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Food allergies affect vegetarians like anyone else.
The rule about allergies is that the more you eat a food, the more likely you are to develop a reaction to it, so avoiding meat may lead you from one type of unhealthy eating into another.
If you felt well when you first became a vegetarian but now have symptoms, this is good presumptive evidence that you have developed new allergies to your current foods where they didn’t exist at first.
It is a pity some of the key foods for vegetarians happen to be stressful, that is likely to produce intolerance. Wheat is a prime example.
Vegetarians & Food allergies
Moreover, lacto-vegetarians look to milk and cheese for much of their protein: these, too, are among the worst allergenic foods. Many who are committed vegetarians for humanitarian reasons eat egg since here the animal does not need to be killed; but once again this is a risky food to those with a tendency towards allergy.
Those willing to eat fish have a rather better chance: at least they may ingest plenty of protein without the likelihood of problems, though there are those who cannot tolerate it, as with any food.
Strict vegans have their own difficulties, particularly in respect to animal-based vitamins (B12, for example), but less trouble with allergy per se. Vegetarians, in particular need to unsure that they are consuming sufficient High-Protein Foods Vegetarian.
Grains are the main hazard and fall into the category of most common food allergies.
Moreover, it is worth pointing out that pulses (peas and beans) contain many toxins, especially if not boiled well. It would be wrong to assume they are ‘safe’ foods without subjecting them to the screening of this plan, especially if you tend to consume a large quantity.
When it comes to the elimination diet, it is rather difficult to know what to suggest as alternatives to the excluded foods. Meat and fish are main staples of the Stone Age diet. With grains and dairy produce also banned, the list of allowed foods does tend to become somewhat abbreviated!
There are two broad approaches suggested to Vegetarians susceptible to Food allergies.
The first is to follow the diet more or less as given and allow themselves to eat meat, at least during the test period. For most of those who are not inclined to vegetarianism solely on religious or humane grounds this poses an acceptable temporary measure.
There is an advantage here, namely that eating foods not normally eaten, even if commonplace to the rest of us, is rather like switching to exotic foods. The chance of an allergic reaction to allowed foods becomes even further reduced: certainly, if one did occur, it would be noticed at once.
This approach enables the patient to avoid more of the regularly eaten foods without starving.
The second alternative is to use a fast or half-fast approach. It is drastic but will give correct answers if carried out and interpreted correctly. The half-fast would consist of one vegetable and one fruit, instead of meat.
If you really can’t face even a half-fast, follow the elimination diet with allowed food that you feel like eating. But it is very important to maintain variety: don’t eat several foods over and over again, or you may make yourself ill due to those foods.
Vegetarians tend to be keen on wholefoods and alternatives anyway and adapt to new ideas rather easily.
Vegetarians & Food allergies
Most vegetarians gave up eating junk food long ago. The main point of resistance often is that some vegetarians find it hard to believe that their cherished wholefoods can indeed be making them ill.
But remember, commented earlier that it is rather difficult to get true wholefoods these days. Whole wheat may be whole, but it is also soaked in chemical sprays added to the crop before harvesting and sometimes also in storage. If you react to wheat this might be the reason, so it will pay you to test foods correctly.