What could I be reacting to in this almond milk?

[Aaron275]

Usually when I have a reaction to a food I can pinpoint an ingredient that might be causing the issue, but this has me completely stumped.

Ingredients:

Filtered Water
Activated Organic Almonds (7%) (Almonds, Water)
Organic Brown Rice
Sea Salt

That's it. The product states that there are no added gums, thickeners, preservatives, colors, or oils.

I've tried this almond milk a few times because I couldn't understand how it could possibly be an issue. I thought it had to be something else. But it's definitely this.

I will stop using it, but I am just wondering how it is possible that I am reacting to these ingredients? It all looks extremely benign.

Thanks

[Aaron275]

Is it possible I could have an almond allergy?

These are the symptoms I got from the almond milk:

- Nausea

- Stomach cramps

- Loss of appetite

- Bloating in face and stomach

- Dizziness

- Headache

- Mood changes

[GodsGal]

2 hours ago, Aaron275 said:

Is it possible I could have an almond allergy?

These are the symptoms I got from the almond milk:

- Nausea

- Stomach cramps

- Loss of appetite

- Bloating in face and stomach

- Dizziness

- Headache

- Mood changes

Hi! I am not a doctor, so please don't take this as medical advice.

Have you pursued any allergy testing? If there is any facial swelling, then that could be cause for concern.

It is possible that you could have an allergy. I would suggest that you talk to your doctor. And, if you are not comfortable with what you are told, it is totally ok to get a second opinion.

Also, I am curious, have you tried different brands of almond milk? Have you checked into any potential cross contamination in production? 

[Aaron275]

7 hours ago, GodsGal said:

Hi! I am not a doctor, so please don't take this as medical advice.

Have you pursued any allergy testing? If there is any facial swelling, then that could be cause for concern.

It is possible that you could have an allergy. I would suggest that you talk to your doctor. And, if you are not comfortable with what you are told, it is totally ok to get a second opinion.

Also, I am curious, have you tried different brands of almond milk? Have you checked into any potential cross contamination in production? 

In the past I have taken a skin prick test for a peanut allergy and the result was negative. I have also had some blood tests done for food allergies but I was told that blood tests for food allergies are unreliable. I can't remember whether the blood test included tree nuts - I think it either wasn't included or the result was negative, because I would have remembered otherwise. I still have the results but would have to look for them.

I have tried a different brand of almond milk and I had issues with that as well, but it had lots of additives in it and I thought it was the additives that were causing the problem. That's why I switched to this one which claims to have no additives, but it didn't fix the issue. For cross contamination, the product only says "May contain traces of other tree nuts. Made in a factory that also handles milk and soy". It doesn't mention gluten.

[GodsGal]

5 hours ago, Aaron275 said:

In the past I have taken a skin prick test for a peanut allergy and the result was negative. I have also had some blood tests done for food allergies but I was told that blood tests for food allergies are unreliable. I can't remember whether the blood test included tree nuts - I think it either wasn't included or the result was negative, because I would have remembered otherwise. I still have the results but would have to look for them.

I have tried a different brand of almond milk and I had issues with that as well, but it had lots of additives in it and I thought it was the additives that were causing the problem. That's why I switched to this one which claims to have no additives, but it didn't fix the issue. For cross contamination, the product only says "May contain traces of other tree nuts. Made in a factory that also handles milk and soy". It doesn't mention gluten

I think that it is a good idea to not use it. Honestly, I think that the only way to rule out a true allergy would be through skin testing. (I also have been told that blood allergy testing is not always accurate.) That being said, it is possible that it is an intolerance. I just have not heard of an intolerance causing facial changes.

[Wheatwacked]

https://lock-s-foils.com/almond_milk_is_crap.html

Can you eat plain almonds? Almond Breeze is proud to use activated almonds. How the heck do they activate an almond? Almonds are excellent for nutrition. 2 ounces has 100% RDA of real vitamin E and a bunch of others. Almond milk, not so much. Nutrition as advertising hype. See the link above.

100% pasture fed whole milk is about the same price as almond milk and tastes way better than regular milk. My brother pointed out that it tastes like ice cream. It also is less discomforting than the regular commercial milk. Regular milk uses feed supplements to increase milk fat and volume. But the added milk fats are c:16 fatty acids (bad) added to the normal c:18 fatty acids (good). You end up with way more omega 6 (inflammatory) than omega 3 (anti-inflammatory) Omega 3 is why fish oil works. For that matter, as a side note, choose Cod Liver Oil. It has the omega 3 plus a tablespoon gives a nice boost to natural vitamin A. When they reduce fat in milk it also takes out the vitamin A, so it has to be replaced with synthetic A for government standards. Homemade fermented pickles (not quick vinegar pickles like most commercial brands) can help replenish the gut flora that makes the lactase we need to digest lactose as adults. Milk can be the difference between Calcium deficient and not. Pickles only take a week to ferment.

