Hello,
Have any of you experienced allergic reactions to certain food while doing Atkins ?
I have just eaten avocado (first time I have eaten one) and I just don't feel so good : itchy, lips are a bit swollen.
I also seem to react to salads since I am on this WOE.

Hi Sooike,
I've experienced that type of reaction with drugs (sulfa) that I'm allergic to, but never with food. I guess I have an intolerance to avocados myself...my stomach burns really, really bad, get nauseated, shakey, and sweaty. I had the same reaction to shellfish for a couple of years before it turned into full blown anaphalaxis (suffocation, basically) from eating it. I haven't been able to eat shellfish for about 14 years. Your experience may very well be an allergy. Everyone's body reacts differently.

Certain foods can trigger histamine release like pollen or dust does for some people. I know that tomatoes and cantaloupe do this for me and I get the same reactions (itchy throat, puffy lips). It usually passes after a couple of hours.

I can't remember which chemical is present in foods that does this, but I'll check around the web and see if I can find it again.

Tomatos give me cold sores and head spins.

Cabbage makes me depressed.

Avocados make me want to keep eating forever.

One of the glories of this WOE is that I'm clear enough of other dietary junk that I can see the effect of certain foods. The longer I eat this way, the more I discover problems that I thought were mental are actually physiological.

Could it be that I am allergic to lettuce ?

I have a lot of allergies, and although they are getting better with this woe, I still avoid a lot of foods, like avocadoes...
There are a lot of people who have allergies to foods in their raw state, but not if they've been cooked, sometimes even a little, or if they're at a different part of their life cycle.
for instance, I can eat a banana if it's almost over ripe, but not at all if it's green. (but I haven't eaten a banana since starting this woe!)
With some veggies, I have the same reaction you mentioned if they're raw, but not if they're stir fried, or zapped briefly in the microwave. Heat changes the enzymes in plants, or atleast that's the way I understand it...
If you're not sure, check out an allergist for skin testing, which is moderately accurate in discovering allergies.
best of luck!

Cheese is not supposed to contain lactose. It is one of the reasons it's allowed on low carb. The process of making cheese is supposed to destroy lactose. I know I haven't had problems with cheese since eliminating refined carbs from my diet.

Also, before LC, I couldn't eat eggs or pork. I would end up in bed in agony for 8 to 16 hours afterward. But now I eat them regularly! I really missed them.

As for fruits and vegetables, I swore I was allergic to citric acid! But since cutting out the refined carbs, I am able to eat most of them again without the itching in my throat and the swelling of my tongue and lips. Only one fruit really scares me....avocado.

As for being allergic to lettuce....hmmm. Is this all lettuce or just a particular variety?

Sooike, it's certainly possible that you may be allergic to lettuce. Although this seems to have happened since you started LC, it's possible it would have started now whether you did LC or not (lots of people get new allergic reactions to foods they previously tolerated).

You may want to consider the possibility that you may be allergic to some of the sprays grocery stores now put on lettuce to make it keep longer. If you get fresh-picked or organically grown, organically treated lettuce from a health food store and it still gives you this reaction then, yep, it's a good possibility that you have an emerging allergy.

me too. avocadoes, bananas, tomatoes, cantaloupe...i think eggs because i crave them but the other thing turn my face red and bumpy...so very attractive........

I didn't think abouth it, but lucky1 maybe it are the sprays they use. I usely buy the prepacked lettuce. I am going to buy them in a health food store next time, see if it helps. I hope so !
Thank you all for your tips !

I think I'm harbouring a dairy allergy - whenever I have double-cream I get this really foul tasting phlegm in my throat afterwards anyone else get anything like this?

Cheers!
S

dairy is known for causing mucous...maybe that is why??