My husband isn’t vegan, yet. It’s not because he doesn’t want to be, or that he’s afraid to stop eating meat, it’s because if he stopped eating animal based foods, I’m pretty sure he’d starve to death.
My husband has an allergy problem, that I’m hoping that someone on the internets will have some good leads on. We’ve been working hard on our own, he’s kind of made himself a human expierement, which you know is fun for like a minute, and then it’s scary, we keep his epi-pen close at hand. Really, how fun is trying food with a giant needle next to you, waiting to be jabbed, just in case you go into shock? I know. It sucks.
I’m just going to list out what he’s allergic to – and by allergic I mean he gets REALLY bad itchy, burning throat, his lips often swell up, and he just feels miserable. Then I’ll get into the history of it all..
Ok.. Veggies:
Tomatos – most severe, he’s had to go to the ER for that one. He can’t even have ketchup with out it giving him a problem – or anything with tomato powder (and you’d be surprised how much it is used!)
Uncooked ANYTHING – seriously if it grew from a seed and it’s uncooked he has a bad reaction.
Spinach: He can handle it if it is cooked – really well.
Artichokes: Cooked well is fine
Squash: Any kind – no good – cooked or not.
Leafy veggies – also a big problem
Peppers: He can do if they are really cooked
Potato: Cooked is just fine
Fruit:
Again – ANY fruit raw – he can’t have and has a really bad reaction to.
Fruit Juice – unless it is HIGHLY processed.
Pears: If they are cooked really well, or if they are canned not in pear juice.
Beans:
He seems to be fine with kidney & black beans.
Nuts:
Severe peanut allergy, he can’t even be around people who are eating things with peanuts in it. I’ve had to take down people and their PP&J for this, AND I’ve had a few peanut butter cravings, and I should really video tape the process of me eating peanut butter. Fist, he hast to leave the house, then I use a plastic knife, paper towel and prepare my sandwich on the paper towel. After eating it, I wrap the knife in a paper towel, put it in a trash bag, and then I wash down the counter, take out the trash and then use Listerine to burn away any remaining peanut, so he won’t die when I kiss him.. and he’s allergic to most tree nuts.
Soy:
He doesn’t do well with soy milk – but he’s been fine with things like Veganaise, tofutti, and cooked tofu.
What we’ve had luck with:
He’s been a champ when it comes to trying things. This has been the key to figuring out what he is okay with. He’s been having tofu scramble for breakfast and it’s been going over well (all I put in it is beans, peppers, potato, spices and olives).
He’s also had no trouble with the following brands: Veganaise (grape seed oil) Earth Balance, Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese and he has been using rice milk.
His allergies started when he was little, he was allergic to peanuts pretty early on (elementary school). And then his allergies got worse and worse through the years. High School seems to be when most of them really hit hard, he says he remembers the last time he ate things like blueberries, apples and bananas. He also suspects he was allergic to things much earlier, but ignored it, the symptoms weren’t that severe and got worse over the years.
Some other things that might be something, but we really don’t know:
He lived in Nigeria for 2 years when he was little – he got malaria.
He also lived in Malaysia for 7 years.
He’s allergic to salycyclic acid (thus aspirin and any products that contain it -like cosmetic type things)
He’s really hot. Oh, did I say that out loud?
Anyway – we are in a constant mode of figuring it out, calling various doctors, and looking up information. We also travel full time, so really, we can go anywhere. This summer we’ll be in Seattle and Portland, so if you happen to know a good resource in those cities, we’re game.
He would REALLY like to go vegan. We do the best we can with his food limitations. He has eliminated milk, red meat, pork, sticks to fish mainly. But he’d really like to be able to eat a good and well balanced vegan diet in the future. We’ve seen how beneficial going vegan has been for me, and how much it’s changed my life, and it would be SO awesome if we could both eat the same things, and it would be a heck of a lot easier, currently, I cook 2 meals, each meal, every meal.. well except for breakfast, now that he can have tofu scramble! WOO HOO!
So, if you have any thoughts, or links, or voodoo magic, hey we’re up for it.
Wow. Just…wow.
I would find a great homeopathic doctor. They can do great things for the digestive system! My 7 year old is super proof of that.
thanks Danica – we are looking for doctors in the different cities we are in, and hoping to find the best!
Oh you are going to Seattle! You should check out this place:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2001964629_hiphopvegan25.html
Portland is the mecca of vegans, you should have no problem finding delicious vegan food!
Sorry I don’t have any piece of advise for you regarding your husband’s allergies… I really hope you guys find a solution.
At least, it’s a hot husband you have, allergic but hot!
oooh thanks Alex!
And you are so right, at least he’s hot
The foods that came to mind were edamame, seaweed salad, veg sushi…if he isn’t allergic to sea vegetable type stuff those would be good. Also, the Tofu Shirataki noodles are vegan and tofu based…pretty yummy. Another fun food is kelp noodles, which are good with different types of sauces. Good luck- you guys have quite a challenge but it’s awesome that you are pushing in the direction of your goals
What is his ethnic background? I ask as most native americans are lactose intolerant, and my korean friends have a hard time digesting certain foods.
Not that I can help at all mind you lol
Leslie – Actually he CAN eat seaweed! That’s a great idea
And Eileen- we actually don’t know what he is completely. His Dad was adopted – so we’re not sure of that side of the family.
He’s very light skin, green eyes and light brown hair though..
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Hey,
I happen to have met a girl last year who did some traveling to more obscure places, and who while there (I’m sorry, I forget what country it was) picked up some kind of parasite that permanently messes with her system. She used to be vegan, but given the disease she was limited to practically only fish and eggs, and had to give it up. I’d never met anyone who was allergic to so many things (although, allergic is not the right word – it sounds like your husband hasn’t necessarily has allergy tests – perhaps ‘reacts badly’ is better). She said it was really really rare but that it does happen, and I think in her particular case it had a lot do to with the acidity in her stomach. I’m sorry that I’m so fuzzy on the details.
But she lives in Seattle and might be able to help you, as I believe she had to see quite a few doctors before being diagnosed. She is probably very familiar with the process of trying to treat such a rare problem. If you like, you can email me and I will send you her email address, and perhaps she will be able to help.
Good luck.
Oh wow – I’d love any contacts! my e-mail is : natala dot veganhope at gmail dot com
thank you SO much!!
Hi,
Thanks for the post, I can so relate. it’s nice to see other people experiencing similar issues.
This is strange, but I lived in Taiwan for a year and travelled through Thailand as well.
This last june I went to Huatulco, Mexico and came back very sick. Within a month, I had an anaphylatic reaction to milk. My throat closed and I was rushed to ER. An allergy test confirmed that I was allergic to Milk, Casein, and whey.
In working with a nutritionist, we’ve discovered that my gut is off, I have excess candida growth, hormone imbalance, bacteria overgrowth and suspected( not confirmed) parasites.
We are doing a moderate cleanse ( I am 5 mo pregnant) and on some supplements. I seem to be getting a little better because when I hold cheese my entire body doesn’t shake. Unlike, your husband, I am not willing to try foods yet. The Epi-pen is something I pray never to have to use.
I can give you the name of my nutritionist. She is in Dallas, TX and works via the phone.
Best to you both
Oh we’d love the name! I am glad you are getting some help for it – it certainly is so hard and scary!
Vegan dietitians might be able to help. Here are some links:
http://jacknorrisrd.com/
http://www.jeffnovick.com/
http://beandiet.blogspot.com/
Thanks Elaine! I will look those up!