The Truth about Fruit Allergies and How to Make them Go Away, for Good. Really!
What’s the deal with fruit allergies?
The whole fruit allergy thing is SO bothersome. And I’m not talking about just having fruit allergies, which is annoying, to say the least, but I’m also talking about the mystery surrounding where they come from. There are tons of postings all over the web, but none really point to any quality information about how to rid yourself of those darn allergies! If you do a search for “Oral Allergy Syndrome,” you’ll end up with lots of posts and articles on the subject. Pretty much every one of them says that fruit allergies are on the rise, in general, and that the cause isn’t known or understood. The only suggestion they make is to stop eating the fruits that produce an allergic reaction. Not too helpful.
I can’t make any promises to you about getting rid of your fruit allergies. But what I can offer you is the hope of getting rid of them. I was able to get rid of mine, and it makes me believe that there’s no reason that you can’t get rid of yours. The hard part, of course, is figuring out how to go about doing it.
A brief background of my history with fruit allergies
Throughout junior high and high school I was one of those kids who took an apple to lunch with me every day. I loved apples. I liked other fruits too, but during that period of time, apples were my thing. One day in high school I began to notice that after eating an apple my throat and mouth would get itchy, and I’d get some bumps and general swelling around and on my lips. It got progressively worse over time, and I eventually stopped eating apples. The really sad part was that I had to stop eating pears, strawberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, and plums too! Some people talk about pesticides as a possible cause for these allergies, but I would react equally to organic fruit, so I don’t think that had anything to do with it. I should also note that people often tend to associate fruit allergies with people who get spring allergies, and I do deal with allergies in April and May, so that’s certainly a possible link. However,
The tide eventually turned…
When I was in my mid-twenties I met a super-sweet vegetarian girl who’s diet soon rubbed off on me. Admittedly I was never much of a red-meat eater. I typically stuck mostly to chicken, turkey, pork, and fish, until I made a dramatic shift and stopped eating all animal products. After about 6 months of being vegetarian (vegan, technically), I had a piece of an apple and thought to myself that the allergic reaction it produced was much weaker than it used to be. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I did make a mental note for future reference. After about a year of being vegan, the allergy was 90% gone and I was back to eating every fruit that once caused problems for me! It didn’t take too much longer before I was 100% back to normal with no allergic reactions to any fruits. I can’t tell you how exciting this was, especially since I love fruit and wanted to eat so much more. After all, I had become a vegan, and I needed to get my nutrition from somewhere! These days I’m a raw foods enthusiast who eats probably about 50% of my diet as uncooked whole fruits and veggies, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy eating fruits with no itchiness or swelling.
Why I believe my fruit allergies disappeared
First off, let me say that I’m not here to promote vegetarianism. Really, that’s not my goal. I can’t even say that I think animal products were necessarily the cause of my allergies. Animal products might have caused my fruit allergies, or to be more specific, it’s possible that a particular animal product might have caused my fruit allergies. However, I’m more inclined to think that it was something in one or more of the animal products I was eating.
When I initially shifted to being a vegetarian, the most dramatic change I made in my diet was to eliminate poultry and tuna. Prior to making the switch, poultry and tuna were the two primary sources of protein in my diet. I typically had one or the other on any given day. Admittedly I made other changes during that time, but none was so pronounced.
It seems ironic but it also makes perfect sense that the oral “allergy” that used to be triggered when I ate certain fruits, was actually caused by other foods in my diet. The problem is I can’t say with 100% certainty, which food was the ultimate cause. However, I feel extremely confident that it was a result of either the poultry or the tuna that I was eating during that time. I ate both of them very frequently and in significant quantities during that time period. I was a young teen, and I had begun to consume a lot more calories at that point in my life, and so tuna sandwiches, ground turkey sloppy joes, burgers, and chili, were pretty much my life-force.
If I had to make one recommendation to a person suffering from fruit allergies…
… Do you eat a lot of poultry? Do you eat a lot of turkey or ground turkey products? Do you eat a lot of tuna? Cut it all out of your diet right away. Ideally I think you should stop eating all non-organic meat, dairy, poultry for a period of 1 year. If you eat tuna or any other fish, especially high mercury-content fish– you know, fish that are near the top of the food chain– you should stop eating that too. You should also consider switching to all natural or organic meat and dairy products that contain no hormones, antibiotics, toxic metals or other chemicals. See if this make an impact. I was able to notice after only about 6 months that my allergies were going away, so I think 1 year should be sufficient for most people to detect a dramatic change.
Good luck. I know how much allergies can put a damper on your ability to enjoy nature’s BEST food. I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this one, especially if you make the dietary shift.
Hi,
I’ve been researching my really annoying allergies and found your blog. I too have severe fruit allergies, I actually carry an epi-pen as my throat closes up. This allergy has gotten progressively worse over time and I seem to be adding allergens. I also have allergies to cats (i own one), roaches and seasonal allergies (trees, grasses etc.)
The fruit allergy is the most annoying as I eat a tremendous amount of fruit and as each fruit gets stricken off I feel more and more depressed.
I do not eat red meat and so get my protein from poultry, dairy and soy products.
