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Over the years with allergy testing I've been able to work out most of my food allergies which are causing the horrendous bowel symptoms of LC and eosinophilic oesophagitis along with skin problems and massive hives but I could never work out why I tested positive to pork, beef and even lamb.
When all the problems started nearly 20 years ago I was on holiday in France where a little stray cat used to come to our cottage but it had lots of ticks that bit me. I was pretty ill for a few weeks and never really got over the GI upset. So, as you can imagine, I am fascinated to learn about recent research into alpha-gal allergy. Alpha-gal is a short term for a carbohydrate found in mammalian meat which causes delayed allergic reactions, severe hives, delayed anaphylaxis, severe GI symptoms and makes people ill hours after eating the meat.
This article explains it fairly well and shows a strong correlation with tick bites starting the reaction in humans:
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/ ... octor-Says
It's unusual to be allergic to a carbohydrate rather than a protein but I suppose the bite of the tick causes sensitisation dermally rather than oral protein sensitisation. It's a shame because I liked to eat venison every few months but was pretty suspicious it was making me ill. No more burgers or steaks! Bugger!
Al
Tick Bites and Meat Allergies
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Al,
Here's a better, (more practical, and more detailed), explanation of that allergy, (known as Mammalian Meat Allergy). If you have it, then you may be allergic to all meat other than from monkeys, the great apes, or humans. The article mentions that it can also be caused by chigger bites. When I was a kid, my lower legs and feet were loaded with chigger bites pretty regularly during the summer months, and I don't have a problem eating meat, so apparently only a relatively small number of people who are exposed to tick and chigger bites are affected.
http://allergytomeat.wordpress.com/freq ... questions/
You're a member of a pretty exclusive club, apparently. Bummer!
Tex
Here's a better, (more practical, and more detailed), explanation of that allergy, (known as Mammalian Meat Allergy). If you have it, then you may be allergic to all meat other than from monkeys, the great apes, or humans. The article mentions that it can also be caused by chigger bites. When I was a kid, my lower legs and feet were loaded with chigger bites pretty regularly during the summer months, and I don't have a problem eating meat, so apparently only a relatively small number of people who are exposed to tick and chigger bites are affected.
http://allergytomeat.wordpress.com/freq ... questions/
You're a member of a pretty exclusive club, apparently. Bummer!
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
If anyone is interested in these delayed meat allergies, I found a podcast where the doctors from University of Virginia talk about it and how avoiding mammalian meat can stop bizarre cases of anaphylaxis.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2011/10/ ... l-allergy/
The report starts at 7mins into the audio.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2011/10/ ... l-allergy/
The report starts at 7mins into the audio.
Al,
Of course, that condition shouldn't prevent you from eating any foul, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, amphibians, insects, etc.
Tex
Of course, that condition shouldn't prevent you from eating any foul, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, amphibians, insects, etc.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
You're right of course Tex. I'm going to have to find some different sources of protein, although I was nut allergic as a child and don't want to start eating nuts and soy like my vegetarian relations do.
Importantly, the thing that astonishes me about the research into alpha-gal and mammalian meat allergy is that the alpha-gal is a carbohydrate sugar which the body produces IgE toward and not a protein which is how traditional allergists will traditionally diagnose and treat allergies. That makes me look at the substances in carbohydrates that are contained in things such as grains and makes me wonder if my MC could be caused by carb sugars rather than whole proteins. I'm going to go dairy-free in the next few days too because alpha-gal is in milk too. I was pretty concerned I wasn't making much headway with the GF diet I've been on for 4 months and may have found a sneaky delayed allergen in alpha-gal.
Al
Importantly, the thing that astonishes me about the research into alpha-gal and mammalian meat allergy is that the alpha-gal is a carbohydrate sugar which the body produces IgE toward and not a protein which is how traditional allergists will traditionally diagnose and treat allergies. That makes me look at the substances in carbohydrates that are contained in things such as grains and makes me wonder if my MC could be caused by carb sugars rather than whole proteins. I'm going to go dairy-free in the next few days too because alpha-gal is in milk too. I was pretty concerned I wasn't making much headway with the GF diet I've been on for 4 months and may have found a sneaky delayed allergen in alpha-gal.
Al