Finding a food allergen question

[Blueberry]

I've found myself with an interesting situation concerning my diet. First, I've done very well this year. I've found myself well to be stomach for most of 2013! It has been wonderful!

On the down side, while healthy to the gut my energy levels have been lower than hoped, felt weak, and concentration hasn't always been the best. I know from past experience, with very limited diets, that I can do better in feeling healthier and better recovered. So my opinion is that it seems there still remains a difficult to identify trouble maker in my diet.

I've done Dr. Fine's testing and from that found wheat/gluten and eggs are problem foods. I agree with those results 100%. On my own found that chicken meat is also an issue.

This is my unusual problem. I think I've found a trouble maker, once again. I've found over the last few months that when I eat turkey, which I commonly do, I'm well to the gut. Turkey though seems to be the food that makes me feel weak, along with causing me to develop a rash.

When I stay away from turkey along with the other mentioned foods I feel pretty good. My energy levels are improved and I appear healthier with the rash being gone, better color in my face, etc.

The big problem is, once turkey is out of the diet the stomach becomes grumpy. I'm not nearly as ill as when i developed MC, but it is an uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling. I'm bloated, gut is tender, and have D from time to time.

I think at this point, despite having doubts in that past about turkey being an issue, that I need to avoid all bird products for a long while.

I guess my question is out of curiosity any ideas why when I avoid turkey I go on to develop gut problems? Everything else in the diet remains the same. Could this be withdrawals? Turkey withdrawals?

It just seems really strange that this is happening. I have a 2 day driving trip coming up in a few weeks, and have a good feeling that I'll be ill to my stomach during that time due to avoiding turkey - of all things! It would be nice to not experience that, being ill on the road, but at least it appears I'll have good energy while driving.

[tex]

Hi,

I have to agree, that's a very unusual situation. Most members here who cannot tolerate chicken, can tolerate turkey without any complications.

The rash suggests that you might actually be allergic to turkey, because it obviously triggers a mast cell reaction. Your withdrawal symptoms are really unusual, though. I've never heard of that. Turkey contains a lot of tryptophan, which some people attribute to causing sleepiness, but most experts insist that such an effect is actually impossible. If you're interested, here's a link to an article that discusses this issue, and it includes a chart showing how the body converts tryptophan to eventually end up with melatonin:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/a-b ... ou-sleepy/

If someone ate a lot of turkey on a long-term basis, I wonder if the body might eventually develop a "dependence" on the tryptophan, that might possibly result in withdrawal symptoms when/if turkey is withdrawn from the diet. Otherwise, I have no idea how to explain such a response.

I'm not suggesting that you resume eating turkey again, but if you should ever do that, for any reason, you might try taking an antihistamine each day, before any meal that includes turkey, in order to suppress any mast cell reactions.

I hope the trip goes smoothly.

Tex

[Blueberry]

Thanks Tex for the reply and article link. It does seem to be an unusual situation. Turkey makes me tired and weak, with a feeling of passing out when stressed from exercise. I've suspected anemia in the past, but that has come back negative. Something else is going on.

I've been going in circles this summer questioning if turkey a big problem food for me or not. Overall I think I better stay away from it for a long while, despite being somewhat ill once again. That should settle it, hopfully.

Come to think of it, the food I'm most reactive to is pumpkin. Apparently Thanksgiving just isn't my holiday.