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Vegan Health & Nutrition Discussion Forum
I have had Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) since I was 5 or 6 and if I eat any raw fruits or vegetables, an allergic reaction happens causing my throat to hurt and it becomes hard to swallow. It's not life threatening but it is uncomfortable enough to not want to eat any raw fruits or veggies. Because of this allergy, my diet has been pretty bad since it's just easier to eat fast food or anything else instead of finding ways to eat healthy. I stay pretty active so I'm not overweight and don't have any serious health problems but I know if I continue eating this way I will eventually so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what I can do to eat around this allergy. If the fruits and vegetables are cooked I can eat them. The allergy is caused by a certain protein in the fruit or vegetable but is easily destroyed by heat, thus when cooked, it is fine. I'd honestly like to become vegan because of the health benefits but I'm afraid my allergy will make this very difficult. If anyone has any recipes they could recommend or just tips in general about what to do, it would be much appreciated.
Responses (7)
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Posted by ahimsa32fa at 10/26/14 07:50:32
Personally, I wouldn't let that stop me from being vegan.
But I have a question. Are you still eating dairy products?
I ask because there's something called "false allergic response". It's when your reaction to a particular food may actually be caused by something else in your diet.
There's at least anecdotal evidence that sometimes what appears to be an allergic response to a particular food, disappears when dairy is eliminated from the diet.
I'd suggest sending your question to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (pcrm.org). They're a great source of info.
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Posted by hungryforplants at 10/26/14 13:13:08
It's easy for you to say it wouldn't stop you when you haven't been dealing with it for 14 years. I used to love eating fruits and vegetables but then this started happening. I still try to eat fruits and vegetables as much as possible but I can't just buy some fresh apples or anything fresh and eat them, they have to be cooked. I sometimes eat dairy products but not very often at all. It's not caused by dairy, it's an allergic reaction to certain proteins in the fruit itself, I've been to an allergist and had this all confirmed. I'll check out that website though, thank you.
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Posted by ahimsa32fa at 10/26/14 14:53:21
I wasn't implying that it would necessarily be easy. I enjoy cooking, so I might have an easier time.
Is it all raw fruits and veggies that cause the reaction?
I did a search and found a good page under "food allergies" through about.com
A Dr. Moore there describes OAS as a raw plant protein reacting with specific pollens. It included a list of the combinations of plant foods and pollens that cause a reaction. It may be stuff you already know, but it looked to me like not all plant foods were a problem, and it would be worse during the various pollen seasons.
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Posted by Helen Woodard at 10/28/14 18:25:32
It could happen. I'm allergic to quite a few fruits and a couple of vegetables. Reactions go from throat closing with raw to severe upset stomach with cooked or processed. Once you've had a severe enough reaction it makes you wary of trying others.
My suggestion is to focus on what you can eat. Please do a search on eating at 1200 calories, you'll find some interesting information.
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Posted by Andy.R at 11/18/14 04:06:04
I have some fruit allergies to watermelons, raspberries, and bananas and when I have a reaction, my mouth and throat get swollen and itchy and sometime I have the sensation of nausea.
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Posted by BigBadPlant at 01/08/15 02:31:14
Do you like cooking? Because I think that is the most important question. If you do then you then the whole wide world of food opens up to you. Fruits and veggies have millions of recipes to be served: cooked, grilled, baked. The only thing bounding you would be your creativity and will to experiment and cook.
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Posted by DeborahDuncan at 03/05/15 06:21:48
I used to have the same problem. Even getting watermelon juice on my skin made me break out in a rash. I could eat some berries, apples, and onions. Nearly all other raw fruits or vegetables I was allergic to. I went to an allergist and had desensitation shots for my pollen allergies. After being on the shots for five years, my allergy to raw fruits and vegetables went away! Now I can even eat salad and watermelon and it does not bother me. I was also allergic to skunk smell and that went away too
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