I often run food sensitivity/food allergy panels on my patients, but it then become a bit challenge to remove the foods as they are often hidden in things we would not expect. Below is a great starting point to see where some of your food sensitivities/allergies might be hiding.
By Potato I mean white potato, sweet potato and yams. This includes any food containing potato, potato flour, potato starch, etc. Many soups, stews and other prepared foods contain potato in some form. Dextrose is usually potato, as is vitamin A palmitite. Read labels and do not eat foods containing these. Iodized salt contains dextrose. All low-fat and skim milk products contain vitamin A palmitate. All baking powder, which I have tested, seems to contain potato, though it is not listed on the label. If baked goods bother you, try those without baking powder. Recently, a potato derivative has been added to most commercial flour. Therefore, most bread and pastry products now contain potato. Organic flour and noodles do not. Most yeast contains potato, both baking yeast and beer yeast. Red Star yeast does not contain potato. Eat breads made with Red Star Yeast. If you have a question about this, call the bakery and ask. There are beers, which do not contain potato, such as Deschutes Brewery (Mirror Pond), Tuborg, Olympia, Budweiser, and Corona.
By Fruit, I mean all apples, pears, berries, lemon, oranges and other fruits, raw, cooked or dried. Also, all products made from fruit, such as wine, vinegar (wine or apple cider), fruit liquors, citric acid, acetic acid, (from apple), cranberries, coconut, avocado, dates, olives, papaya, palm, and all oils, barks, peels, etc. from these fruits. This includes any food cooked or flavored with fruit or fruit extracts. Many vitamins contain fruits, such as bioflavonoids. Currently, almost all honey contains fruit. Many white flour products have citric acid or ascorbic acid added as a preservative, but are not labeled as such. Be careful with white flour products! Cashews, clove, allspice and nutmeg all react as fruit as well. The following are not classified as fruit for our purposes here, and you may eat them as you desire: all melons, such as honeydew, cantaloupe, muskmelon, watermelon, etc; tomatoes and rhubarb. Almost all canned tomato products contain citric acid: read labels. You can find tomato products without citric acid, or make your own.
By Sugar I mean white, brown, turbinado and raw sugar, molasses, "Sucanat", or any sugar cane or sugar beet product. You may also see sugar added to products under the name of organic cane juice. You can substitute honey, pure maple, barley malt or fructose. Fructose is considered to be found in two forms. If it is specified as being derived from corn it is to be considered a grain product, if it is specified as fruit derived it is to be considered a fruit. Do not use artificial sweeteners, such as saccharine or nutri-sweet.
By Egg I mean all poultry eggs and all products made from them or in which they are contained. Commercial lecithin is usually made from egg. Do not eat foods containing lecithin unless it soya lecithin. Most pastries contain egg, as do mayonnaise, many ice creams and some cottage cheese, noodles, candy, gum and bread. Read labels.
By Milk I mean milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, goat's milk, buttermilk, whey or anything else made from milk, and any food in which any of these are used. Sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, lactic acid and lactose, and any lactylate, caseinate or similar substances are milk derivatives. Many soy cheeses currently contain some milk products. The FDA has recently approved the use of lactoferrin as a preservative in meat, fish, and poultry. Lactoferrin is a milk product. Be careful with commercial meats, poultry and fish.
By Meat I mean all beef, pork, lamb, mutton, chicken, turkey, etc., and any fats or oils or gelatins made from them. This includes jells, marshmallows, some ice creams, soups with meat stock or bullion, gravy and some solid shortenings and margarines. Fish is not classified as meat for our purposes here. Use "rennetless" cheese, or cheese made with "vegetable enzymes"; rennet is a product of calf stomach and will react in your digestive system as meat.
Grain means any cereal grain or grain product. This includes wheat, rye, rice, barley, oats, corn, flax, sesame, millet or wild rice. Also, anything made from them, such as liquor, malt vinegar, beer, noodles, bread, wheat germ or bran, etc.
By Soy I mean soybeans, tofu tempeh, soy sauce, hydrolyzed soy protein, and any other soybean product. Avoid these. Read labels: if it says "soy" anything, don't eat it. "Natural flavoring" may be soy as well.
Not sure what your food sensitivities/allergies are, call Dr. Anita (415) 912-9934 and she can help you figure them out.