Low Allergen Diet

Many people experience unpleasant
reactions of foods they have eaten and suspect a food allergy is the
underlying cause. However, only 2-5% of adults and 2-8% of children
are truly allergic to certain foods. The remainder of people may be
experiencing food intolerance, o food sensitivity, rather then food
allergy.

“Masked” or “hidden”
allergies are a controversial topic; many conventional doctors believe
they are rare, whereas practitioners of alternative medicine believe
they are extremely common. According to James Brenean, M. D., former
chairman of the Food Allergy Division of the American Academy of Allergy,
unrecognized food allergies are responsible for 60% of all of the symptoms
seen by a family physician that are not adequately diagnosed or treated.

Food allergies and intolerance
are best treated by avoidance of the offending food for a prescribed
period of time, followed by a “rotation” diet, in which problem
foods are only eaten every three to four days, instead of daily. Young
children can often re-introduce foods after three months of avoidance,
wheras adults may require six to twelve months of avoidance. Most hidden
allergies are cyclic (i.e., they settle down after long-term avoidance).
Fixed allergies (those hat cause a reaction, no matter how long a time
the food has been avoided) are less common.

Symptoms of food allergy or
intolerance may not be triggered immediately after reintroduction of
the foods; therefore, a person can get an erroneous impression their
allergy or intolerance is cured. With repeated ingestion of the food,
however, symptoms may gradually return. When a problem food is rotated
symptoms are less likely to return.

Remembering that mono-diets
lead to intolerances and variety leads t greater tolerance.

Avoid the most common
allergens and alcohol

The most commonly
allergic foods in descending order are: corn, milk, pork, oranges, coffee,
wheat, cheese, beef, tomatoes, chocolate, rye, yoghurt, shellfish, potatoes,
malt, soy, eggs, peanuts, capsicum, cayenne, oats, rice, barley.

The following foods are
the least likely to provoke allergic reactions:

Beverages:

Almond milk
Herb tea (no lemon
or orange)
Pure fruit juices
without sugar or additives (dilute 50:50 with water)
Roasted grain beverages
may be used as coffee substitutes
Soy milk without
corn oil
Spring water

Cereals

Buckwheat
Amarath, Quinoa
Puffed rice and
millet
Oat bran and oat
meal
Diluted apple juice,
apple slices, and nuts go well on cereal.
Use soy milk that
has no corn oil added or almond milk

Grains and flour:

Bean flour
Buckwheat flour
100% buckwheat soba
noodles
Cooked whole grains,
such as oats, millet, barley, buckwheat groats (kasha), rice macaroni,
spelt (flour and pasta), brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, rice, or millet
breads (that contain no diary, eggs, sugar, or wheat)
Potato flour
100% rice cakes
Rice crackers
Rice flour
100% rye or spelt
bread with no wheat
Rye crackers
Soy flour

Legumes

Black beans
Chickpeas
Kidney beans
Lentils
Navy beans
Peas
Soybeans
String beans
Tofu

Dried beans should b soaked
overnight. Four ff the water and rise before cooking. Canned beans often
contain added sugar or other potential allergens. Some cooked beans
packaged in glass jars, and sold at health food stores, contain no sugar.

Nuts and seeds:

Nuts and seeds,
either raw or roasted, without salt or sugar
Nut butter, cashew
butter, walnut butter, sesame butter, and sesame tahini)
Peanuts are a common
food allergen and should b avoided, along with peanut butter

Oils

Use cold-pressed
(available from health food stores), s they are safer for the heart
and blood vessels. Do not use corn oil or “vegetable oil” from an
unspecified source, as this is usually corn oil.
Canola oil
Flaxseed (edible
linseed) oil – do not cook with Flaxseed oil
Olive oil
Peanut oil
Safflower oil
Sesame oil
Soy oil
Sunflower oil