have to avoid colorings, preservatives, additives, bonzoates, etc. I did recognize problems with dyes, aspartame, and some other things but I didn't get the full picture until now.

I have never been able to successfully do any type of food challenge because my symptoms have been chronic. I'm hoping in the next few weeks to eliminate symptoms and start doing challenges.

I was having at least one "episode" a week since going gluten-free. I was too careful to have had that many accidental glutenings and everything I eat cant possibly be cross-contaminated. Sooo...since all gluten containing foods in my pre-gluten-free diet also contain either salicylates, amines, dyes, additives...etc....the BIG question is am I gluten intolerant or not?? I plan on staying off gluten regardless because I cant really go back to my old diet anyways due to all the other ingredients in gluten foods. However it would make a difference as to whether I need to continue being fanatical about contamination and crumbs. Also eating pure oats would be an option for me.

I actually have experimented twice in the past week with eating oats (the ones that are supossed to be free of c.c.) I have experienced no noticeable reactions and in fact I've improved greatly. Most of my symptoms pre-gluten-free can also be caused by a salicylate intolerance. The only way to know for sure would be to do a gluten challenge. I never had any severe GI symptoms but I did experience weight loss and malabsorption and I cant find a link between Salicylates and weight loss...I did read that ANY food intolerance can lead to malabsorption though. At this point its still a mystery. I'm looking forward to discussing all this with my new doctor.

I've done alot of baking this week and its amazing that I can eat a whole batch of cookies and feel fine whereas before I couldnt eat even 2 small store bought gluten-free cookies. The only difference is I'm baking totally salicylate free. Its just not possible to find processed gluten-free foods that are also free of salicylates especially since most are sweetened with fruit juice. This explains my reactions to many gluten-free products that I previously posted about like Barbaras Bakery Cereal. It was not an issue of c.c. but an issue of salicylates.

My food diary (whivh I've kept for one year now) never made sense to me. My reactions seemed to have no rhyme or reason....now when I review it....it makes perfect sense. It also explains why I had problems with corn tortillas and corn based cereals. I had problems with every EnviroKidz cereal.....but they were all from corn and sweetened with cane sugar. So maybe gluten isnt my biggest enemy??? :unsure:

Everyone around me has noticed a BIG improvement in my mood since cutting out all the veggies and fruits high in salicylates. I havent had a "crying episode" yet and I've been consistently happy.

I will continue to update on my progress. :)

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Ursa Major Collaborator

I am glad you are finally figuring out what makes you sick. Reading what you've done makes me think I might be intolerant to salicylates, too, though. I am sure about the gluten, it's just too obvious a change just cutting out gluten. But now I seem to be reacting to other things, too. Last night I ate meat with onions and leeks (both high in salicylates), and I'm aching. Gluten causes instant stomach and bowel rumbling, a stomach ache and diarrhea within an hour. So, there can be no doubt about the gluten intolerance. I am not having any of those gastro symptoms right now. Just the aching bones and muscles again!

Maybe I felt so much better for a while because I avoided anything that might cause a problem (including most fruits and juices), and I also didn't eat any grains or starches at all, because I couldn't digest them. I have started just having some treats (gluten-free of course, but buckwheat is one of the ingredients I use, and it's high in salicylates) lately, and I'm back to aches and pains (sigh). I am not happy that you seem to have this problem, but I am happy that you posted and might have given me some clues.

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Tim Gallant Newbie

I am glad I found this forum I thaught I was going nuts trying to figure out what I am allergic to. I have sensitivity to Gluten and Dairy and Msg products. Still having problems with my Bowelas well. Having joint pain and having x-rays not showing anything. My joint paint is so bad at times I can not get out of my chair I lost 35 punds inthe last two years and just recently gianed some back this may be do to Salicylates Sensitivity. I never tested positive for anything so I am going to try this diet soon have to waite till payday so I can afford a lot of tese organic meets and fish and so on. Has anyone found a mouthwash with out Salicylates.

I had a major reaction twice this past week the dentist gave me this medicated mouth wash didn't realize that it contained alcohol. I had a craving for sugar and salt If I am sensitivie Salicylates it would explaing a lot ot things i can't eat tomatoes, pinnaple, grapes., apples, apple cider. Would this be in Heinz organic kethup. I don't eat red meat, so I use alot of lamb which taste good too. Also eat a lot of salmon wwhich i didn't know about the color addivate in them. I will have to switch my whoe diet around again it's fustrating not to eat the foods you once loved. Did you say Cocoa is high in Salicylates even orgaic.

My doctor thinks it's fiber mylaga too I'm on Amitryiline and Tramodol to help with multiple systems. Is there anything for breackfast that is Salicylate free. This is why I have a lot of mood swing too. It also doesn't help when you have been in three car acidents. Money is tight until I get my settlement this month than I will be able to try new things.

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Rachel--24 Collaborator

Ursula,

From all I've read buckwheat is suppossed to be low in salicylates so maybe you are reacting to something else or maybe you're just sensitive to buckwheat?

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Rachel--24 Collaborator
I had a major reaction twice this past week the dentist gave me this medicated mouth wash didn't realize that it contained alcohol. I had a craving for sugar and salt If I am sensitivie Salicylates it would explaing a lot ot things i can't eat tomatoes, pinnaple, grapes., apples, apple cider. Would this be in Heinz organic kethup. I don't eat red meat, so I use alot of lamb which taste good too. Also eat a lot of salmon wwhich i didn't know about the color addivate in them. I will have to switch my whoe diet around again it's fustrating not to eat the foods you once loved. Did you say Cocoa is high in Salicylates even orgaic.

