Living With Food Allergies And Sensitivities

For those of us with food issues (allergies, sensitives, etc.) learning that you can no longer eat your favorite food is down right depressing. If you have a food issue, you know what I mean. If not, I can’t even begin to tell you how crushing it was to learn that some of my favorite comfort foods were actually making me sick – every time I ate them.

My allergy is to yeast. That means breads, pizza, sandwiches and so much more (do you know how many things have yeast extract in them!). Sure, it sounds like a great way to go on a low carb diet, but it’s not. Because my bread elimination was not by choice but by necessity, it is down right sad. Oh I cheat sometimes, I have a weakness for pizza. But I always pay for it later…

I often wonder if it is easier to have an allergy/sensitivity from birth or to develop it later in life. Of course, it would be terribly hard to understand as a child why I couldn’t eat sandwiches like all of my friends, but it would be nice to have never developed a taste for bread in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t envy children with food allergies (especially severe anaphylactic allergies, which mine is not). But I wonder, if I never loved pizza in the first place, would it be easier to pass it up?

When I was first diagnosed I was surprised to learn that there is actually a yeast-free diet (more commonly refereed to as a candida diet). You can even websites dedicated yeast-free recipes just like you would find free diabetic recipes. (Isn’t the Internet great!)

I have learned a lot since being diagnosed with a yeast allergy, as I am sure people suffering with any food issue do. I know that there is a lot that I eat that most likely triggers yeast issues (for example anything with sugar because naturally occurring yeast in our body feeds on sugar), but for now eliminating the big guy (bread) has made such a difference that I can deal. Maybe some day I’ll work on my sugar intake too.