The old joke about pregnant women craving ice cream and pickles may have a valid nutritional basis after all.

[Aaron275]

2 hours ago, Wheatwacked said:

Can you eat plain almonds?

I don't know, I've never tried them and I think I would prefer not to after this experience.

I've just made an appointment with an allergy specialist for later this month, so I guess I will find out then if it is an allergy or not.

[Aaron275]

I forgot to mention, I have probably eaten small amounts of almonds in other products, but I have never eaten them whole.

[beaver]

After eating raw almonds all my life, I felt really sick after eating them one evening and haven't touched them since.  I haven't tried almond milk though.  Have you tried a different brand in case their ingredients aren't quite as organic as they claim?

I did have a similar problem with oat milk that gave me bloating, stomach discomfort and diarrhoea.  There just happened to be a TV programme that mentioned some people had my problem with oat milk because of added inulin and specifically chicory root that doesn't always get listed in the ingredients.

I stopped using oat milk and now use cashew nut milk that is fine for tea and cereals but curdles in coffee.

@Wheatwacked

I concur what you say about feed supplements in cows milk that I gave up because of bloating and stomach discomfort.  I always thought it was bad soya they were being fed after feeling very ill after drinking soya milk that had the same funny smell and taste that I could sometimes sense in cows milk.

[Wheatwacked]

"Dairy products contain short, medium and long-chain SFA [Saturated Fatty Acid], which affect cardiovascular health differently. It is apparent that lauric (12:0), myristic (14:0) and palmitic (16:0) have adverse effects on LDL, which is considered an important risk factor for CVD [60]. When compared to carbohydrate consumption in humans, lauric acid, myristic acid and palmitic acid raised total cholesterol and LDL, whereas stearic acid (18:0) does not. SFA raises high-density lipoproteins (HDL) but these effects are greater as the fatty acid chain length decreases and so generally lauric acid has the most beneficial effect on cholesterol profile [61]. Based on these studies, lauric acid may be a heart-healthy SFA [56]. ...the controversial PURE study, which assessed the dietary intake of 135,335 subjects from 18 countries across five continents for 7.4 year and found that total fat and types of fat were not associated with CVD, myocardial infarction, or CVD mortality. Further still, SFA was inversely associated with stroke [65]. The PURE study investigators state that advice to restrict SFA “is largely based on selective emphasis on some observational and clinical data, despite the existence of several randomised trials and observational studies that do not support these conclusions” Dairy Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: Do We Really Need to Be Concerned? (nih.gov)   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5867544/  

Quote

 

Compared with stearic acid, palmitic acid increased the yield of milk fat and improved feed efficiency across production level of cows compared with SA, PA increased the secretion of C16:0 (113 g/d) and its desaturation product, cis-9 C16:1 (4.5 g/d), into milk, whereas SA only modestly increased C18:0 secretion into milk (13 g/d) and did not have an effect on its desaturation product, cis-9 C18:1. These results would suggest that efficiency of incorporation of C16:0 into milk fat is greater than that of C18:0

Dietary supplementation with C16:0 improved milk fat concentration and yield as well as the efficiency of feed conversion into milk compared with C18:0 supplementation.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030213008436

 

 

[Wheatwacked]

Apparently only Ireland and New Zealand find grassfed more profitable than adding palmitic acid.

[Aaron275]

Hi everyone,

There's one more thing that I thought might be relevant here. I can't be completely sure, but I thought that when I used the almond milk the reaction began to happen as soon as it was in my mouth, before I had even swallowed it. I have never noticed this with any other food.

Could this also point towards an allergy?

[GodsGal]

On 2/13/2022 at 5:53 PM, Aaron275 said:

Hi everyone,

There's one more thing that I thought might be relevant here. I can't be completely sure, but I thought that when I used the almond milk the reaction began to happen as soon as it was in my mouth, before I had even swallowed it. I have never noticed this with any other food.

Could this also point towards an allergy?

I would think that it could. Have you seen the allergist yet?

[Aaron275]

8 hours ago, GodsGal said:

I would think that it could. Have you seen the allergist yet?

Not yet. The appointment is Friday next week. I will let you know how it goes.