Tim,

Everything you listed I also have bad reactions to...especially grapes and any fruit juice. I couldnt figure out for the life of me why all fruit juices bothered me so much...also wine. I was trying to eat as healthy as possible but in doing so I was eating everything high in salicylates. Cocoa is low in salicylates but its high in amines. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm also sensitive to amines. It does suck having to totally switch your diet around...I know how you feel about that. I cant tell you how much money I've wasted on food that I end up not being able to eat. Hopefully this is the last time I'll have to switch everything around. I dont think there's a mouthwash free of salicytates...at least I havent found any.

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gf4life Enthusiast

Hi Rachel. It probably was me who was mentioned earlier. My son Jacob actually is thought to have Aspirin Triad Disease. It is basically an aspirin allergy which in turn causes wheezing-type asthma and recurring nasal polyps. It is hard to test for, so we are just basically treating him as though he has it. He can't have ANY medications that are made with or derived from aspirin, and in turn we limit his food consumption of salicylates. Aspirin is made from salicylic acid and so foods containing high amounts of salicylates can trigger symptoms as well.

The treatment for this type of asthma is Singulair and he has been ont hat for about 3 years. The nasal polyps have to be removed so they don't move up into the upper sinus cavity. They currently are confined to the maxillary sinus. He is about to go in for another CT scan of his sinus to check the growth of the polyps. His ENT did an x-ray a few weeks ago and thinks they might be back. His last surgery was Feb. 2005. He has had 2 sinus surgeries (1 almost every 12 months) in the past 2 years and might need another one.

If he continues to have polyp growth enough to need surgery, I will have to get more strict with his diet. He will have to be on an extremely low salicylate diet. Of course he still needs to be gluten-free also. It doesn't sound fun to me, but there are people out there with much more limiting diets than that, so I know it is possible to have a full life and a very restrictive diet. I feel blessed to only have to watch out for gluten and soy! It is just a matter of having a list of off limit foods and sticking to it.

He has had less stomachaches since limiting his salicylates as well. I think some of his problem was that. He continued having some tummy troubles after going gluten-free, and then it was after that when we found out about salicylates/aspirin...

You have probably been to the same information sites that I have found (many from New Zealand). Here are my links to my favorite sites:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

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Rachel--24 Collaborator

Thanks for all the info Mariann. :)

I did visit all those sites already. I pretty much devoured all the info. I could find the first night I read about salicylates. :rolleyes:

I'm sorry to hear about your son. If I remember correctly I think I have the same or similar genes as him...apparantly we share some of the same problems too. :(

I don't know how I would react to aspirin since I havent taken any since before I got sick. I dont think I would ever try it since I read that aspirin contains huge amounts of salicylates in comparison to food. If I react this badly to the foods what would the aspirin do? I dont wanna find out. :unsure:

I'm being super strict about the salicylates for now but this diet is WAY harder than the gluten-free diet. gluten-free seems like a piece of cake to me compared to this but if it works it'll be worth it.

I've been baking and cooking like crazy....its actually kind of fun. The only thing I knew how to make before all this was mac & cheese so I've come a long way. :D

btw....does your son have any other symptoms related to salicylates? I seem to get mood swings, depression, bursts of anger along with brainfog. I had thought this was only due to gluten but I was wrong because just eating the wrong fruits and veggies causes all that for me too. I read about kids having behavioral problems or hyperactivity from salicylates. Its hard to tell whats what since gluten causes those same symptoms.

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Tim Gallant Newbie
Tim,

Everything you listed I also have bad reactions to...especially grapes and any fruit juice. I couldnt figure out for the life of me why all fruit juices bothered me so much...also wine. I was trying to eat as healthy as possible but in doing so I was eating everything high in salicylates. Cocoa is low in salicylates but its high in amines. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm also sensitive to amines. It does suck having to totally switch your diet around...I know how you feel about that. I cant tell you how much money I've wasted on food that I end up not being able to eat. Hopefully this is the last time I'll have to switch everything around. I dont think there's a mouthwash free of salicytates...at least I havent found any.

Well again I had trouble tonight I guess no more oranges it's high in salicylates I read from someone's web site. I also have visted alot of those sites that are listed and as well I hae problems with sinusis. I have also inchy skin didn't realize the salicylates in shampoo and so on I will have to get better procucts I always used head and shoulders. I live in CT where there is alot of health food stores around. I was born in Prince Edward Island Canada where there seems to be alot more awareness there and alot to choose from. It's hard to go out to a resturant you have to ask alot of questions.

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Ursa Major Collaborator

Thanks, Mariann for the links, I went and read everything, and it makes sooooooooo much sense.

You're right, Rachel, about the buckwheat. I also put ground almonds in, as well as coconut oil (both high in salicylates), which were probably the problem. Lately I had also eaten a lot of oranges, cherries, almonds. I had switched to almond milk and drinking lots of that, my vitamins are full of salicylates, and I was using coconut oil for cooking. I also used quite a bit of black pepper, and drank juice (which I rarely do). I also had fake champagne, made from real red and white grapes, as well as sparkling peach juice. I was sweetening everything with 'healthy' honey, was drinking green tea for getting vitamin K and eating dark green salad. Yikes! And I was convinced I was having all healthy stuff (well, apparently not for me).

I had gained four pounds in two days, my joint, muscle and back pain was getting intolerable again (making me go back on codeine), I was crying for two days, being totally miserable and depressed, and I had asthma.

Yesterday I stopped having any salicylates, bought new shampoo and soap (for the third time in three months switching everything, my family has a lot of expensive stuff to use up :rolleyes: ), and tried to come to terms with the frustration of starting almost from scratch in figuring out my diet, again.

But today the pain has subsided significantly, I am more stable emotionally, the asthma is gone, my back is much better, and I lost (in one day) five pounds! If that isn't confirmation I am on the right track, I don't know what is.

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