Question for the legume-intolerant...cinnamon?

[Zizzle]

Hi everyone,
Many of you know my 5 yrd old daughter tested mildly allergic to ALL legumes. She was specifically tested for soy, peanuts, lentils, chickpeas, lima beans, green peas, and string beans. The allergist said to avoid black-eyed peas, because they are closely related, but that black, red and white beans may be OK. She also said highly processed soybean oil and soy lecithin would be safe.

My daughter's symptoms include mild tummy ache followed by D when she is exposed to legumes. The D can be immediate but is usually delayed by a few hours, so it's hard to pinpoint the culprit. Hives only happened when she went cold-turkey on springtime antihistamines, which is the only reason we discovered these allergies.

That said, I wonder if many people have similar mild IgE allergies that masquerade as food intolerances? I'm about to cross black and red beans off the safe list, because they are coming out whole now. I suppose we'll test for them during the next scheduled RAST test in a few months.

My latest question is whether cinnamon and vegetable gums like Guar Gum and others are causing her trouble. She had cinnamon ice cream after a seemingly safe meal, and a tummy ache and D quickly ensued. I've read that some cinnamon comes from the Cassia tree, a legume tree.

Are any of you with legume sensitivities also sensitive to cinnamon??

[Rosie]

I've read that some cinnamon comes from the Cassia tree, a legume tree.

Zizzle, there are two completely different trees that are called "Cassia", which causes confusion. Cassia cinnamon comes from the species Cinnamomum aromaticum. The Cassia tree, Cassia grandis, doesn't provide cinnamon, is in a completely different family, the Fabacea, and indeed is a legume.

I wonder if your daughter's reaction to ice cream is because of another ingredient like guar gum, a very common additive of ice cream to promote smoothness. I'm sensitive to legumes and avoid guar gum. Also, I've never been able to tolerate another common gum in ice cream derived from kelp, carageenan.

from Wikipedia:
Cassia is a genus of Fabaceae in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Commonly called cassias, "cassia" is also the English name of Cinnamomum aromaticum in the Lauraceae (from which the spice cassiabark is derived), and some other species of Cinnamomum.

Your daughter sounds very sensitive to lots of foods......it must be a real challenge!

Rosie

[tex]

She also said highly processed soybean oil and soy lecithin would be safe.

IMO, she is wrong on both counts. That's a common claim by "experts", but users who have food sensitivities often don't find that to be the case.

Like most gums, guar is a legume (I've grown it in the past, on a commercial production level). Xanthan gum is not a legume, of course, but since it's mostly bacteria feces, we're sensitive to it anyway.

Tex

[Zizzle]

I wonder if your daughter's reaction to ice cream is because of another ingredient like guar gum, a very common additive of ice cream to promote smoothness. I'm sensitive to legumes and avoid guar gum. Also, I've never been able to tolerate another common gum in ice cream derived from kelp, carageenan.

I think you may be right. I've been reading more labels on ice cream lately and am shocked by the number of legume-based thickeners! I just didn't want to believe she could be sensitive to all these gum fillers in so many foods. My son's baseball team frequently had frozen treats after games, and there was always enough for the siblings. To my amazement, I had to stop her from eating basic-looking popsicles and "all-natural" push pops and ices because they contained either soy protein, pea protein or vegetable gums!

[Gloria]

Are any of you with legume sensitivities also sensitive to cinnamon??

I am sensitive to both. I eliminate legumes after reacting to peanut butter and green beans and testing sensitive to soy on the Enterolab testing. I tested reactive to cinnamon on the MRT test and have avoided it. I can't say that I ever noticed a reaction to it, though.

Gloria