I have always had allergies of some kind, even as a kid – be it unidentified food allergies or seasonal allergies; they were never as bad until I moved to Maine. I think the culmination of moving to a densely forested environment coupled with my immune system being on it's last leg with horrible inflammation – my body finally gave out. After a lot of time and experimentation I finally figured it out and I am living an allergen free life. Yay!
Sure I sneeze often, but not nearly as much as I used to. I blow my nose as soon as I wake (which Dad endearingly mentions every time I visit, of how much he loves to hear me honk first thing in the morning) otherwise it is not too bad. Even this time of year when my coworkers and friends around me are suffering, my allergies are manageable, actually they pretty much doesn't exist – especially in comparison to where I once was. Occasionally my eyes will itch and I won't wear my contacts. I will be a little extra snotty-drippy, but normally if I go to an extra clean diet of dark leafy veggies and lots of pre- and probiotic foods, I am a-OK. Read more about my allergy diet in my post Seasonal and Food Allergies.
I have noticed over the last few days I am having a problem with some gluten free foods. I don't have many in the house as it is, my though is if I wouldn't eat the packaged glutenous version, why would I eat the gluten free kind? I always have a loaf of gf bread in the freezer, which typically lasts me months. And I had some overripe bananas the other day and it was a cool, drizzly morning and banana bread and coffee sounded delish. So I made both – both of which I never eat. I just used my Grandma's famous banana bread recipe, but switched out the APF for some gf alternatives. I used almond meal, quinoa flakes, Bob's Red Mill gf APF and aside from not having walnuts in the house, it turned out deliciously. I enjoyed my 2 slices of warm banana bread with a decent amount of butter on them and a hot cup-o-jo, curled up in my bathrobe and indulged. It was a great weekend gray, drizzly morning.
As with anything I bake, now and in the past, I have 1 or 2 pieces/bites/slices and then it gets moved from counter on pretty display, into the fridge with plastic wrap over it, ultimately into the freezer. "A" normally helps out, but when it comes to gf baked goods he's not as willing to help.
So the banana bread is now in the freezer as per usual. However, I have noticed over the last week an unusual thing – I am getting the typical "lump-in-my-throat I have eaten gluten reaction" I used to get way back when. It is a little hard to identify now, because I haven't had it in so long and it kind of feels like I am overly hungry, but no, I am pretty sure it is that I've eaten-gluten-lump. Hmmmm.
So I have wracked my brain for days. Double checked my sealed zip-lock of gf grains (to eliminate cross-contamination) and everything I used was gf and really had no possibility for coming into contact with A's gluten items. He is so hyper conscious and aware, always making sure to use different utensils and equipment (sweet man!). His flour lives in a different pantry in it's own plastic bag away from mine in their baggy. Cross contamination really isn't a big concern in our house, we are a well oiled machine.
So I am 99.99% certain it isn't cross contamination, I haven't had the banana bread for a few days, and the last time I had a small sliver (while it was still on the counter) I had no reaction, huh?! Today I had a piece, thinking to myself it isn't the banana bread. And then I had a piece of gluten free cinnamon raisin bread with organic peanut butter and banana after my run with dogs. And now, low and behold the lump is back!
So I am thinking, and they say trust your intuition, and let me tell you through this whole journey that is the one thing I have learned to really tune into, especially when the "professionals" had no answers for me. I trust my intuition all the time now. So my intuition is telling me what little seasonal allergies I do have now, are aggravated by any form of bread product, even gluten free. The reaction is subtle and most wouldn't even notice it, but I do and it makes me think that in the spring and fall avoiding all gluten free processed products - bread, crackers, even homemade banana bread made with gf grains is the best way to eliminate any undo aggravation and inflammation.
A little helpful tip I have learned, drinking ginger tea when you get a mild allergic reaction aides in the digestion of the food and also for me, at least, helps lessen the intensity of the lump in my throat.
I have never heard of anyone having this reaction in peak seasonal allergy times. Have you? Do you have reactions? I think it is interesting that gf products are bothering me right now. And the only new thing was the homemade banana bread. The cinnamon raisin bread I have been eating for year. So now I am going to test myself even further. The banana bread is in the freezer now. So I will try the cinnamon raisin bread in a few days to see if I get another lump.
And even now a few days later, I had a piece of toast with breakfast. Lump is there!
This really is intriguing to me. I know in the fall I can't drink wine. I get allergic reactions and horrible stuffiness and headaches, but only for the months of September and October. The fall is worse for me as a whole when it comes to seasonal allergies and I typically revert to a very limited elimination diet for those months. But perhaps I need to add gf products as something to avoid in the spring too, just to eliminate any unnecessary irritants and inflammation that my body is already dealing with in defense of the environmental allergens around me.
