New Allergy Diagnosis and Lost on what to eat...

[vamom]

Hi, I just completed allergy testing - non life threatening but have had hives for over a year.  I've tried all the OTC meds with no luck as well as steroids.  Finally went for allergy testing... I am to start the elimination diet and am looking for guidance on what to eat...  I did have blood work done (results not in yet) to look for any other issues like celiac, etc.

Here are the foods that popped for allergy - Avocado, pear, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, codfish, founder, mackerel, halibut, tuna, salmon, scallops, carrot, spinach, tomato, white potato, green bean, onion, goats milk, flaxseed, soybean, barley, corn, cottonseed, rye and wheat.

I am not a huge fan of fish and seafood in general so I can easily avoid those.  I can avoid the veggies and fruits easy enough...  My main problem is what to look for with the flaxseed, soybean, corn, cottonseed, rye, wheat, barley....  Obviously, I will look at labels and can avoid it if it specifically says these items but what about things that may contain parts of this - example: corn (I can avoid actual corn but does this include corn syrup, etc... what else do I look for on a label?

And for alcoholic drinks...  How do I find out what is in liquor or things like Hard cider, wines, etc.  I don't drink alot but I do occassionally enjoy a drink....  What do I do with that?

Any help or guidance is appreciated.  I plan to start the 10 day elimination next week (July 1) and I am just trying to prepare.  I have 5 kids so I need to prep in advance so I'm prepared with meals for my family (and whatever I can eat).

[rebekahc]

Welcome!    I'm sorry to hear you're on the food allergy journey!  What type of allergy testing did you have?  Do you know what type of blood test was ordered?  Did it include allergy testing such as CAP RAST?  Testing for allergies (both blood and skin) has a high rate of false positives, but comparing the two results can help narrow down likely culprits and make choosing which foods are necessary to eliminate first an easier decision. Did you also have testing done for environmental allergies? 

The list of foods you need to eliminate seems like an atypical combination.  Avoiding corn is particularly difficult because it is in so many (almost all) packaged products and is not required to be labelled.  Your best bet, if just eliminating for a short time to figure out the culprit, would be to eat a very simple diet and avoid as much processed foods as possible.

Here is an old thread about corn allergy and all the products that can contain corn.  I'm not sure if all the links within those posts to other corn allergy resources still work - in fact, I'm positive some of them don't - but, it will at least give you some idea of the challenge in avoiding corn and the reason you may have to eat super simple, single ingredient foods while on your elimination diet.
https://foodallergysupport.olicentral.com/index.php/topic,238.0.html

What guidance has your allergist given you?

ETA:  This link (from the above referenced thread) is still good and has a wealth of info on corn-derived ingredients.  http://corn-freefoods.blogspot.com/