Food Villians....

[comfortzone]

Truly I have never ever gave thought to what I've eaten as it relates to my symptoms. Yet time and time again here I've read with interest how many of you through suggestion or trial and error or doctors orders have modified what types and kinds of foods you eat, beverages you drink etc. Not going into supplements on this thread - but strictly food-wise......what foods have shown to be the root of many of your hardest signs/symptoms? If not perhaps at the root of them - which foods seem to exacerbate your symptoms? I don't know if it's my cloudy brain or my poor habits or my overwhelmdness that has me not scrutinizing this issue in my own life..... But it's the last thing -- on my list to study perhaps. I guess it would be good to read about what the elimination of.... Or the addition of.....did for you on the positive side. Thanks as always!

[Chaos]

Personally I've had a hard time trying to narrow down which foods are problematic for me. I can eat something one day and have terrible reactions and eat the same thing a couple weeks later and have NO problems with it. It seems to be as variable as all my other symptoms.

Trying to balance a diet that is limited by reactive hypoglycemia, multiple gut issues, slightly elevated lipids and high salt has me about ready to tear my hair out!

I'll be following your post with interest!

[Birdlady]

I got an IgG allergy test completed, which tested like 100 foods and I just avoid the foods with the highest reactions. For me it was a lot of stuff. Prior to this though, I eliminated all processed foods (no more packaged pizzas, frozen meals, fast foods etc) and all food additives including high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners (which are found in the electrolyte drinks) and MSG in all of its forms. I eat a pretty bland diet, but at least I know the POTS isn't from my diet! My gut has improved significantly since eliminating everything I reacted to also. I've slowly been adding dairy back into my diet and it's been ok.

As far as POTS symptoms increasing with certain foods...I have never noticed that. If I eat a really large meal, I'll be more symptomatic simply from the blood flowing into the stomach to digest.

[dianne.fraser]

Corn and maize starch cause GI symptoms for me, including stomach pain, bloating and nausea. These symptoms are always accompanied by increased fatigue and, in my younger days, I would also have outbreaks of acne which took a long time to heal. Earlier this year I also developed fairly severe nausea when I started eating quinoa for breakfast. Finally, of course, I get much more fatigued if I eat high-carb foods such as bread, pasta and rice.

I'm not sure how effectively I could manage my illness without eliminating these foods.

Dianne

[ladyt]

Hi..

I have always had bad reactions too food. Bothe system wise and skin. Some things i never tolerate others i somethines do find whit and then gett a really bad reaction too it. I dont tolerate milk anymore, i try to use litle white flour , but dont avoid it. I cant eat garlic (i think its because it lower the bloodpressure). I try to stay away prossed and allreaddy preperd food, cause many i react really bad to. I hacve to be carefull whit tomatos and mushrooms, chicken. i also have suddenly bad reaction to peanuts, strawberrys and much more. I dont remeber rigth now. Bitt foggy=)

[skiberthoud]

Food - my nemesis! It can be very overwhelming to try to figure the whole food thing out, especially when you feel lousy and you have family, work, an/or whatever other things eat up your time and energy. I have always had mild food allergies and for the most part have ignored them. I've always know this was a bad idea, but nothing made me sick enough to want to change things. I will tell you that twice I have done elimination diets and those have been the times in my life that I've felt the best. Of course, one of them was actually done for the sake of my breast feeding infant who was riddled with allergies and reacted to what I ate, so I didn't pay too much attn to me when adding foods back in. The second time i didn't really want to face the music because I felt so good and it took a long time to get back to feeling "not so good." I also have to tell you that this was before I had my onset of major pots symptoms.

I am planning on having a food panel done in the next month or two (once school starts and i have perhaps a little more time and brain power to devout to myself). This is what I figure: don't know if foods are contributing to my symptoms outright. What i do know is that when you have foods your body is allergic to it creates an immune reaction. Why add fuel to the fire. Staying away from foods that you are sensitive or allergic to can only help. As to how much they effect other symptoms...i'll let you know! I just want to do my part to help myself feel as good as possible.

