Allergies

[crazychicknlady]

I was reasonably allergy free as a kid.

Within a few years of moving to the state I presently live in, I developed some seasonal allergies. Not too bad at first, and only bothering me Spring and Fall (our two major blooming seasons). They have gotten progressively worse over the years, though not quite bad enough for my medication averse self to buy allergy medicine.

Now it seems some of the food allergies associated with ragweed allergies are catching up to me. I really can't recall ever being able to eat honeydew type melons without having an itchy mouth - but in all fairness, I'm fairly certain I never tried honeydew melon as a kid. I haven't had cantaloupe recently enough to remember if I react to those now, but when I was pregnant with my oldest I remember eating a ton of cantaloupe with no ill effect.

The latest culprit - bananas.

I ate one last night, and my whole mouth and throat itched for a long while. So much so, I was motivated to look up the ragweed/fresh food connection. Bananas are indeed on the list. I also read that it is fairly common for women to develop ragweed allergies later in life than men - so young adulthood, about when I started having problems.

Apparently cooking the fruit/vegetables that cause reactions can solve the problem - so I'll still be okay with banana bread - but dang it I'm kind of a fresh fruit junkie.

It does make me wonder how many people who espouse the wonders of fresh food diets suffer from seasonal allergies. Not too many I'd bargain.

ETA: I should have said raw food, instead of fresh food in the last paragraph. I meant to reference the the diet where very little is cooked, not the desire to use fresh ingredients in one's cooking.

Comments

[kyle griffin (from livejournal.com)]

And then there are those of us who espouse fresh meat diets....

The modern paleo line is that fruit wasn't available in most places most of the time. Treat it as a dessert: Not actually good for you, but awful tasty.

[crazychicknlady.livejournal.com]

Well, by fresh food, I meant the no cook variety. I should have said raw food, not fresh. I assume you all cook your meats. I have met people who do eat raw beef, and of course there is the whole raw fish thing popular these days - neither of which would work for me. I still can't buy into the idea that fresh fruit in general is bad for me, though.

[(Anonymous)]

My best guess is that you will probably--if you haven't already--be adding cucumbers and carrots to your list. Cucumbers are melons and carrots have similar ragweed pollen issues. I feel for you, because I too I have lived this for the past several years. S--