Now that spring has sprung the environment is on a mission to make many of your lives miserable. By that I mean ALLERGIES.

 

Now, I could write about how to combat allergy symptoms with Quercetin from foods like capers and purple onions or increase Vitamin C with food like strawberries or kiwis.

 

I might even mention that a low inflammatory diet and removing food allergies and sensitivities can make tremendous strides in symptom improvement. However, I want to make you aware of something much more complex:

 

CROSS REACTIVE SENSITIVITIES

Cross reactivity is a term used to describe a reaction to a product that looks similar to a different allergy or sensitivity. 

 

For instance, years ago I had a patient that was Celiac (which means an autoimmune reaction to gluten). She was 100% gluten free, but having problems with her gut.

 

Now, when working on people you must eliminate the possibility of things that could be extremely harmful like infections or even cancer. In this case she was cleared from anything major and we had to work through her diet.

 

After some work we figured out tapioca was the culprit. Tapioca! This is a major ingredient in A LOT of gluten free foods. She eliminated the tapioca and the gut complaints improved.

 

A few times every year, it never fails. Someone will call or come in and say ," Doc, I was doing really well and I don't know what happened but I feel terrible now. I'm taking everything and doing everything". Since we do a lot of food testing here we tend to eliminate the obvious foods, but these cases often come at the change of season.

 

So, what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation? Check your cross reactive possibilities.

 

How I check for cross reactive possibilities

This is what I do in the office: If a patient comes in and the bells go off in my head that this might be a possibility, I turn to the all powerful oracle (the internet). I ask (pollen.com) what’s in the environment that might possibly be cursing our existence? 

Then, match it up to a chart that helps identify cross reactive foods. I've attached the chart for you below. This is not a comprehensive list, so I'm going to make sure I touch on a few things.

Cross reactive sensitivities for those with a latex allergy

If you have a latex allergy you should probably avoid Avocado, Banana, Kiwi, Chestnuts, Tomato and Potatoes as there is a high cross reactivity to the foods. 

A secondary list of foods for these people would include apples, carrots, celery, melons and papaya. These are at a moderate level of cross reactivity, but worth mentioning. 

I can't tell you how many times people have come into the office with a long history of latex allergy and have never been told to avoid these foods. This can help these people avoid a lot of inflammation and GI distress. 

While this only happens 30-50% of the time in folks with latex allergy this statistic is high enough that people should know.

Possible cross reactive sensitivities during Spring in Nashville, TN

At the time of writing this it’s Spring in Nashville, and the allergens that are most high are trees including Oak, Juniper and Maple.

While these are not included in the list provided. If someone comes in with symptoms of fatigue and lethargy and has been doing “all the things” I would refer to the "Trees" portion of the list and check the cross reactive foods. 

This includes almonds, apples, apricots, brazil nuts, celery, carrots, cherries, peaches and peanuts. As always excluding nightshade veggies (tomato, white potato, peppers of any time and eggplant) may be important.