Thanks for bringing up this fun topic!

[Ashelton80]

Food definitely plays a big role in how well I feel and how much brain fog I have. The main things I stay away from are sugar, wheat and dairy. No processed foods like chips, crackers and try to eat mainly lean meats, veggies and fruits. Occasionally I'll have some brown rice or quinoa, but it has to be later on in the day and not early. It has pretty much eliminated the hypoglycemia that I used to experience! Good luck to you!

[nmorgen]

Here if my list of foods that I have a problem with:

gluten - which includes wheat, barley, oats and rye. You really have to read labels to avoid this one.

lactose - I use an enzyme when I eat dairy to help with digestion. I don't eat it a lot though.

tomatoes

mackerel, bonito and tuna

corn - I try to limit it b/c I tend to get bloating if I eat too much.

pork - my panel didn't show an allergy, but I get sick everytime I eat pork except for bacon.

I don't drink anything but water and occasionally tea. I have also tried to eliminate all processed foods except for my GF stuff. I also eat certain organic fruits and vegetables. There is a list online with a ranking of pesticides found in food. I usa organic for the higher fruits/veggies on the list to cut down on pesticides.

[lissy]

Bacon causes me to become very very dizzy, thought sodium was good?...I stopped eating it

Milk bad cramps and bloating ***sometimes?....I still drink it

(Caffeine) any beverage with caffeine sends me into a extreme panic tachy mess...I avoid it completely --exception of chocolate***I LOVE CHOCOLATE GOTTA HAVE IT!!!!!

Some snacks (donuts,peanut butter cookies)Bad stomach ache serious pain--stopped eating it

Fish also causes extreme dizziness but no other allergic reactions....I stopped eating it

I avoid trying anything new and I stick to what causes less problems

Lissy

[sugartwin]

GARLIC.

Stay far away from garlic, especially fresh garlic. It's a godsend to people with hypertension (maybe it would help people with hyperadrenergic POTS?) but just a sauce with two cloves of garlic added to it lowered my blood pressure enough to send me to bed for the rest of the day.

[issie]

I have soooooo many food allergies. I had an Elisa food allergy test years ago and found out I react to everything related to a bird and to anything in the Rose family - almonds, rose hips, apples, pears

I've also determined that I'm sensitive to:

All grains

Milk products

Nightshade family - white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant

And to put me onto a death bed - 1/2 of a shrimp will do it.

I'm not digesting proteins very well and at present having a real bad flare with allergies. I have to do the elimanation diet again and get it figured out. When this happened before - I was real strict in not eating what I reacted to and used Colostrum. Got to get some of that. Don't know if I'll be able to use it right now, because it is from a milk source.

There's a big question mark for me and the Mast Cell problem. I've got to look into it more.

[Birdlady]

I forgot to list the foods I avoid. DOH!

Lactose intolerance-I am finally getting better now that I've avoided other allergens for over a year.

Gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats-This includes anything that says "might be processed in a facility with wheat". If you go gluten free you have to be 100% gluten free, which means throwing out all condiments that could be contaminated, cutting boards, strainers, toasters etc. If your entire household isn't gluten free, then it's nearly impossible to do it right.

Eggs-Both the white and yolk.

Baker's Yeast and brewer's yeast. This excludes foods most wouldn't think of. Alcohol, ALL vinegar which gets rid of all salad dressings, olives, pickles and nearly all condiments, anything fermented or brewed, grapes (wine too), figs, yeast extract (flavoring in foods), no breads, but that's already gone since I'm gluten free too.

Tomatoes-This would obviously include ketchup, pasta sauce and most condiments.

Strawberries

Blueberries

Garlic- I really love garlic, but it makes my stomach soo upset. I need to be better at avoiding this one.

Yes I have noticed a difference in my non-pots related symptoms like chronic diarrhea and unexplained rashes. My stomach rarely hurts these days and it used to hurt, feel bloated and full on a daily basis. I'd have diarrhea for 2 days, then feel constipated for a few. Rinse and repeat. All of that is gone.

