Is It Bad For Me To Eat The Same Thing Every Day?

[jasonD2]

my diet is so restricted now but i have found a few things that I enjoy eating and tend to eat them every day..gluten free english muffins w/ almond butter and jelly, Mesa Sunrise cereal w/ almond milk and bananas and blueberries...to name a few

on my blood allergy test i was low positive for almonds so not sure if im doing any harm by drinking almond milk and eating almond butter. Mesa sunrise contains several grains including corn. i was negative for corn on the test, but it was almost 3 yrs ago so not sure if i am positive for it now. when i initially went gluten free i ate a lot of corn products in place so its possible i developed a sensitivity but i cant say for sure.

again i am so restricted now and really need to eat foods like this to help me maintain my weight, but am worried that it could be making things worse.

ALso when i travel i eat a lot of Lara Bars and energy bars with nuts, so there is also concern there since nuts are very allergenic for some people; but again they are good sources of fat and omegas

would appreciate any suggestions

[Emilushka]

You'll want to vary your protein sources if possible. My personal opinion is that you want to eat as many different things that don't make you feel bad (or set of a big positive blood test result) as possible. With the almonds, I'm not sure - maybe ask your doc for a retest later for that and keep eating them for now, as long as you're not getting symptoms (then I'd look to the almonds as a potential culprit).

So far you've basically said you're eating nuts for protein. Are you getting other sources? Lots of fruits and veggies? Remember that fresh fruits and veggies are gluten-free naturally and are a great source of vitamins and minerals if you eat a wide variety of them (not the same ones every day, if possible).

This may be a good time to find a nutritionist, if you can. They'll know more about ways to make sure you're getting enough proteins and fats. Just make sure you find a GOOD one who knows about Celiac because there are some who really don't (in my area, for example - there's nobody here).

Are you a vegetarian? I see from your signature that you can't have soy or dairy, which does make things more difficult.

[burdee]

  On 12/28/2010 at 2:34 PM, jasonD2 said:

my diet is so restricted now but i have found a few things that I enjoy eating and tend to eat them every day..gluten free english muffins w/ almond butter and jelly, Mesa Sunrise cereal w/ almond milk and bananas and blueberries...to name a few

on my blood allergy test i was low positive for almonds so not sure if im doing any harm by drinking almond milk and eating almond butter. Mesa sunrise contains several grains including corn. i was negative for corn on the test, but it was almost 3 yrs ago so not sure if i am positive for it now. when i initially went gluten free i ate a lot of corn products in place so its possible i developed a sensitivity but i cant say for sure.

again i am so restricted now and really need to eat foods like this to help me maintain my weight, but am worried that it could be making things worse.

ALso when i travel i eat a lot of Lara Bars and energy bars with nuts, so there is also concern there since nuts are very allergenic for some people; but again they are good sources of fat and omegas

would appreciate any suggestions

I've eaten basically the same 2 breakfasts (with minor variations) since I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance and 6 other allergies 5 years ago: (1) peanut butter and fruit (variations) on a gluten free English muffin or (2) cooked gluten free cereal with hazelnut milk, almond butter and a variety of fruit. Until this year I ate Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty cereal, but this year I needed more iron rich foods. So I switched to a mixture of buckwheat, amaranth, chia seeds and brown rice bran, which are all high in iron.

I have more variety in my lunches and dinners. I eat all kinds of fruits and vegies, gluten-free grains, meats, poultry and fish, but no eggs, dairy, soy or cane sugar because of diagnosed allergies.

I don't believe we continue to develop new allergies after we stop eating gluten and initially diagnosed allergens. That allows our 'leaky' guts to heal and prevent new allergies. Of course continuation cross contamination or gluten accidents may keep our guts 'leaky' enough to allow undigested proteins to leak across the gut/blood barrier and cause other allergens. So abstaining from gluten and any other diagnosed allergies, which might cause gut damage, seems like the best way to avoid new allergens.

