My Experience with Food Allergies

I hope you find my personal experience with food allergies helpful and inspirational as you start, or continue, your food allergy journey!

Unknown to me at the time...nearly all of the dishes I enjoyed were causing me to have frequent health problems and decreased energy levels...

My Story

In 2013, I was diagnosed with food allergies...several of them.  This condition caused years of poor health, including frequent colds, chronic fatigue, and brain fog, among other ailments. Rather than an underlying disease or a “weak” immune system, as I had initially suspected, what had been causing me to feel so poorly was what I was putting into my body: food.

I have always taken great pleasure in eating a wide variety of foods. Growing up in Chicago, a major food hub, culinary delights were available everywhere. Italian food, Mexican food, Chinese food, deep dish pizza, hot dogs, gyros, Italian beef, pies…you get the point. All of the foods Chicago offered I had enjoyed regularly with friends and family.  Unknown to me at the time, however, nearly all of the dishes I enjoyed were causing me to have frequent health problems and decreased energy levels, as my food allergy diagnosis in 2013 would later reveal.  

Despite my love for Chicago favorites, like deep dish pizza from Giordano’s or hot dogs from Portillo's, I was always a relatively-healthy eater. I generally preferred meals prepared at home and gravitated towards whole-grains, fruits, veggies, and lean meats.  Despite my balanced and healthy eating habits, my health remained poor.

After years of dealing with frustratingly poor health and trying to figure out what could be the cause, I began seeking medical attention; trial and error on my part had only led to more frustration. After many appointments with various doctors, I had yielded no progress in my search for the cause of my health problems. I was frequently told that nothing was wrong with my health and that I was healthy, which I knew wasn't completely true. Finally, after moving to a new location and being required to find a new primary care physician, I made a last-ditch effort to solve the mystery of my poor health once and for all. During the first appointment with my new doctor, I expressed my frustration with my ongoing health issues and requested that he test me for everything.

He suggested something that no doctor before him had mentioned: a full-spectrum blood panel.  For those unfamiliar, a full-spectrum blood panel is a blood test which covers the following: red blood cell count, white blood cell count, antibodies for Lyme disease, HIV/AIDS, indications for cancer, and antibody reaction to allergens, among many other tests. I feared the worst, but was thankful to have finally found a doctor who was as eager to find a solution to my health problems as me.  

After having my blood drawn and collected in what seemed like an endless row of test tubes, I awaited my results for roughly two weeks.  As my follow-up appointment neared, I was anxious about the news I would receive. I knew that I would indeed receive news about my health, whether good or bad, but nevertheless, any information was better than what I had previously gotten from past doctors.  As it turned out, my full-spectrum blood panel revealed that I was allergic to food, not all foods, but some foods. These foods included corn, wheat, soy, and peanuts (and sesame, as a later test would reveal), which at the time felt like I might as well have just been diagnosed with a food allergy to everything, since I regularly ate these foods or foods containing these ingredients.  

As I digested the news, I was both relieved and saddened; I could no longer eat many of the foods I loved. At least I finally had my answer, however.  Once that mystery was solved, a new challenge arose: How do I begin my new diet? My doctor informed me that his wife had recently been diagnosed with gluten intolerance, which somewhat aligns with a wheat allergy, and he shared with me some of her dietary habits. Essentially, she removed all buns, breads, pastries, and other wheat and gluten-containing foods from her diet. I had a starting point, which was great, but I also had the tremendous task ahead of me in further understanding my new dietary restrictions. My learning curve felt steep, and it was!  

At the time of my diagnosis, research material concerning food allergies was difficult to obtain. The information I was able to find, however, was specific to severe juvenile food allergies, which did not apply to my condition. Specifically, I am an adult with mild food allergy symptoms, which, when left ignored, weakens my immune system and leaves me susceptible to colds, flu, and infections, among other ailments. Websites catering to food allergies that were available to me at the time felt unreliable and unfulfilling, as they weren't supported by dialogue or sense of community, both of which I needed as an individual beginning a drastic change to my eating habits. Finding a community would have helped me feel less alone in my journey, and unfortunately, I was left to figure everything out for myself.

My personal experience is what has led me to create “The Food Allergy Way.” This site is dedicated to helping individuals with food allergies easily transition into a lifestyle drastically different from the one they've known, one which requires strict dietary control to ensure that adverse events are avoided and overall health is improved. The goal of this site is also to create a sense of community that is strengthened through support for one another, sharing helpful information and exchanging stories of personal experience. Food allergies are not one-size-fits-all illnesses. It is extremely difficult to find and cultivate the information you need online, or receive from your doctor, and formulate a personalized prescription for individual health. Thankfully, there is much more information available today that is beneficial to those with food allergies. Hopefully, your experience with food allergies, or the experience of a loved one with food allergies, can be made much more bearable by the information provided on this site, which intends to culminate the available food allergy related information and make it readily available to you.  As I post blogs and update this website with helpful links and forum posts, my wish is that you or your loved ones experience a speedy and painless transition into an allergen-free lifestyle.