Dear Hives Guy,
First, I would like to thank you so much for caring enough to share what you have learned regarding CU! My daughter has struggled with this since her 12th birthday (a year and a half ago), and even specialists were unable to give us any answers.
I have spent hundreds of hours in research, finally discovering her problem myself and trying to find ways to help her. Your knowledge in this area is quite extensive, and I am so grateful that you are sharing your knowledge with us!
I am planning to start her on your limited diet, but wondered if you had any comments regarding adding a few other foods, as she cannot eat bananas. Have you ever attempted these other foods: apples, cauliflower, wild venison/elk?
They were foods that I thought I might be able to use for supplements/substitutions, but wondered if they cause a problem for you before trying it. I do understand each person is different, and allergies will vary. Thank you again, and God bless you for serving others in this way!
-Regina
Hivesguy says
Regina,
Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. I’m very sorry to hear of the struggles your daughter has had with this. I hope she gets some relief soon, and I’d be happy to answer your questions.
I have tried venison (deer meat). I’ve also tried lamb, filet mignon, and ham. They don’t cause my hives to come back when I eat a small portion and then back off for several days. However, all red meat, in general, seems to not be good on my digestion/body. I’d probably get a little prickly if I ate it daily. Turkey is the easiest meat I’ve found to digest, and it causes no issues at all for my hives. Therefore, I really don’t eat red meat often, and when I do, I eat it in small doses and then abstain from it a few days/weeks.
Cauliflower has always caused a lot of gas and bloating for me, so I haven’t eaten it in years. I don’t know if it has some chemical my body can’t break down or what. I do tolerate broccoli fine. I try to steer clear of apples too, because they have caused minor issues for me in the past. However, I have eaten an occasional apple without major issues. I would not want to eat them daily, however.
I tolerate bananas just fine, but since your daughter has issues with them, you may want to steer clear of them. Other fruit I’ll eat on occasion and then remove from my diet include the following: Kiwi fruit and craisins (dried cranberries). But I eat a lot of my blueberries, strawberries, and bananas, so I rarely eat any other fruits.
The standard diet that I talk about in the videos is the diet that keeps my hives gone (along with the other things I mentioned). I do occasionally eat other foods and then return to the diet strictly, but I have to stay on it pretty rigidly if I want my hives to stay away.
If you are planning on doing an elimination diet for 2-4 weeks, its best to select only a few foods that have a very low allergic potential and then eat those daily. It can be hard, but it can help identify food allergies/intolerances. Since your daughter is quite young, please always check with a doctor or nutritionist to make sure she gets all she needs from her diet, especially if you do it long term. If the diet works, then you could know that food is a big factor in her hives, and you could try rotating small amounts of new foods. If they diet doesn’t work, it’s possible that there’s some other factor. I know for certain that diet is the biggest factor in my hives.
Another thing I’ve talked about in conjunction with diet is probiotics, which I do think help calm my immune system a bit. There was a recent article on the use of probiotics with food allergies, and some individuals who had a severe peanut allergy were able to tolerate them after taking probiotics. (source: http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/researchers-may-have-found-key-peanut-allergy-cure
I hope that helps, and if you have any other questions, just comment on this page and I’ll do my best to answer it. Always check with a doctor first for safety.
God bless you and your family,
Ben/Hivesguy
Anonymous says
Thank you! I greatly value your advice and information! Praying for you and your family, and I am excited that God has blessed you with healing!
Hivesguy says
Thank you so much! I’m also praying for your family as well. I hope your daughter gets well soon.
God bless,
Ben