Allergies and other special conditions

[xjoseyx]

Hey. Im recently vegan but I have a problem. Im allergic to a lot of fruit (apples, oranges, kiwis, strawberry, banana, lemon, lime) and I dont like veg that much. What am I going to do? I cant live on chips and linda McCartney stuff for the rest of my life. :confused:

[Tiggerwoo]

It might be an idea going to a nutritionist as fruits and veg are an important part of a vegan diets nutritional value and they will help you balance out what you can eat with your food intolerances.

Also you say you like linda mccartney pies, if so you'll probably like realeat fake mince and chicken bits. They're alot healthier and can be incorporated and put into curries, chillies, mock bolognaise etc.

Also, how are you on pulses.... lentils, red kidney beans etc. They're pretty vital and they don't have to be boring as they can be added to the chillies and curries too.

Hope this helps. :)

[DancingWillow]

That does sound like a dilemma Josey. You said you don't like veggies much...are there at least some that you like? If there are, start with those. Also, try experimenting with veggies to see if there is some way you like them...try making different sandwiches and wraps, salads, cooking them, sauteing them into a srir-fry, etc. As you try various ways of preparing veggies, you may be pleasantly surprised at how delicious some recipes are! ;)

As for your allergies to fruit...are they severe allergies? Have you talked with a doctor about them? There are ways to desensitize you to food allergies. However, be very careful with the techniques and be sure to find out medical research findings. Some techniques (e.g. allergy injections) have been found to be ineffective for food allergies, though they are very effective for skin allergies. Another thing that I would recommend is to be careful with the type of doctor you choose. Many conventional doctors (with an M.D. degree) are not very open-minded, and might even advise you against veganism. I would look for a holistically oriented doctor or as osteopathic doctor (with D.O. degree).

In the meantime, there are many foods you can eat, such as quinoa, pasta, lentil soup, chili, rice, tofu, cous-cous, breads, pita wraps with hummus and veggies, whole grain cereal with some kind of non-dairy milk, all kinds of nuts, the list goes on!!! However, fruits and veggies are an essential part of every diet and I would definitely incorporate them into your diet! Eat the fruits that you're not allergic to and the veggies that you do like:) Have fun experimenting with all the vegan possibilities:D

[Pob]

There's quite a few fruits you haven't mentioned - can you eat any of these?
Mango, paw paw, pineapple, pear, peach, plum, grapes, melon, watermelon, cherries, physalis.

Other stuff that most people (well me and my wife, anyway) find tasty and is good:
Tomatoes (particularly cherry tomatoes), raw carrots, raw baby spinach, watercress, unpickled cooked beetroot, celery (cooked or raw), peas, sugarsnap peas, sweetcorn, babycorn, sweet peppers, courgette, cucumber, aubergine, raw red cabbage, aubergine, avocado, green beans, bean sprouts.

Instead of chips, what about root vegetable wedges? Chop potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, carrot into wedges, coat lightly in oil and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Yum!

There's a whole lot of good stuff out there.:cool:

[xjoseyx]

There's quite a few fruits you haven't mentioned - can you eat any of these?
Mango, paw paw, pineapple, pear, peach, plum, grapes, melon, watermelon, cherries, physalis.

Other stuff that most people (well me and my wife, anyway) find tasty and is good:
Tomatoes (particularly cherry tomatoes), raw carrots, raw baby spinach, watercress, unpickled cooked beetroot, celery (cooked or raw), peas, sugarsnap peas, sweetcorn, babycorn, sweet peppers, courgette, cucumber, aubergine, raw red cabbage, aubergine, avocado, green beans, bean sprouts.

Instead of chips, what about root vegetable wedges? Chop potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, carrot into wedges, coat lightly in oil and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Yum!

