Down for the Count

Today, during my second day of the most incredible class in corset contruction, I went and grabbed a bite of food from the coffee shop across the way. It was DELICIOUS. Mmmmm... tasty. Until about a half hour later when all the fun began. Suddenly I was exhausted, fuzzy headed, bloated, and... sorry to say it... not doing any favors to those breathing the air around me. It seems most definite that I have acquired a food allergy. After the teacher pointed out how quiet and confused I had become I stopped work and tried to just absorb as much information as possible.

But now I'm unsure of how to proceed. There was nothing in my lunch that I haven't eaten before. And to be honest, I didn't have any reaction that I haven't had to a lesser degree before. But I've never felt so incredibly bad and I can't single out the food that caused it. What I ate was an "egg jumble." It was scrambled eggs, red and white onions, garlic, parmesan, spinach, and tomatoes. It was cooked in butter, and there was a side of sourdough toast, which I also indulged in. Here are the likely culprits:

1. Onions. I've commented before that green onions make the roof of my mouth itch, but no itchiness today. I've also noticed a little bloat when eating raw onions, but never to this extent, and never when they're cooked.

2. Garlic. I would be so depressed if this were truly the cause. Garlic is good for you, right? But like onions, I have noticed a little bloating at times when I eat foods containg garlic- but how do I know it's actually the garlic causing it?

3. Butter. I almost never eat the real thing. Rick is allergic, so when I use it at home it's always Vegan substitute. But surely I've had it in other foods when I go out? For that matter the parmesan could be to blame as well. Maybe I'm becoming lactose intolerant? But then, why doesn't the daily skim milk in my decaf bother me?

4. Eggs. I used to think I was allergic to eggs. I would always get sick when I ate them and I stopped eating them in college. Then a couple of years ago I wanted to test it out, so I made some eggs for myself and I was fine. No problems at all. This leads me back to butter, because I'm sure the eggs I was eating in college were soaked in them.

What do you think? How does one really figure out what they're allergic to in their food?

Comments

[AJ]

Well, I developed an egg allergy toward the end of college. That certainly wouldn't surprise me. It also runs in my family-- do u have any food allergies running in your family or anything?

The most accurate thing is that awful test allergists do. The needle prick thing. I don't recommend it for a good time.

[Mom]

My vote is for the onions, although there are many likely culprits in the mix. Maybe it was the combination?

[miss kendra]

i am the PERFECT person to ask about this.

seriously.

being allergic to both eggs and casein (milk protein), i know a thing or two. my best guess is that it was a combination of all the foods- onions and garlic can both cause bloating, and if you're not used to butter it can really cause some distress- even without an allergy.

short of going to an allergist, the best way to figure out what foods are no good for you, you do food trials. example: while eating a normal diet, don't eat anything with onions, garlic or butter for a while. then eat something with just onions. if you're fine, wait a few days, then try just garlic. if you're fine, try butter.

we can discuss this more later. i hope you feel better!