[juliegee]

I have no specific foods to pinpoint- only that ALL food used to really set off symptoms for me. Prior to being on the MCAD regimen, I would get hot, sweaty, red-faced, experience post-nasal drip and sometimes even nasal discharge EVERY time I ate. It's a distant memory now. I eat and stay the same color, and temperature, and experience no allergy-type symptoms . For the record, I have NO food allergies. Extensive testing is all negative. My mast cells just got stirred up by food.

I do try to eat organic and avoid processed food. It can only help.

Julie

[issie]

I have no specific foods to pinpoint- only that ALL food used to really set off symptoms for me. Prior to being on the MCAD regimen, I would get hot, sweaty, red-faced, experience post-nasal drip and sometimes even nasal discharge EVERY time I ate. It's a distant memory now. I eat and stay the same color, and temperature, and experience no allergy-type symptoms . For the record, I have NO food allergies. Extensive testing is all negative. My mast cells just got stirred up by food.

I do try to eat organic and avoid processed food. It can only help.

Julie

Julie,

This sounds familiar - I keep asking myself - How can I possibly react to everything I eat. That's just not right. God made food for us to enjoy not be allergic to.

Issie

[lissy]

I think food/water is not to pure anymore . They use no many additives, pesticides ,growth hormones, antibotics ,chemicals ,and you all have seen the factories where are food comes from right?? who knows what else is in the food heavy metals and there is not to much regulating going on....just push the food to rake in the money.

I could go on and on with this topic but my voice really doesn't matter too much it will just get worse.

Even organic is commericalized (is it truely organic) or just a little cleaner with a higher price?

We all have some pretty wild symptoms and this has not always been a problem back in grandmas or greatgrandmas time you were allergic to peanuts fish milk/eggs maybe some fruit but thats about it.

I don't know maybe extreme lol

Lissy

[avidita]

I had a food allergy blood test, not sure how reliable it is, but from experience I have narrowed it down to this:

* Chocolate (or sweets) - instant vertigo and nausea attack. Rarely fails to hit me

* Soy - I was a soy nut for years, but after the blood test I thought back and found that some bad spells I've had were after ingesting large quantities of soy, so....

* Nuts - the test only showed moderate reaction to those, but I know almonds make me dizzy

* MSG - that is a no brainer. The Chinese place next door claims they don't use MSG, but I got two vertigo/nausea spells right after eating their food, so I am onto them ))) Scientists can use me to determine if a food has MSG in it or not.

* Splenda - loved it when it came out first, hate it now after it floored me a couple of times. Really reactive to that stuff. Even aspartame is better for me than Splenda.

* Any artificial sweetener, really.

* High glicemic carbs - but I was just deemed reactive hypoglycemic, so that figures.

[issie]

I had a food allergy blood test, not sure how reliable it is, but from experience I have narrowed it down to this:

* Chocolate (or sweets) - instant vertigo and nausea attack. Rarely fails to hit me

* Soy - I was a soy nut for years, but after the blood test I thought back and found that some bad spells I've had were after ingesting large quantities of soy, so....

* Nuts - the test only showed moderate reaction to those, but I know almonds make me dizzy

* MSG - that is a no brainer. The Chinese place next door claims they don't use MSG, but I got two vertigo/nausea spells right after eating their food, so I am onto them ))) Scientists can use me to determine if a food has MSG in it or not.

* Splenda - loved it when it came out first, hate it now after it floored me a couple of times. Really reactive to that stuff. Even aspartame is better for me than Splenda.

* Any artificial sweetener, really.

* High glicemic carbs - but I was just deemed reactive hypoglycemic, so that figures.

It's probably not that they use MSG, it's the natural MSG that's in the soy sauce - which you have issues with any way. I forgot to put soy on my list. But, I have issues with these two things too. And SAD - but I think I'm starting to not do well with chocolate.