Cut It Out

I have written  here a few times about my allergies and my doctor believing it was wheat causing all of my issues. So like a good little girl and slowly cut out wheat/gluten and since April of 2013 have been completely gluten free. I can honestly say I have never felt better in my life. I don't ever get bloated, I have more energy, and I don't suffer from that yucky 3:00 feeling. It wasn't easy and the first few weeks were absolute hell as my body adjusted, but I am very glad I made the change. I have had a few incidents I believed I was "glutened" and just recently had a pretty severe reaction where I broke out in hives all over my eyes, face, and neck. This last incident was what finally sent me back to the allergy doctor for some more answers.

. I am still shocked about what I found out, but I did tell Brent it would probably be something strange that I was allergic to and even the doctor said it was one of the first times he had had someone with my allergies. 

Surprisingly I did not test positive to wheat even after an extended 48 hour skin test.  My doctor has suggested not immediately adding it back in because I seem to have a sensitivity to it causing some of my allergy/tummy issues and I am not sure if I will ever go back to eating wheat again. I don't buy to many "Gluten Free" products besides bread, pasta, and on occasion a pizza, or a cupcake every now and then. Instead I decided when all of this began to eat more whole foods that I knew were naturally gluten free instead of trying to replace the items I couldn't eat. So I will more than likely just stick to my new diet, but I will not panic if I accidentally ingest something that previously wasn't believed safe for me to eat.

 Now that I know I am not actually allergic to wheat, but have more or less a sensitivity to it we can discuss what I am actually allergic to. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<Drumroll please>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The 2 things I tested positive for were Black Pepper and Oranges!! Black pepper being the worse of the 2.

Really!!! Seriously!!! 

Oranges will not be impossible to cut out. I love oranges, but oranges are not in absolutely everything! Black pepper on the other hand is in pretty much everything yummy and savory. Thankfully we already make all of our own seasonings so cooking at home will be super simple.  I am weary of any ingredients that say "spices" because who knows what spices are included so anything like that shall be avoided. Eating out on the other hand will be a little trickier. My safety salads are pretty much out now because most salad dressing have pepper in and most chicken in salads are seasoned with pepper. So baked potatoes it is!

I know some people might say well you have eaten pepper your entire life and been fine, but now that my symptoms are getting worse it just seems easier to cut things out then be absolutely miserable. Plus I have always suffered from sinus/cold/allergy (ie. a life long cough/throat clearing, constant itching all over my body, and skin) issues and I am hoping this small life change will drastically help these issues.

So there you have it.  I am a freak (more so than we thought), but I we can all be happy knowing at least I am not allergic to wine, coffee, or ice cream.