I have been interested in eating a raw food diet for some time now and would really love to start. I have been confused about where to start but this site has really helped a lot! The only thing is a few years ago I started an oral food allergy. I am allergic to a lot of fruits and vegetables. A big example are bananas. If I even touch a banana and touch my mouth my throat becomes very itchy and will start to swell up. Eating them is just as bad BUT if the banana is somehow altered like banana pudding or something I am not allergic to it. Same with cucumbers and other fruits and veggies. Has anyone ever over come an oral food allergy? Thanks!

Is the allergy consistant (i.e. same reaction always)? Also, have you tried organic & ripe only?

My food allergies have been nonexistent since I have been eating a raw food diet. It's been 10 months now. I used to have reactions frequently. It was a welcome surprise to have them go away.

All my life there were some foods that made the ridges on the roof of my mouth swell and get very tender. At its worst a layer of skin would actually peel off! That happened when I ate certain cheeses. Raw pineapple was always so bad that I hadn't eaten it in decades. Since I hadn't had any allergic reactions or even twinges from any food in so many months, I decided to give fresh pineapple a try. One bite - no problem. The next day I ate about a quarter of a pineapple and still no problem. Wow! Kiwifruit was another problem food and isn't anymore. Actually, though, I wasn't able to identify most of the foods that used to cause reactions because things I used to eat had too many ingredients for me to isolate the ones that caused the irritation. Anyway, now I don't have to try and figure it out.

I don't know if it'll be the same for you, but at least there is a possibility that your allergies will go away. Good luck!


My favorite raw vegan

Yes, the reaction is always the same. No, I have not tried organic just store bought from ex. Walmart or the local grocery store. Do you think that would make a difference?

Trive - Yours went away?! WOW, that is fantastic. I hope mine do the same. It makes it very hard right now to pick and choose things that I'm not allergic too. I hope as I continue mine too will go away. I'm afraid the way things are now though I will get bored with few things I can eat very soon.

WOW! You wouldn't believe it but I went to the store today and bought ORGANIC bananas and guess what?!?!?! I had NO allergy to them! It's been years since I was able to eat a banana! I can't believe it! AMAZING - is all I can say! Will buy organic of the other fruits and veggies I have been "allergic" to and see what happens! WOW!

Great! That's wonderful news! I suspect my food allergies (and possibly yours) came from chemicals in or on foods. Maybe the chemicals in preservatives, pesticides, emulsifiers, etc. were interacting badly. Anyway, I no longer am eating whatever used to be irritating me and I am eating foods that USED to cause problems. I'm happy to hear that you are having a similar experience. Hurrah for raw food!!!


My favorite raw vegan

there is alot of cross contamination as well in conventional produce at times (not all) so i think organic if you can afford it is a good way to go as there seems to be alot more care taken to avoid such things

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

What do you mean by cross contamination - does a banana mind sitting next to an apple?

flipperjan,

The banana could transfer pesticide or fungicide residue to the apple; this is why organic must be physically separate from conventional produce, by law[in the States, anyway]. It may not matter to someone who isn't very sensitive, and they could just wash the contaminants off the apple, but the immune system of someone very susceptible might detect them even after washing and have a response. It's a dangerous world, the produce aisle . . .

As eating organic can be expensive, maybe it's worth getting one of those lists of fruit and veg with the highest pesticides so you know which ones to always avoid?

Here y'all go:

[today.msnbc.msn.com]

Thanks for that Tamukha

I find it interesting bananas are on the ok-for-non-organic list. Organic bananas have such a different texture and taste to non-organic, it makes me question the skin's ability to protect the fruit from pesticides...