Hi! Welcome to my blog.
This is to help support people with Salicylate allergy,
and also gluten, sugar, and dairy intolerance.
Hi, I am Sarah, and in 2011 I would be tested for lupus, lymes disease, arthritis, vitamin and mineral deficiency, and numerous other conditions. I had painful swelling in all of my joints. At 34 and very healthy, active, and taking good care of myself. At least I thought so. My doctor, after all the testing came back negative, simply looked at me and said "it isn't serious and will subside. If it continues come back in." Now in defense of the medical profession there is only so much a doctor can do. There are simply too many variables in our personal lives and genetic make up for doctors to always know what is going on. But not once did my doctor talk about what I was eating.
In the days to come I researched endlessly. Then there it was. Printed in study after study after medical study... food allergy and intolerance. First I rid myself of sugar and my swelling almost completely went away. But it would still return ever few weeks, just not as dramatically. The I read about the body ph levels and began following an alkaline diet. Amazing! Best I felt in years. But there was still something I felt was missing. More research, testing things when I ate, keeping record of how I felt.
Then one day I was reading about gluten and the effects it has on the body. I thought "no way, I am fine eating bread". Then I read about how gluten causes acidosis (ph levels to be off), and sensitivity to dairy (which I had experienced for some time). I read about all the symptoms. If I hadn't experienced the symptom one of my near relatives had, but I had a very large portion of them. So I cut out gluten. Very very hard to do, but it was so worth it.
Now I am living gluten free, sugar free, and eating Alkaline (basically 80% fruits and vegetables and 20% meat and dairy). I fall asleep fast, have higher energy, am mentally alert, handle stress SO much better, and basically feel alive. My joints are pain free. So many incredible changes I don't know where to start. I am still fairly new to such a dramatic lifestyle change. I know it is worth it, and that with each year I will get better at living in a healthy way for myself.
Now to move on to Salicylate. During my journey into eating lots of fruits and vegetables I brought my family along for the ride. This included my husband Chris. He had his own health problems and had recently been to the doctor 3 times in one week concerning his skin, he experienced extremely itchy skin with large red blotchy flat circles covering his entire body. The doctor was stumped and prescribed an anti itch medicine and told him "it was simply a rash and would go away." Yet again no mention to food. Not at all surprised by that response having been told that myself just months before him. I began researching everything. After a few weeks I thought it was palm oil that he was allergic to. It is an additive in almost everything we buy and so we eliminated it from his diet. I had to make everything from scratch. But he felt tons better. But he still had his bad days. Slowly we added foods to the list but it just didn't make sense. Oranges, cashews, almonds, coconut, the list went on. I remember staring at that list and thinking "ya right, he is basically allergic to everything." At the time I was frustrated, but I hadn't realized how right I was.
More research and I came across an unfamiliar word, salicylates. Wha? Salicylates are basically in fruits and vegetables naturally to protect them. I couldn't believe it, how could someone be allergic to fruits and vegetables? Well, it is possible. Thankfully there is a very very very small list of fruits and vegetables that he can eat that are salicylate free. That list is shorter than my previous sentence.
Once we cut out everything containing salicylates he felt great. He had energy, and was hyper. He suddenly wanted to make up for lost time and was extremely active. I had never seen this side of my husband in our 11 years of marriage. But he had days where he "tested" foods. Though it was a good excuse to eat something he missed he always paid for it. Asthma, itchy skin, headaches, stomach ache, anxiety, exhaustion, sleepiness, etc, this list can actually get pretty long so I will stop there. I will say that when he "tested" foods he got sick so intensely it motivated him to not touch it again. He is now living salicylate free.
But what does living salicylate free mean in a very salicylate world? It isn't just eating the food that effects people with this allergy, because salicylate is airborne. Think about when you walk into the super market and smell the baked goods. Guess what, chances are salicylates are being baked in the form of oils, food additives and dyes, and many other things. Shopping is a pain. Then add no going to resturants because how can you be sure of every ingredient, oils, pans, etc, don't have salicylate on them. Basically you can't. So you cook everything at home, from scratch, no more eating out. Not bad if you have support like my husband, but I can't help but think of all the people that don't have support from those around them.
This is where it gets interesting. No cold medicine, pain killers, Advil, Tylenol, etc. So many necessary prescription medications contain them. Not surprising since they are natural and for most people healthy. When he talked to the doctor about why he could no longer take a specific medication they weren't going to listen.
Shampoo, conditioner, soap (imagine going to a public bathroom and not being able to use the hand soap because it will make you sick), perfumes (airborne, you don't have to be the one wearing it), household cleaners (I have to clean when he is gone all day and there is time to air out the house). For some people the simple act of going to work is hard because of all the airborne irritants. Every Sunday we go to church, every Sunday he gets sick. It is even worse when there is a ham in the church oven cooking for the meal everyone is going to enjoy together. We leave as soon as church is over, but all the casseroles and baked goods have already ruined his day.
I have no idea what we will do when we get asked to someones house for dinner next, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now we are simply trying to give him a healthy environment at home.
He is the exact opposite of me. I need a high vegetable diet to meet my own personal heath needs. He can't go into his own kitchen without feeling sick because of this. I am working on some things to change that, but it is slow going and costly. I am juggling 3 small children ages 6 and under. He is working full time and going to school full time. I have been sent back to the pioneer days doing so much of it on my own it can be overwhelming. Yet seeing not only the incredible changes in myself when eating healthy, but seeing the changes in someone else is so motivating. I just refuse to back down. This isn't a fork in the road, this is a straight road and the only road to take. Unless of course you want to turn around and go back to where you came from. And that isn't a place I want to revisit.
So to all of you who are trying to live salicylate free and support someone who needs to hang in there. It can be done. I hope that my recipes and tips will help make it easier for someone else out there.
For me I will always put love first, even if we can't always kiss. lol
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