There's a whole lot of good stuff out there.:cool:


Ooops I should have mentioned Tomatoes, raw theyre one of the worst things for me. One bite and my tongue swells and gets really sore. As for the fruits you listed, I have tried them all with no luck :(

I'll definately try the root veg wedges. I adore parsnips. Raw red cabbage is nice. The only veg I do like and can tolerate are potatos (any method), cooked carrots, parsnips, onion, mushrooms, sweetcorn and peas. Im really limited :(

[tipsy]

josie,

you say that youve recently gone vegan...

you may find that you begin to like veggies more.

my tastes changed when i went vegan.

other than that....all i can say is learn to like them! use the ones you do like, use the ones you dont like, but cover the taste with spices, sauces...

be creative!:D

[RedWellies]

Are you allergic to fruit juice as well as the whole fruit?

Hide veggies in soups, you can liquidize them!

[xjoseyx]

Are you allergic to fruit juice as well as the whole fruit?

Hide veggies in soups, you can liquidize them!

Yep it the same with fruit juice. I can hadle about a 1/4 pint of OJ before it kicks in. Im ok with 1/2 pint of apple juice though.

[laurin]

That's tough, umm? I agree, you should probably see a nutritionist!

[laurin]

You can boil yams and put some melted soy butter on them, or any vegetable for that matter.

I suggest getting a cookbook, someone gave me that advice and it has helped me tremendously.

[Jingyd]

Hello,

I was recently advised to have some allergy testing after having alot of sinus problems, I have mild to moderate chronic sinusitis.

I did a test with York laboratories, sent off 2 blood samples and was told wheat was one of the things I am allergic to. Does anyone know how reliable these blood tests are? I was also told I am allergic to shrimps, celery, hazelnuts and meat mix?? grass pollen & mould.

I have always suffered with IBS/windy stomach aswell as constant sinus problems since I was a child. Could wheat of caused these problems?

[Nyx]

I'm not sure how accurate blood tests are but most doctors believe them to be fairly accurate. I was tested by a naturopath (no blood work though) and I came up as being allergic to a lot of things including wheat and other grains. I have had IBS for about 13 years now and it has always disrupted my life. I was off gluten and wheat and grains for a few months but ate a LOT of nuts in that time so my IBS worsened. I later found out nuts can make IBS horrible. All fats (animal and vegetable) can make IBS worse. There are books on IBS you could check out (I'm going to).

I would say, cut out those foods for a good two months solid to get them completely out of your system and see how your allergies/IBS is. It's really the only way you can know.

I'm going to try it eventually (just need to find the will power since my family shoves wheat and stuff on me all the time).

Let me know how it goes. :thumbsup:

[Sara]

I am allergic to three things that it seems vegans eat a lot of: legumes, tree nuts, and wheat. I am also allergic to strawberries. My doctor told me I could not go vegan because I am limited to the kinds of protein I can consume and we do nto have a wide variety of products in alaska.
Does anybody have any advice?

[Korn]

Hi Sara,
have you seen this list:
What are your favourite vegan protein sources? (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3696)

[harpy]

Hello - you might be able to get enough protein from seeds, grains etc but I think I would want to get some advice from a specialist - maybe someone the Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/) could help you track down a vegan nutritionist.

[Megan89]

Hi All,
I suffer with hand eczema, and there is a small amount of research that suggests that following a low nickel diet may help for those with nickel allergy (which I have).
Problem is it means I have to exclude the following:
all beans and pulses,
soya,
chocolate,
whole wheat products
buckwheat, oats
unploished rice
all seeds and nuts
dried and canned fruit
anything that comes from a can
baking powder
some veg (onion, garlic leek) and limit fruit to apples - 3-4x week, orange 3-4x week

I can have white rice, potatoes, and corn (phew!)

I was a vegan for about 2 years, then for about the last 2 years I became a vegetarian again (just eating cheese, the odd yoghurt here and there, no pure milk *bleugh tastes yucky*).
Now I'd like to become a vegan again, but am concerned that I won't be able to consume enough protein/energy....
Anybody got any great ideas/opinons?

