Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Seeds

I am still confused about what seeds constitute the avoidance of all seeds. I feel like I need a list or need to make a list. A friend of mine avoids all spices in things for her seed allergic son because spices are generally ground up seeds. But Owen has tolerated mustard in things before and I have a hard time justifying pulling items out of his diet he has eaten safely.

So here is my list of seed avoidance so far: sunflower, sesame, poppy. I know mustard should be on that list but for now I am leaving it in. So what about caraway seeds? Cumin? I use cumin in a lot of dishes.

But as I go through my day I think about the seeds in mundane things like a cucumber or a tomato. How much protein do these contain? Is it stupid to wonder if they are a problem?

Am I missing any obvious seeds out there? What is on your seed avoidance list?

(For more seed info check out comments at Blood Test Results. Some good weigh-ins from a few people.)

6 comments:

TxMom said...

Hi, my daughter has very similar allergies and I just started the following blog: www.foodallergyfamilyfun.blogspot.com . I am glad I found yours!

elisha said...

i know when my son was tested for food allergies, he was positive to sesame and negative to poppy. we avoided sesame for quite some time before allowing him to eat it again with supervision.

not much help, but just to commiserate that seed allergies are confusing and difficult.

our youngest has the high allergy to sunflower and i haven't cut out any other seeds yet, she has had no other reactions....

Speedbump Kitchen said...

Call your allergist! For any other chronic illness requiring daily medication (diabetes, asthma, seizures, ADHD), doctors will see you every 4-6 months, but allergists seem to think a yearly visit is fine. For a kid with seasonal allergies, that may be fine, but for multiple food allergies...not fine! It's easy for the nurse to say "all seeds", she obviously doesn't know what that really means. Sometimes overavoidance and overdiagnosis is just as debilitating as underdiagnosis. Good luck!

Maria H said...

It never ceases to amaze me how random foods are related. You should check out a list on the Calgary Allergy Network site. I go back to this all the time. How do your kids do with artichoke, if at all? It's related to sesame and sunflower. Also, we avoid mustard without really knowing if E is allergic, but we have seen low level breakouts to possibly mustard, broccoli and cauliflower which apparently are all related :-0 explain that?!

http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/articles/english/botanical.htm#TOP

StephL said...

Hi, Rachel Ruvo told me about your blog. It's been very helpful. My son is allergic to eggs and my daughter is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and wheat. We just got the wheat diagnosis yesterday and I'm feeling very overwhelmed. Maybe there is someone who reads you blog that can help with a wheat allergy. I was just reading about the seeds-had no idea. I bought some sesame crackers yesterday at whole foods. I guess I should be careful. I don't know how all you moms do it.

Beyond Prenatals said...

I am trying to figure out the same thing. We have been staying away from poppy and caraway but not cumin and mustard. Why?? No rhyme or reason. We see one of the best allergists in the country and he can't give a clear answer either. In his ideal world, he would have us stay away from all seeds, legumes, and beans. But since that would a nutrition nightmare for me, we don't do that and it seems to be working out okay. And he is fine with that too. There is so much about food allergies that we just dont know.