Do your allergies cross-react? If you are allergic to celery will you have a carrot allergy? If you are allergic to ragweed will you have a zucchini allergy?

Random allergies explained:

Have you ever experienced a random allergy? I have and its scary wondering if it will happen again. Its also confusing how allergies to foods can just pop up with no warning! I used to think these cross-reacting allergies were just a coincidence, but little did I know there was a actually a direct link between the foods I was eating or pollen I was breathing.

Cross-reactions can be confusing but a little knowledge can guide you in the right direction (or food!). There are hundreds of combinations and food allergies and its impossible to figure out each person’s allergies. Even for myself, my allergies can slightly vary weekly and it gets frustrating. I try one thing and am fine, but the next month I suddenly start having a runny nose, fluid retention, mood swings, etc. Do you feel the same way?

What if I told you there may be a reason behind all this confusion? It took me years of trial and error and having allergic reactions to finally connect the dots. Read about my recent struggles here. After I finally started cracking open the books and research articles and skimming over various plant family names, I think I figured out the big picture out. It did not seem so random anymore.

To make it simple, Im going to break it down into 2 categories: OAS (oral allergy syndrome) and food families.

Oral allergy syndrom

OAS (oral allergy syndrome): OAS is a common name for having an allergic reaction to a food (ex. zucchini) that cross-reacts with a plant (ex. ragweed). Typically people only report a burning or tingling sensation in the mouth or extra mucus. I find that the symptoms are not limited to that and you can experience anything really. Some common symptoms for me are swelling, fluid retention, irritability, swollen eyes, heavy mucus in the throat, excess hunger or nausea, and hives.

What about breathing in the food vapors or pollen? Yes its possible to still have an allergic reaction to cross-reaction foods even if you don’t eat it. I know Im extra sensitive, but this is not uncommon. When its late August and the ragweed pollen count is sky high (you are breathing in the allergens), it is more likely for you to react to the cross reacting foods such as lettuce, zucchini, sunflower, etc.

Actually for some people this is the only time they get cross-reacting food and pollen allergies. When the pollen count for that particular pollen goes down then you may be able to eat the food with no problem (most people can). For some, cooking the food allows then to eat it because it denatures the proteins. You have to figure out how sensitive your body is.

Most of these combinations are not always predictable so its nice to have list handy. The reason why certain foods and plants cross-react is because the proteins in the food are similar to the proteins in the plant. The body gets confused so instead of eating a zucchini, it thinks its eating ragweed! Yikes!

Cross-eacting food list:

Orange: cane sugar, mesquite

Celery: tomato, potato, tobacco, sage, mugwart, carrot

Milk: mint, elm

Beef: bakers yeast, brewers yeast, cedar, (grass or corn- their feed matters here). Im allergic to grass and beef.

Pork: black pepper, poisin icy, oak, sumac

Dust: seafood, nuts, shrimp, lobster, crab, squid, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels, snails, cockroaches, silverfish, moths, mosquitos, peanuts

Pecan: corn, bananas

Ragweed: egg, milk, mint, melons, bananas, lettuce, zuchinni, chamomile, sunflower seeds, sunflower family tomatoes, milk thistle

Almonds: hazelnut, brazil nut, walnut, pecan, pollens

Peanut: soy beans, all members of lugume family, grass, clover, broccoli, carrots, celery, peppers, apples, melons, peaches, chestnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, anise, coriander, cumin, fennel, parsley, rosemary, sage

Mold: cheese, mushrooms, truffles, high glutamate foods- fermented foods

Latex: bananas, avocado, chestnuts, kiwi, poinsettia plants, shea butter, tomatoes, potatoes, celery, cherries, melons apple, carrot, celery, papaya, pear, mango, sweet pepper, peach, rye, cayenne pepper, plum, wheat, shellfish, hazelnut, sunflower seed, pineapple, walnut, citrus fruit, strawberry, soybean, coconut, fig, peanut, chick pea, grape, buckwheat, castor bean, apricot, dill, lychee, passion fruit, oregano, zucchini, nectarine, sage, persimmon, cucumber, ginger, dandelion

Birch tree: apples, apricots, cherries, kiwi, nectarine, peaches, pears, plums, tomatoes, carrots, celery, green peppers, parsnips, peas, potatoes, anise, caraway, cumin, dill, fennel, parsley, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, potatoes, persimmon, soy, wheat, herbs and spices

Grass: lettuce, kiwi, melon, organs, tomatoes, celery, potato, watermelon, cherry, wheat, rye, barley, peaches

Alder tree: celery, pears, apples, almonds, cherries, hazelnuts, peaches, parsley, herbs and spices

Gluten: rye, barley, spelt, polish wheat, oats, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, amaranth, quinoa, corn, rice, potato, hemp, teff, soy, milk ( alpha casein, beta casein, casomorphin, butyrophillin, whey protein), chocolate, yeast, coffee, sesame, tapioca, egg

Mugwart: celery, carrot, melon, parsnip, green pepper, watermelon, apple, chamomile, hazelnut, parsley, peanut, kiwi, sunflower, herbs and spices

*herbs and spices: anise, basil, caraway, dill, lovage, marjoram, oregano, paprika, pepper, tarragon, thyme, wormwood, fennel, coriander, cumin

Food Family

Food Families: A food family is a classification of a plant. If you look at the two pictures below (source Wikipedia) you will see on the left hand side lists many names starting with Kingdom, Clade, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. What you are looking for is Family. Looking under the Family section is specific enough, but not too specific.

