New Allergies

On a recent business trip I started to break out in to hives and had some severe itching.  It progressively got worse.  When I flew home from Houston, I was miserable the entire flight.  I was feeling very uncomfortable and didn't want to bother the other passengers with my constant scratching.  The flight seemed to go on forever.  When I got home and undressed, my wife could not believe how more than 75% of my body was covered in hives.  I was obviously having a severe allergic reaction to something.

Both my wife and daughter have very severe food allergies.  I have always been allergic to tree nuts, citrus and airborne pollens.  Because of their sensitivities, my wife felt strongly that it had to be something I ate.  We went through everything I had over the previous 2 days and could not find anything that could have triggered such a reaction.  I did the best I could to treat the itch to get through the weekend until I could see the doctor on Monday.

Later that weekend, my wife was looking at the 2 meal replacement bars I have been eating for the past 10 years.  She found that both had almonds, almond butter and one had almond flour.  We thought we had found the culprit.  But still wondered why now I should have such a violent reaction.  As I thought about it and reviewed my food diary, I did notice that I had been eating a lot of cheese and other dairy products like yogurt.  Since I can no longer tolerate milk, I wondered if I had developed a dairy allergy.  So we decided to test it.

After the first couple of days off of dairy, I was feeling better.  But I was still feeling unsure.  Plus with the Super Bowl coming up, I didn't want to miss out on all of the cheesy goodness we typically serve.  I decided to stay off dairy until then.  Well, Super Bowl Sunday came and I indulged in all kinds of great snack foods like Velveeta and Rol Tel dip, crab and artichoke dip (cream cheese based) and buffalo chicken dip.  It didn't take long for me to have a reaction.

I am planning to see an allergist to confirm what I am allergic to.  I shouldn't complain here about my issue because after taking dairy out of my diet I am much better.  I am not going to have to deal with the problems my wife and daughter have which is good.  I have to admit I have been a bit immature about it because one of my favorite treats is ice cream.  The good news is that there are good substitutes out there for me to experiment with and I hope to find one I like.

It is curious that I would have this problem at 55 and not before.  I have read that developing allergies as an adult is a fairly common phenomenon, but there isn't any clear evidence to say what causes the change.  Scientists who research allergens simply don't know why an adult's body suddenly  reacts to an allergen after many years of uneventful contact with it. Some say that it could be due to a change in the person's environment that triggers it.  Another theory is called the “hygiene hypothesis,” suggesting that the highly clean environments we maintain causes our immune systems to overreact to harmless things like pet dander and certain foods.

Regardless of the cause it is obvious I am going to have to change my diet.  The good news is that food-labeling laws require manufacturers to clearly list whether a food contains any of the top eight allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soy.   This will help me know what to avoid.  It will mean more time in the grocery aisles but that is a small price to pay to avoid a reaction like the last one.  Working for Sprouts also allows me to learn about more and more food alternatives every day.  My allergy therefore doesn't mean a lifetime of limitation. I am sure that I will find that learning about these alternatives will open a whole new world of eating for me.


Jan. 30 – 6.20 miles (1:03:06, 10:115 pace) - Hill Repeats
Jan. 31 – 5.70 miles (49:35, 8:42 pace) - Speed Work
Feb. 2 – 7.00 miles (1:02:12, 8:53 pace) - Tempo Run
Feb. 3 – 6.20 miles (52:38, 8:29 pace)
Feb. 4 – 8.6 miles (1:16:40; 8:55 pace)
Feb. 5 – 10.10 miles (1:27:42, 8:41 pace)
Feb. 6 – 6.10 miles (1:04:16, 10:32 pace) - Hill Repeats
Feb. 7 – 6.20 miles (53:34, 8:38 pace) - Speed Work
Feb. 9 – 7.20 miles (1:04:11, 8:55 pace) - Tempo Run
Feb. 10 – 6.20 miles (55:08, 8:54 pace)
Feb. 11 – 9.20 miles (1:25:37, 9:18 pace)
Feb. 12 – 8.20 miles (1:12:23, 8:50 pace)

Total Miles:  86.9 miles
2017 Total Miles:  255.8 miles