Eating healthy with an allergic kid (OAS)

[joannqn]

DS10 is allergic to a bunch of things.

 

He's allergic to soy, which is easy enough to avoid. Soybean oil and soy lecithin is fine. We just have to avoid anything that might have soy or soy protein.

 

He's also allergic to birch, alder, a bunch of other trees, and timothy grass. Because of the birth and alder allergies, he has Oral Allergy Syndrome. His list of foods to avoid is growing.

 

So far, he can't have fresh apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, strawberries, and bananas.

 

He had a reaction at dinner. The only things from the OAS list we had were almonds and avocado. We have avocado frequently without issue. So, he either reacted to the almonds or he's developed a new reaction to avocados. (He would hate it to be the latter because we eat guacamole a few times a week, and he likes it.) If it is the almonds, I'll have to find out if he can have almond flour because I was planning on learning to bake gluten free. The information I've read said that while cooked fruits are usually tolerated, cooked nuts often aren't.

 

There are other things on the list that he may be allergic to but we just don't know yet because we don't eat them or don't eat them often. Hazelnut is one that I think is highly likely because it's on the OAS list and he's also allergic to hazelnut trees.

 

His allergy test was positive for peanuts, too, but he's eaten it all his life without a reaction.

 

Got all that?

 

So we are working towards eating more healthy. By that I mean, dramatically increasing our consumption of fresh fruits and veggies, eating lean meat, and dramatically reducing our breads and starches. At least half of our diet is now fresh fruits and veggies.

 

Will he be healthy enough if he's only eating grapes, melon, canned fruits (peaches and pears), and cooked fruit (cinnamon apples, apple crisp) for the fruit part of our diet? I know canned and desserts are the best choice but it's that or nothing.

 

Do I need to add any vitamins to make sure he's getting enough?

Edited August 10, 2012 by joannqn

[Unicorn.]

I know plenty of healthy kids who don't eat as well as your plan. I think he'll be fine, but if you are worried, a multi-vitamin can't hurt. Just make sure it doesn't contain anything from his list!

[mamakim]

Two of our "non-allergic" children have OAS to a boatload of stuff, and when you get used to their "avoids", it's really not that big a deal. Nutritionally speaking, since they can still do the cooked form of foods, these guys aren't as much at risk of deficiencies.

 

We *do* keep big boxes of non-latex gloves around for when those children cook, because the OAS'ers react dermally, by wrist rashes (dd 16 will get a rash up to her elbows if she peels potatoes). And our experience is that nuts are different than fruits - at least at our house, the OAS ones can't tolerate the nut flours where they're allergic to the nuts.

 

Do keep an eagle eye out on labels for soy. It's in a lot of stuff you wouldn't first think about. One I remember being surprised by was whole turkeys, back when the little guys first lost soy.

[Kirch]

It sounds like he'll still be getting plenty of what he needs, especially if he can eat most veggies. I have OAS too, and eating healthy can be a frustration. And my list of can't-eat stuff is much shorter than your son's!

[LaxMom]

It sounds like he'll still be getting plenty of what he needs, especially if he can eat most veggies. I have OAS too, and eating healthy can be a frustration. And my list of can't-eat stuff is much shorter than your son's!

 

I have the same, and my list mostly contains raw orange things (hard squash, carrots, stone fruits). The veggies are easy enough - who eats raw butternut squash? - and I just eat other fruits and berries.

 

As to the nuts: Raw almonds make me violently ill, but roasted almonds and almond flour baked goods don't bother me at all, and I consume almonds and almond flour regularly. I can tolerate the related stone fruits dried or cooked, though. Can he? Maybe that's an indication of something. (I have no idea. My list was compiled through experience from childhood on. I was an adult when it all gelled together into something "known", that has a name.)

[dbmamaz]

my OAS changes . . . one year i couldnt eat melon and the next year I could . . this year i ate the first 2 melons we got with no trouble, and then couldnt handle the third. so you might want to try again next year to see if he's still reacting to them.