I really like soy yoghurt...any rice version anyone know of?
Btw I live in the UK, so this can limit my choice.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice,
Meg xxx

[Ruby Rose]

Megan, if your medical professional has genuinely diagnosed a specific condition that requires such an extreme restriction of foods, I really think you need the support of a dietician specialising in this sort of very restricted diet rather than internet advice from vegans who eat a normal range of foods.

If you're not doing this on the recommendation of a doctor, I'd be really cautious about cutting out so many important sources of nutrients, though your choices about your body and your diet are, of course, entirely up to you.

[Reformed_Apostate]

I have a soy allergy, which makes being vegan even more difficult with the funds of a poor college student. I really want to start cooking proper vegan meals. What are some affordable and healthy things I can stock up on to really flourish?

[twinkle]

Welcome :)

I'm thinking you're after protein sources which aren't soy based? Are you okay with other beans? They're a cheap source of protein, particularly if you've got time to buy dried ones in bulk. Peanuts are a good source of cheap protein too, and wheat products such as bread and pasta. Quinoa is meant to be excellent although I have never really got on with it that well and it's more expensive. If you like it you might be able to get a good deal on a bulk buy though.

If you're not after protein so much as meat subs, how about Seitan (made with wheat gluten)? I prefer the texture of that to a lot of soy mock meats, it's more chewy usually. You can buy it or make your own from vital wheat gluten flour - there are loads of recipes floating around.

[Korn]

Hi,
and welcome!

since newbies often ask questions that are covered in many other threads, we often trim their posts before they are approved - which is what happened with this thread as well. But don't worry - your other questions are discussed in many threads already! :-)



I have a soy allergy, which makes being vegan even more difficult with the funds of a poor college student.

With all due respect - I think it's the other way round. Practically no vegans use cooked soy beans for dinner, and all those imitation products are usually both expensive, processed several times and not particularly healthy. Lots of vegans practicallynever use soy. There's no need to do it.



I really want to start cooking proper vegan meals. What are some affordable and healthy things I can stock up on to really flourish?
There are endless options - so many that we usually ask people to look around in the forum for recipes, quick meals, cheap food and so on.

For starters, you could try the "tag cloud" (upper right corner) or one of these threads:
Quick & easy vegan food (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?2542-Quick-amp-easy-vegan-food)
Cheap vegan food (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?361-Cheap-vegan-food) (This is the old "Poor vegan, cheap living" thread merged with other similar threads.)
Not using soy (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?14887-Not-using-soy)
Soy / wheat free vegan diet (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?1280-Soy-wheat-free-vegan-diet)
What are your favourite vegan protein sources?
(http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?3696-What-are-your-favourite-vegan-protein-sources)

Good luck - you'll find loads of useful info here! :-)

[leedsveg]

Hi R_A and welcome to the forum. Good luck with all that cooking.:thumbsup:

Leedsveg

[Unregistered]

Yep it the same with fruit juice. I can hadle about a 1/4 pint of OJ before it kicks in. Im ok with 1/2 pint of apple juice though.

1/4 pint of OJ is a substantial amount. Equal to about 1 or 2 oranges. I recommend you use fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized (uncooked) juice. What about grapefruit?

[leedsveg]

Hello unregistered guest

Do you realise that you are responding to postings made 5 years ago? You were wanting to help and so must have a good heart.:thumbsup:

Good wishes

Leedsveg

[Night_Owl]

We are in the same boat. I am allergic to soy, wheat and possibly gluten intolerant. So my choices are limited. I focus on everything else that I can have.

[FaerieSuzy]

This isn't exactly a question, but I thought I would post it on the newbie area as I am a fairly recent vegan.

About 3 months ago I got bumps and dry skin on my hands and feet and ulcers in my mouth, and was diagnosed with probable 'hand foot and mouth'. I was using fungicidal cream (hydrocortizone) and it helped a little but not a lot, there was still loads of itchiness.

Anyway, about 2 months later I switch to a vegan diet and BAM! it's disappeared completely! I haven't taken any medication or cream in months as I couldn't afford any more and my change of diet has completely healed it!

So if anyone else is thinking of becoming vegan, go for it! It's a miracle cure!!!

;)