Seems to be a group of knowledgable people around here --

I had a coworker who was allergic to raw food. sound crazy?? I thought so.
She had an allergic reaction to celery when she was young and almost died. She is very sensitive to anything raw, and can only eat a few bites before she feels a tingling in her throat which she links to the allergic reaction.
Amazingly[?] this woman is very thin, an ominovore, though I don't know about her overall health.
We speculated that it had to do with spores or pesticides but she had the same issue with organic fruits also -- something contaminating them in transport?
This seems like a mystery to me.. any ideas?

some people can be allergic to plant proteins or plant enzymes (this one is really really rare apparently) which im guessing is possible .. both proteins and enzymes would most likely be destroyed or reduced by cooking them (im guessing here)

i wouldnt quote me on this though its just something breifly discussed in my nutrition class when i was taking my massage therapy course

- Jodi

oops and also wanted to add we talked about cross contamination.. that people with fruit or vegetable allergies also had issues with certain kinds of pollen ...that the pollen from nearby grass or trees could contaminate the food in question causing an allergic reaction thus making you think its an allergy to celery when in fact it was the hay farm next doors grass pollen thats settled on the celery ...

BUT ..id guess if the food was washed youd wash away the pollen enough (i dont really know..) so i doubt that this would be the case in your friends case



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2007 04:16PM by Jgunn.

hmm ok i found this ... i really hate quoting myself when i dont really know what im talking about

[www.aaia.ca]

Oral Allergy Syndrome is an allergy to certain raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, spices and nuts causing allergic reactions in the mouth and throat. These allergic reactions happen mostly in people with hayfever, especially spring hayfever due to birch pollen, and late summer hayfever due to ragweed pollen (Webmaster note: there is no ragweed pollen in British Columbia west of the Rockies).

An allergic reaction happens while eating the raw food, and causes itchy, tingly mouth, lips, throat and palate. There may be swelling of the lips, tongue and throat, and watery itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing. Handling the raw fruit or vegetable e.g., peeling it or touching the juice to the lips, may cause rash, itching or swelling where the juice touches the skin, or sneezing, runny nose and water eyes. Sometimes, more severe symptoms can happen such as vomiting, cramps, diarrhea and, on rare occasions, life threatening reactions with swelling of the throat, wheezing, trouble breathing and anaphylaxis.

Fruit, Vegetable & Nut Allergies Associated with Spring Allergies
(due to tree pollen)
Webmaster note: For more foods, see the "Botanical List of Food Families" article on Calgary Allergy Network site
FRUITS:
APPLE family (apple, pear)
PLUM family (plum, peach, prune, nectarine, apricot, cherry)
KIWI

VEGETABLES:
PARSLEY family (carrot, celery, dill, anise, cumin, coriander, caraway)
POTATO family (potato, tomato, green pepper)
NUTS:
Hazelnut, walnut, almond

LEGUMES:
Peas, beans, peanut

SEEDS:
Sunflower




Ragweed allergy (which causes hayfever in August and September) can be associated with allergies to raw bananas, and the members of the gourd family (melon, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, zucchini and cucumber).

Grass allergy can be associated with allergies to orange, melon, watermelon, tomato, kiwi, peanut.

These allergic reactions usually occur only when the food is raw. People who are allergic to the raw food can eat it cooked, canned, microwaved, processed or baked. For example, someone allergic to raw apples can eat apple sauce, apple jelly, apple juice, apple pie and dried apples. However, nuts may cause allergic reactions whether raw or cooked. This problem is usually life long. Allergy tests to these foods may sometimes be negative unless a fresh fruit is used for the test (instead of a commercial allergy extract). The allergic reaction to these foods can occur anytime of the year when eating the foods but can be worse during the pollen season and especially if hayfever is very troublesome that year.

The allergic reaction is not due to pesticides, chemicals or wax on the fruit. Howeve,r because the more allergic part of the fruit may be in the skin, some people allergic to fruits, e.g., peaches, can eat the flesh without reaction if the skin is peeled away. Similarly for apples, some brands of apples cause more allergic reactions than others. Freshly picked apple, e.g., straight from the tree or an unripe apple, may cause fewer allergic reactions than one which is very ripe or one which has been stored for weeks after picking.

Severe allergic reactions to foods causing Oral Allergy Syndrome are most likely to occur with celery, kiwi, peaches, apricots, apples and nuts, especially hazelnuts.

oh and too even further the thought ... my co-worker told me that she gets really sensitive to fruit or veggies unless she washes them or peels them because of latex ... alot of fruit veggie handlers are requiredd to wear latex gloves when handling and even small trace amounts of latex sends her off on allergic reactions..

interesting thought ida never thought of that aspect of it

Thanks, those are are all really helpful. I'll send her the info. sometimes it's helpful for people to have a name for something - gives them power.