Almonds

[Woolygimp]

I've searched all over the internet looking for any medical literature which would explain the reaction I get when I consume almonds, and peanuts. Haven't been able to find any...

Basically, when I eat almond butter or peanut butter I feel almost like I've been hit by a tranquilizer within 45 minutes of digestion. It hits me fast and it hits me hard, and I thought at first that it may be a misrepresented causation so every once in a while I test it again.

I get this reaction...ever....single...time.

Yesterday, I ate some Almond Butter. Within an hour, I could barely walk and was extremely fatigued. Went from wide awake to what it feels like when I haven't slept for three days.

I even had trouble breathing, not all that much, but it felt like my muscles were all slowed down.

I fell asleep at 4pm and slept all day, which is definitely not normal. At the same time, I didn't get a single digestive reaction or any reaction related to being glutened.

Even when I eat gluten, I don't feel anything like this and it doesn't come on near as fast.

This reaction I have to Almonds happens incredibly quick. And as far as other legumes, I eat a ton of peas/legumes and don't really feel that I have a problem there at all. Haven't tried cashews/hazelnuts in a long time though, as I usually eat their respective butters instead of the whole nuts.

And as someone may have noticed from my other thread, I get this VERY same reaction when I eat lunch meat, milk, and canned sardines.

[ShayFL]

It is possible that there isnt a single connection between the different foods. But that is just how your body reacts sometimes to an intolerance.

I used to get the "coma" feeling after eating a high carb meal. I dont get it anymore because I limit my carbs.

Are you eating these foods ALL BY THEMSELVES? Or do you eat the milk with cereal? The lunchmeat with bread? The sardines with crackers? The almond butter with rice cakes?

Or do you just have a glass of milk and nothing else before that "coma" comes on? Just a scoop of almond butter and NOTHING else?

[Mother of Jibril]

Considering how quickly you get that reaction, you could have a true allergy! Very dangerous. And the more you expose yourself to an allergen, the worse the reaction gets.

Have you ever been to an allergist for a skin test? I would go ASAP.

[hollyres]

I totally agree that a formal allergy test is in order, as nuts are nothing to mess around with. I get that exact feeling when I consume or am around anything with excessive mold. It has been a common feeling in my life. This is an allergic reaction for me. You might consider cutting almond/peanut butter out of your life for good anyway because who wants to feel like that!

[Woolygimp]

It is possible that there isnt a single connection between the different foods. But that is just how your body reacts sometimes to an intolerance.

I used to get the "coma" feeling after eating a high carb meal. I dont get it anymore because I limit my carbs.

Are you eating these foods ALL BY THEMSELVES? Or do you eat the milk with cereal? The lunchmeat with bread? The sardines with crackers? The almond butter with rice cakes?

Or do you just have a glass of milk and nothing else before that "coma" comes on? Just a scoop of almond butter and NOTHING else?

By themselves usually. Yesterday I had the almond butter straight out of the jar, but often I've tried it with gluten free bread that I'm ok with. I eat the sardines with tabasco, which is usually ok. I know what you're getting at but it's definitely these foods, by themselves.

Everything I've eaten them with, I've been ok with on prior occasions.

[Woolygimp]

I totally agree that a formal allergy test is in order, as nuts are nothing to mess around with. I get that exact feeling when I consume or am around anything with excessive mold. It has been a common feeling in my life. This is an allergic reaction for me. You might consider cutting almond/peanut butter out of your life for good anyway because who wants to feel like that!

Well I haven't found anything as far as as allergies causing fatigue. Most cause hives/skin problems/ etc., but I don't suffer from any of that. Mine is a straight up "coma" feeling, like the poster above me described.

I also want to know what exactly in these foods is causing the reaction so I know just what I have to avoid. And every once in a while I convince myself that it's in my head, and that there's no possible way these foods are causing me that much difficulty so ...I try them again.

[Mother of Jibril]

Hives and itching are the least of your worries when it comes to allergies. My guess is that the "coma" feeling means your brain is not getting enough oxygen. If it gets really bad you could go into anaphylaxis and that could be fatal. I've seen it happen with a 17-year-old college student who was severely allergic to seafood. All it took was a TRACE of seafood in his dinner and he ended up in the ICU with permanent, irreversible brain death. It makes me very sad to think about that happening to any other family.

If all you get now is a "coma" feeling, count yourself lucky! You might still be able to eat at restaurants and risk a little cross-contamination.

[ShayFL]

I had the "coma" crap for years. It would get so bad sometimes when I was driving home from work, I would have to pull over and sleep. I always had a snack in the afternoon. For me it was "starch" that caused it. Too many carbs=coma for Shay.

But as you say, yours sounds different. I hope you figure it out soon.

[AliB]

I reckon this takes a bit of lateral thinking. I have 2 schools of thought on this although I suspect they are both linked.

For years I would get times when I was so fatigued I could easily have just laid down wherever I was, even in the street. It would take a supreme amount of effort for me to stay upright.

Although I wasn't aware of any problem with my digestion apart from gas, and hey, everyone gets that don't they (?), I now know that it was my digestion that was the problem. My stomach would get 'weary' - I just put it down to being overweight (which is probably also due to my digestion issues).