You may need to click around to find the latin names or species ranking for the plant to find exactly the right Family its in. I first typed in “zucchini” and from there look for its Species name which is Cucurbita pepo. I then type in Cucurbita pepo and now I can see all the rankings for these foods, including the Family. The family name is Cucurbitaceae (highlighted in yellow in picture above). From there you can find what foods and plants are in that Family category.

Foods in the same Family share a similar molecule structure inside and can cause you to react to several or all foods in that Family. As an example: I’m allergic to all foods in the Cucurbita pepo category. I’m allergic to most of the foods in Apiaceae (parsley family), but can eat cilantro. So classifying your foods in Families is not going to be black and white, but it will narrow your cross-reacting allergies significantly. Sorry if this is confusing, but this is how I did most my research and I want you to know how to do this for any other foods.

I personally don’t like using all the Latin names because it confuses me. Instead I give the family a name that seems more appropriate. Below I will list the food families and the foods included in each.

Food Families:

Parsley:

Carrots
Parsley
Angelica
Anise
Caraway
Celery
Coriander
Cilantro
Cumin
Dill
Fennel
Parsley
Parsnip
Celery seed

Lily:

Sarsaparilla
Onion
Chives
Leeks
Shallots
Green onions
Garlic
Lily
Aleo
Asparagus

Citrus:

Lemon
Lime
Grapefruit
Tangerine
Kumquat
Orange

Mustard:

Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Mustard
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Turnip
Radish
Daikon
Horse radish
Chinese cabbage
Collard greens
kale
watercress
rutabaga
kohlrabi

Mint:

Basil
Oregano
Peppermint
Sage
Spearmint
Thyme
Rosemary
savoury

Buckwheat:

Buckwheat
Rhubarb

Pine:

Juniper berries
Juniper tree
Pine nut

Gourd:

Cantaloupe
Cucumber
Watermelon
Honeydew
Pumpkin
Squash
Chamomile
Zucchini
Yellow squash

Iris:

Sassafras
Cinnamon
Bay leaf
Avocado
Laurel
saffron

Sunflower:

Lettauce
yarrow
Chicory
Endive
Artichoke
Dandelion
Sunflower seed/oil
tarragon

Pea (legume):

Pea
Black eyed pes
Peanut
ALL Beans
Green beans
Sugar snap peas
Soy bean
Licorice
Snow peas
Lentils
Guar gum
Couscous
Carob
Fenugreek
Chickpeas
Tofu
Bean sprouts
Senna

Goosefoot:

beet
beet sugar
spinach
swish chard
lambs quarters
thistle

Grape:

brandy
champagne
crème of tartar
grapes
rasin
wine
whine vinegar

Grass:

grains
wheat
corn
rice
oats
barley
rye
wild rice
brown cane sugar
molasses
bamboo
Cereal grains

Palm:

coconut
date

Murtle:

allspice
clove
guava

Nightshade:

tomato
potato
peppers
eggplant
tobacco
cayenne
papriks
pimento
chili pepper
all peppers- not “black and white”

Mallow:

okra
cottonseed flour

Fungi:

yeast
mushroom
antibiotics

Cola nut:

chocolate
cocoa
cola

Ginger:

arrowroot
cardamom
ginger
turmeric

Apple:

apple
pear
quince
rose family
apple cider
apple vingegar
pectin

Cactus:

cactus
prickly pear
yequila

Walnut:

walnut
pecan
hicory nut
butternut
black walnut

Plum:

Almonds
Plums
Peach
Apricot
Cherry
nectarine

Rose:

rose
strawberry
blackberry
raspberry
longanberry
youngberry
boysenberry
(apple family)

Health:

blueberry
cranberry
huckleberry
wintergreen

Cashew:

cashew
pistachio
mango
capers

Crustaceans:

crab
crayfish
lobster
prawns
shrimp

Mussels:

clam
mussel
oyster
scallop
squid

Freshwater fish:

bass
catfish
croaker
perch
pike
salmon
smelt
trout
whitefish

Saltwater fish:

bass
cod
flunder
herrine
mackerel
mullet
salmon

What to do about your allergies?

If you suffer a wide range of allergies and its overwhelming to you, I think you need some major gut healing! Doctors may tell you, “its normal.” or “Just have to take this and that and you will be better.” or “Just avoid ____” . Did you know allergies are just a symptom that something else is wrong?

I am working on healing my gut too. The GAPS diet can seal up your “leaky gut” and eventually reduce your food and environmental allergies. You will be amazed.

To get started, read the GAPS book or buy the 30 days of intro Ebook. Next check out my GAPS recipes and GAPS articles. Read up on coffee enemas because your body will need some liver support (another common remedy for allergies) and an outlet for all the toxins.

NAET allergy elimination technique is also a noninvasive way to get rid of your allergies for-good using meridians and acupressure. I had it done for about 48 treatments and saw amazing results. I am no longer allergic to many things thanks to NAET. Read about NAET here.

For acute allergic reactions, take a detoxing clay bath and drink powdered activated charcoal. They both work internally and externally to absorb the allergens in your system.

Here is a chart you can refer to help you remember!