Vegan with Allergies

[VeganKY]

Hello Philosophical Vegan Form. I have eaten an exclusively plant based diet for almost three months now. I feel great both physically and emotionally. I have hit only one snag. About two weeks ago, I had an anaphylactic allergic reaction and had to go to the emergency room. A subsequent visit to an allergist revealed that I have developed an adult onset allergy to tree nuts, legumes (including peanuts, soy, and other beans), and seeds. Essentially, this cuts out my primary sources of plant protein. I am going forward, trying to eat plenty of quinoa, broccoli, and green leafy vegetables. Joined the forum for information and support.

[brimstoneSalad]

Hi VeganKY, welcome to the forum!

That sucks to hear about the allergies. The good news is that the science of allergy treatment is coming along at a pretty fast pace today, so I wouldn't stress too much about this being a life long thing. Some of these treatments may be available in a few years: https://peanutallergyfacts.org/resource ... allergies/

The patch is particularly promising, because the main trouble for micro-dosing is getting a small enough but sustained dosage over time.

There's one product that may be on the market pretty soon, although maybe a bit less promising: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... -peanut-al
Doses just have to be incredibly small and sustained, gradually increasing over many months, to be reasonably safe and that protocol is pretty aggressive...

Sometimes completely removing exposure for a few years can also cause the allergies to go away on their own.

Anyway, that's great that you're still going and focusing on higher protein non-allergenic plant foods. The trick is mostly going to be to avoid "empty calories" that don't come with a proportionally high amount of protein. Things like rice could set you back and make it hard to make up for that low protein food with modest sources like quinoa.

You may want to supplement your diet with a grain based protein plus lysine (grain proteins tend to lack it, you can get pure lysine from brands like Now foods on Amazon for fairly cheap).

What seeds are you allergic to?

[VeganKY]

I am waiting for blood work to come back that will hopefully bring more clarity, but right now I am told to avoid sunflower, sesame and chia seeds.

[Red]

Welcome VeganKY, it's unfortunate to hear about the allergies. Though if you have any questions, I'm, sure brimstoneSalad will be able to help you.

[brimstoneSalad]

I am waiting for blood work to come back that will hopefully bring more clarity, but right now I am told to avoid sunflower, sesame and chia seeds.

In that case, hemp seeds and hemp protein may be a very good option for you. You might want to mix that with something like brown rice protein, and a modest lysine supplement. That will help you eat a lot more variety of fruits, veggies, and grains without having to stress about everything having enough protein.

[VeganKY]

I am waiting for blood work to come back that will hopefully bring more clarity, but right now I am told to avoid sunflower, sesame and chia seeds.

In that case, hemp seeds and hemp protein may be a very good option for you. You might want to mix that with something like brown rice protein, and a modest lysine supplement. That will help you eat a lot more variety of fruits, veggies, and grains without having to stress about everything having enough protein.

Thanks! I appreciate the information and your advice.