The digestion draws an awful lot of energy from the body. If it is not working properly then you can double the amount. Because without any digestion we would die, it may, when under duress, draw energy from other areas of the body. Many who are gluten intolerant realised that it was gluten that was giving them the ever-consuming brain-fog. My suspicion is that that was happening at least partly because the digestion could not cope with the gluten and was drawing energy away from the brain.

Whilst you do not appear to sense any problem with your digestion, it does not mean that it is not struggling. The 'coma' effect could actually be a symptom of a digestion under duress. Hippocrates stated that 'all disease begins in the gut'. Wise man.

It could be that these particular foods for some reason cause distress to your digestion. If you suffer with leaky gut and Candida then it may be that these foods are getting through to the blood stream causing an immune reaction which may or may not be 'allergic'. One way to test if it is an allergy would be to try taking an anti-histamine tablet after eating the food - if you still get the reaction it is not allergic.

The other possibility is that, as most know, I have a 'thing' about bacteria. I am convinced that a lot of our health issues are caused by rogue bacteria and/or yeasts within the body. Bacteria give off by-products when they come in contact with certain organic compounds and foods. We know that some of them give off by-products that can be very toxic. These toxins can affect any part of the body. Whilst some strains of E.Coli live harmlessly within the gut for instance, other forms of E.Coli push out Shiga toxins into the body causing major illness or worse.

I have to wonder, is the body reacting to the actual food, or is it actually reacting to toxins given off by bacteria that is responding to the food? It may not be that it is your body that is reacting to those foods, but certain bacteria that is causing a reaction. I also would not be at all surprised if some types of bacteria even interfere with enzyme production - another problem that will interfere with digestion. I, like many others have a problem digesting carbs. I can only assume that it is either a shortage of carbohydrate digesting enzymes or they are being 'corrupted' in some way. I would not put it past the little beggars to be able to produce something that switches off the enzymes so that they ensure their constant supply of undigested carb dinners!

Helicobacter for instance produces ammonia which neutralises the stomach acid and allows them to live in the stomach wall undisturbed. Anything else would be destroyed by the stomach acid. You have to admire their resourcefulness even though they are a pain in the *. But then if they can do that, what else is doing what else down there???!

A thought just occurred to me - for years I have had a dry mouth. I always need plenty of gravy or sauce or custard or whatever (although weirdly I am rarely 'thirsty'). I have a problem with Candida. I only need to do the 'spit' test to prove that. Candida lives right throughout the gut, from the mouth to the other end. Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth. Amylase is produced in the saliva. What's the betting that the Candida is switching off the saliva to protect its source of undigested carbs right from the top.

Anyone else with Candida suffer with a dry mouth? And eyes? I wonder if people with Sjogrens have Candida??? (one thought just always leads to another!!!) I ought to do a questionnaire on that!

The SCD is designed to remove the foods that feed the bacteria and to encourage beneficial repopulation of the gut. Whilst some apparently innocuous foods may be problematic for a while, most find that eventually they are able to cope with them again when they follow the SCD.

[curiousgeorge]

If you had trouble breathing you need to take this very seriously. You don't always have hives and itch with anaphylaxsis. A change in alertness IS a sign of anaphylaxsis. You need to stop eating nuts and get tested.

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I don't think this is the same as the sleepies from gluten. For YEARS I would use cereal as a sleep aid. I had no idea why it made me sleepy just that it did.

[Rachel--24]

Many people have reactions to naturally occuring chemicals in food (phenols) so if you are not allergic to the almonds and peanuts (you should get tested to be sure) then you may want to look into that.

Since you also react to lunch meat and sardines you may want to look into "amines". Almonds and peanuts can be high in amines when roasted. They are also both very high in "salicylates". Those are the two most common food chemical sensitivities.

Milk is high in phenols as well.

I'm sensitive to food chemicals and have reactions that come on very quickly....sometimes before I've even finished eating. I dont usually get digestive symptoms.....and if I do they are mild.

I would recommend IgE food allergy testing and if you are not allergic you can check into the amines and salicylates and see if other foods which are high in these chemicals cause similar symptoms.

[Michi8]

Fatigue can certainly be a symptom of allergies...especially if you are constantly exposed to your trigger allergens. I am allergic to cats (always have been) and when I had one in the house (when I was a young adult, still living with my parents), I was always sick (stuffed up...my sinuses were constantly draining) and absolutely bone-dead exhausted. So much for the "theory" that you can get used to living with animal dander. I had to move out to get relief.

In terms of allergies to almonds & peanuts, it is possible that you may be experiencing allergic symptoms, and they may be different depending on how these foods are prepared. I am allergic to all sorts of food (oral allergy syndrome related to birch pollen allergy), including almonds and peanuts, but only get "hives" or an oral reaction when these foods are raw. Cooking changes the proteins, making these foods supposedly safe for me to eat, and so I can eat peanuts and almonds without obvious oral reactions when they have been roasted. That said, I'm not convinced that I don't have other, more subtle, reactions in my body to these foods regardless of how they are prepared.

Michelle

Well I haven't found anything as far as as allergies causing fatigue. Most cause hives/skin problems/ etc., but I don't suffer from any of that. Mine is a straight up "coma" feeling, like the poster above me described.

I also want to know what exactly in these foods is causing the reaction so I know just what I have to avoid. And every once in a while I convince myself that it's in my head, and that there's no possible way these foods are causing me that much difficulty so ...I try them again.