[heatherjane]

  On 12/28/2010 at 2:34 PM, jasonD2 said:

my diet is so restricted now but i have found a few things that I enjoy eating and tend to eat them every day..gluten free english muffins w/ almond butter and jelly, Mesa Sunrise cereal w/ almond milk and bananas and blueberries...to name a few

on my blood allergy test i was low positive for almonds so not sure if im doing any harm by drinking almond milk and eating almond butter. Mesa sunrise contains several grains including corn. i was negative for corn on the test, but it was almost 3 yrs ago so not sure if i am positive for it now. when i initially went gluten free i ate a lot of corn products in place so its possible i developed a sensitivity but i cant say for sure.

again i am so restricted now and really need to eat foods like this to help me maintain my weight, but am worried that it could be making things worse.

ALso when i travel i eat a lot of Lara Bars and energy bars with nuts, so there is also concern there since nuts are very allergenic for some people; but again they are good sources of fat and omegas

would appreciate any suggestions

Do you feel bad after eating nuts? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. I was tested for food allergies and came up positive on 30-40 different foods, but I don't necessarily have any adverse effects. (Food allergy test results aren't always reliable, btw.) Since I have no detectable symptoms from eating the stuff I'm supposedly allergic to, my allergist told me not to worry about it too much, and just do what I can. Removing all of that from my diet was just too hard. Gluten (and some dairy) is all I'm avoiding at this time.

[burdee]

  On 12/28/2010 at 5:02 PM, heatherjane said:

Do you feel bad after eating nuts? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. I was tested for food allergies and came up positive on 30-40 different foods, but I don't necessarily have any adverse effects. (Food allergy test results aren't always reliable, btw.) Since I have no detectable symptoms from eating the stuff I'm supposedly allergic to, my allergist told me not to worry about it too much, and just do what I can. Removing all of that from my diet was just too hard. Gluten (and some dairy) is all I'm avoiding at this time.

I agree that some allergy tests (but not all) are unreliable. Any test results, which indicate you have 30-40 different food reactions, suggests that the lab, which processed your sample, has poor quality control standards. My doc told me to consider the whole pattern of allergen reactions on a test. If I had many 'reactions' I should only consider the highest ones. Fortunately I had several high and high moderate reactions, as well as a few low reactions. I usually experienced symptoms after eating the 'high' and 'high moderate' reaction foods, but never experienced symptoms after eating any of the low reaction foods. So I still eat those occasionally with no obvious reactions.

[jasonD2]

Yes i dont feel any worse from eating any of the foods im allergic too. I was a +5 for ginger - when i eat ginger i do feel a weird buzzing sensation in my head but it does help sooth my stomach. i eat in moderation. I tested severe for Eggs but when i eat eggs i dont really feel ill - had some last week and was fine

[burdee]

  On 12/28/2010 at 9:18 PM, jasonD2 said:

Yes i dont feel any worse from eating any of the foods im allergic too. I was a +5 for ginger - when i eat ginger i do feel a weird buzzing sensation in my head but it does help sooth my stomach. i eat in moderation. I tested severe for Eggs but when i eat eggs i dont really feel ill - had some last week and was fine

What kind of allergy test did you take? IgG? IgE? IgA? Skin prick? Blood test? Did you have many reactions or only a few?

[jasonD2]

Skin test was negative except for rye - the blood IgG test from metametrix showed much more positives - not sure how accurate it is

[txplowgirl]

Hi Jason, just my opinion, but I would cut out the almond milk and all nuts for 3 weeks just to see what happens. I love milk too but have found that all milks for some reason bother me. Dosen't matter what it's made from I react to it. Very irritating in the least. After 3 weeks if you aren't feeling better cut out the next thing on your list that you have a slight reaction too. Keep going through the list until your done. Sometimes those foods you have slight reactions to might not be all that bad but if you eat them for a length of time they'll build up in your system and get ya.

[jasonD2]

thanks- the almond milk doesnt bother me. i tried a few other brands that did but the 365 whole foods brand seems to be better tolerated. i think the carrageenan and locust bean gum in the other milks may have been the problem

[lynnelise]

I would say if you don't have a reaction then I wouldn't worry too much. I am mildly allergic to several things: tomatoes, onions, canteloupe, rye, and chocolate (horror!!!). Of these items I sometimes get a rash with tomatoes and onions. I don't notice any reaction with chocolate and I don't eat canteloupe or rye to know.

I'm moderately allergic to coffee...which I love. I can drink it every two days or so with no ill effect. If I start drinking it daily I will get numbness in my gums, a weird metallic taste in my mouth, and rashes.