Any advice you can give would be great!
Thanks, Leigh
Leigh,
I’m sorry to hear about your severe allergies… However, there is hope! If I was able to get rid of my fruit allergies completely, I do believe that you can too. There is zero doubt in my mind that my fruit allergies were 100% caused by something in my diet. The hard part is figuring out what specific item(s) caused the allergies.
As I mentioned in the post, the most dramatic change I made to my diet during the first 6 months of eating vegetarian was to stop eating poultry, but my gut instinct is that poultry in itself was not the cause of the allergies. I think it’s much more likely that something IN the poultry was causing my allergies. Perhaps it was all the antibiotics that are used to keep the animals healthy while they are being raised?
My recommendation, short of switching to an all-vegan diet, is to switch to an all-organic diet. If all the poultry and dairy you consume from now on is raised without any hormones or antibiotics and is not preserved with any chemicals, I think you’re making a step in the right direction. See if there’s any improvement after 6 to 12 months.
My diet these days is quite strict by most standards. I eat a very large amount of fresh fruits, veggies, and greens. I eat no dairy, no meat, no poultry, and very small amounts of fish. I eat very little amounts of processed foods, but I do eat a small amount of bread, some tofu and other soy products, as well as some grains and legumes, but not a ton. Overall my goal is to eat as much as possible in its unmodified form. Virtually all my shopping is done in the produce section at the organic market. I buy almost nothing that comes in a box, can, or jar. However, I want you to know that my fruit allergy was long gone before I ever went to such a strict diet. The allergy disappeared simply after stopping eating all meat and poultry. I didn’t really increase my raw/whole foods until well after the food allergy had already disappeared.
Good luck! Please follow up with me if you have any success with these suggestions or others.
-Doug
I recently became vegetarian and in the few months since giving up poultry (I had been steering clear of red meat for a while), my hay fever and allergy to cat dander has all but disappeared. I’m hoping that it’s a permanent side effect.
Very cool! I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one whose diet has had a positive impact on his allergies. Thanks for sharing, Cris!
You and Kevin Trudeau should totally be friends. While Doug Zuck’s points and philosophies are both valid and powerful, of course we have to consider the fact that thousands of other factors are involved. I know a guy who has been 100% raw vegan for almost 20 years and is still deathly allergic to strawberries. While I have been veg for 10 yrs and vegan for 3+, my cat and pollen allergies are still present, albeit diminished. Actually, this post makes me want to take the organic level to 100%. C’est la vie.
I recently have had symptoms of food allergies. I am a 28 year old male. I have had asthma and “hay fever” all my life however. After having some throat trouble and going to a gastroenterologist to perform an endoscopy, they found Eosinaphilic Esophogitis – due to allergies. I had an allergy test done and the foods I am allergic to are tomatos, potatos, peas, corn, soy, tuna and cod. I had blood tests that indicate tomatos are the only food I should stay away from, and skin or RAST testing ( skin prick test) indicated I should stay away from the rest on the list as well.
I have had some form of chicken (sandwhich or main dish) every day of my life ever since I can remember. So, my main forms of food were chicken and tuna and pasta with heavy tomato sauce. I am wondering if there is any correlation between the chicken/meat intake and these food allergies. I will be cutting out the meat intake and will also limit it to organic only. Hopefully this works. I will keep updates for anyone who cares.
Please do keep us updated. I’m definitely curious. Thanks for the input.
-Doug
3/19: forgot to avoid chicken – ordered chicken parm at a restaraunt. Its hard to remeber to stay away from the only thing you ever ate before (lots of chicken)!
3/20 – 3/21: no chicken or beef. stayed away… went to the market and bought organic chicken. Very expensive, but if it clears allergies and othe things, then its worth it. Also bought deli chicken and roast beef…the packages said ” No antibiotics used” – so thats good I would imagine.
Next post will be on 4/22 – to give a solid month of this non-organic chicken avoidance, unless something comes up before then. During that time the main meals will not consist of chicken or beef…with minimal organic chicken consumption.
See you on 4/22
I too ate a lot of fruit when I was young and my fruit allergies started in my late twenties. Itchy throat and progressive difficulty breathing while eating fruit, but slowly diminishing once I stop (yes, I live life on the edge, but I love my fruit). I’ve had a couple of white wines affect me the same way. I have always had hay fever to weeds and grass mostly.
I tried organic (avoiding pesticides, etc.) to no avail. My chicken consumption was low and turkey consumption was near non-existent. I had high red meat consumption.
18 months ago, I got into eating healthier, exercise, and spending more time outdoors. For the most part, eating healthier meant practically cutting out fast food, eating much less fatty foods (not necessarily low-fat stuff, just much less or no fatty foods such as sausages), and eating more of a balanced diet (a good balance of carbs/protein/fat). Interesting enough, this also includes a big increase in eating ground turkey instead of ground beef. So, my poultry consumption has increased and my red meat consumption has decreased. In perspective, I would say my diet is balanced across all the meats as well.
Exercise is interesting as well since I was fairly active up into my late twenties when I started an office job (and the allergies started). Finally, spending time outdoors in the sun which is known to cause our body to generate Vitamin D.
