Sulfites

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:52 am

I've been doing a bit of poking around in the archives here, and found a few threads about sulfites. I am allergic to sulfa drugs and never made the connection to sulfites in food, for some reason. Could this be why dried fruits don't seem to agree with me? And somewhere Tex had mentioned that sulfites are sometimes used in corn mills--maybe that's the reason I have such trouble with tortilla chips and tostadas?

For those of you who have problems with sulfites, what foods seem to give you the most trouble?

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:40 am

That's a very good question, Cynthia.

I don't have any answers, but am waiting to hear what others say about this. I am also allergic to sulfa drugs, and I never thought of foods either.

I saw your test results in another post. I don't know a lot, but from your reaction and others it sounded surprising and much better than what you expected. Glad to hear it!

Paula

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:18 am

I have had some pretty intense (breathing) reactions to dried fruit too especially apricots. I don't have a problem with wine but years (many) ago when I first started drinking wine I would get a flush right away. Some corn chips I don't have an issue with but other times I do get an acid reflux issue. My daughter thought she had a seafood allergy but discovered it's the preservatives not the shellfish. I think some of those are sulfite-based. It's an interesting journey, isn't it? Deb

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:46 pm

I am very allergic to sulfa drugs, but am able to eat corn products. There isn't necessarily a relationship between sulfa drugs and sulfites:

An allergy to sulfonamide medications is different from having an adverse reaction to wine or food that contains sulfites. Having a reaction to sulfites in something you eat or drink doesn't mean you'll be allergic to sulfonamide medication.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sulfa-allergy/AN01565

Gloria

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:55 pm

A few light bulbs just went on re sulfites. When I first started drinking wine years ago I would have a glass of wine and sneeze my head off. I stopped drinking that wine because of the sulfites. I found a wine without sulfites and was happy for a while until almost all American wineries began adding sulfites. I then developed rosacea and frequently get a hot flush when consuming wine. You would think I would stop drinking wine!!

A few years ago I developed an allergy to sulfa drugs. I take Celebrex because the level of sulfa is very low and I don't think I'm having a reaction to it. Now I add dried blueberries to my Chex cereal every a.m. Duh! They contain sulfites. Good grief, does it never end??
I'm hoping Tex can shed some light on the sulfite connection.
Sheila W

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:05 pm

Paula--thank you! Yes, I do think I'm very fortunate! If it hadn't been for this forum, I probably would have gone on for years thinking I had "IBS" and eating all this stuff, wondering why I felt so awful!

Deb--interesting that your daughter has some intolerances as well--is she GS too?

Post by **tex** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:36 pm

Sheila wrote:I'm hoping Tex can shed some light on the sulfite connection.

Hi Sheila

If you're referring to a connection between sulfite-sensitivity and MC, as best I can determine, the problem is probably connected with gut bacteria populations. I'm not aware of any specific research related to MC, but research of UC patients shows a high correlation between disease activity, and dietary sulfite content. In a study done in 2004, for example, the researchers used a rather convoluted, (IMO), algorithm, to assess a result known as a food sigmoidoscopy score, (FSS), to enable them to correlate food issues with disease severity. The study determined that:

High FSS foods were characterized by high levels of the anti-thiamin additive sulfite

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC549081/

A more recent article, written by an ND, starts with:

The colon in people with ulcerative colitis tends to contain abnormally high levels of bacteria that turn sulfur-containing molecules into hydrogen sulfide and other metabolites.1 These compounds may disrupt mucosal integrity and promote ulcerative colitis.2 3 In particular these disruptive compounds may account for the reduced butyrate metabolism seen in people with UC by inhibiting cytochrome oxidase in mitochondria of colon lining cell.4 Levels of sulfite-reducing bacteria are lower in African people5 which may in part account for the lower incidence of UC in Africa.

Milk- and egg-free diets may be beneficial in people UC simply by lowering sulfiteprecursors and not because of true allergies to these foods (though these are also frequently allergenic as well). These diets have been shown to be useful in clinical trials.6 7 Other approaches that may help reduce abnormal sulfur metabolism production are antimicrobials to eliminate sulfite-producing bacteria, probiotics to crowd out unwanted sulfite-producing bacteria, Sadenosylmethionine (SAM) and other methyl donors that prevent sulfite production,8 9 and molybdenum, which is necessary for proper sulfur metabolism.

Note that he recommends antibiotics, probiotics, and molybdenum, to reduce sulfite-related problems, (FWIW).

http://www.dryarnell.com/wp-content/upl ... olitis.pdf

Tex

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:30 am

Deb--interesting that your daughter has some intolerances as well--is she GS too?
_________________
Cynthia

She has been battling some pretty significant eczema (I posted here previously about it). She quit gluten and it cleared up almost immediately after having problems for a few years. She retested gluten, it came back and she really hasn't been able to get rid of it this time. During that time she became pregnant which may be contributing to the mystery. I suspected a secondary (dairy?) intolerance. She recently did Enterolab and came back negative on the primary intolerances, which I think was kind of frustrating to her. She's always been lactose intolerant though so I'm pretty sure it's diet related. She eats fish but is otherwise vegetarian (pescarian) and has been for 20 years. From what I've learned here I've suggested she reconsider meat but so far she's not very receptive to that idea. I do send over soups with good marrow broths from time to time to which she doesn't object and she'll eat foods that have been cooked in bacon grease. A mom's got to do what a mom's got to do.

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:32 pm

Deb,

well, that's interesting. You'd think she would score pretty high, wouldn't you? Except for casein, if she's been avoiding dairy due to a lactose intolerance. I would love to put my whole family on a GF diet and see if the attention deficit issues, eczema/bumpy skin, digestive issues, GERD, depression and fatigue issues would go away, but they're not too receptive! (I mentioned the possibility to two of my kids today, and you would've thought I was the Grinch in the flesh! One almost cried!)

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:56 pm

Cynthia, she still eats dairy but lactaid milk. I really believe there's a gluten issue.