My only conclusion is living my life like we should (balanced diet, exercise, outdoor activities) has made me much more energetic, happier, and with no more fruit allergies. The specific contribution to the elimination of my fruit allergies is unknown. However, I hope my experiences help others especially those not keen on becoming a vegan (I love my meat).
I used to eat fruit a lot, and then my 8th grade year I got a Hep B and MMR shot and the next week I couldn’t eat fruit without having severe itching, swelling, and almost throwing up. I directly link my allergy to those shots. That summer was the first summer I had seasonal allergies as well.
Interesting. I have a nephew who is allergic to carrots. He is only 12 years old. His parents are avid meat eaters who also get him his routine vaccinations!
Thanks! I’ve had the same experience almost exactly. Was an apple person, developed OAS Birch pollen group. Very sad to stop eating fruit, raw carrots, etc.
Since becoming a vegetarian 5 months ago (still eat dairy and eggs for now), my allergy to carrots has disappeared. I can now eat raw carrots for the first time in 20 years since I was teen. I look forward to trying a piece of apple.
So many great benefits to the Vegetarian diet. I can never go back now.
Very interesting, Happy Veg. Thanks for sharing!
My boyfriend and I have recently made the switch to veganism and the past month or so we’ve been having strange allergic reactions to foods we’ve been eating our entire life. Just this morning a pineapple made my boyfriends mouth swell and burn. Could it be our wooden cutting board? We eat organic fruits and veggies and haven’t had chicken or turkey in months. I’m quite confused by this.
This sounds pretty weird. If you’re BOTH having reactions, then I can’t help but wonder if there’s something else that you share or do or touch (perhaps something NON-food related?) that is the source of the problem. Maybe the seeming reaction to Pineapples (and whatever else) is just a symptom of something else? Is there anything new that you’ve introduced over the past month of being vegan that you didn’t eat previously? I’d be trying to examine the things that you’ve added to your lives/diets since becoming vegan, as opposed to the things you’ve eliminated. Keep us posted on your findings. This is definitely weird, to say the least.
-Doug
Nice blog,
I’m really glad for ‘getting over’ your allergies but I can’t say that I am not at least the slightest bit jealous.
I have never made the connection between eating meat and fruit allergy before but then again I suppose I never would considering that I am and pretty much always have been a vegetarian (absolutely no fish either) with most of the vegetables I eat now being organic.
If anyone is interested I refer to my allergy as a ‘Citric Acid’ allergy as I have found that products with Citric Acid cause me trouble. I also try not to have anything with Citronellol, Sodium Citrate etc in it either but that is mainly due to me thinking that they might be a problem as opposed to actually knowing that they are.
So what fruits do people here find that you can actually eat?
I can eat bananas without any ill effects.
Hi, I found your post while looking for input on my own choice to go vegan and the odds for improving my allergy situation (mostly hay fever, but also some unpleasant tingling in mouth with apples, for example).
It’s too soon to say if there has been any beneficial effect on my allergies, but I thought I would throw another factor into the mix for those of you interested in expanding your food and nutrition knowledge. We all know about the dangers of pesticides and hormones in our foods, but until recently I was unaware of the “danger” of dairy foods and animal protein in general. Animal protein has been linked in many studies for several decades to any number of diseases in our “civilized” world (check out The China Study for only one example of an exceptionally well-researched work on nutrition). Though this point is not addressed in detail the book, I would not be surprised if the development of many common allergies is also linked to the amount of animal protein is consumed.
As it’s not my intention to sell books or make good press for any one author or view, I suggest you just look into the subject yourself if you are interested. One really fascinating thing that got me thinking my choice to go vegan was right is that physiologically our intestine is that of a herbivore (plant eater). Meat eaters have shorter colons and the inside is smoother, hence less animal protein is absorbed by their bodies. You can choose to believe it or not, but it’s a very interesting subject, I find.
Thanks, Maddie. If you have any new revelations in the future, please do share with us.
-Doug
I am gluten intolerant, dairy effects my asthma when I have too much, Haddock fish, grass, weeds, cottonwood trees, dogs, cats and rabbits. I’ve recently developed allergies to strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, pomegranates, red and purple grapes (green are okay) and either pineapple or cherries (not sure which, it was a dark cherry jam made w/pineapple juice). I’m sorry, but I already can’t eat so many things, I can’t even fathom cutting out all meat, too. I only eat meat 2, sometimes 3, times a week. And it’s usually chicken or turkey. Thus I’m already semi-vegetarian already. The only one I’ve actually been tested for are the pets and outdoor stuff, the rest I’ve found out just by realizing a reaction after eating them. The food stuff is a major trigger for my asthma, as well. They make the inside and outside of my mouth itch and give me a major, nasty, long-lasting rash. Due to the fact that I have no insurance, it’s around $800 dollars to get tested. I’ve already had to cut out so many different foods, that I’m almost scared of food at this point. And since I’m down to so few foods I know I can have, I’m not willing to give up some of the few things I know I can actually have without having a guarantee that it will help.