Diet to accomodate food allergies

June 3, 2006 3:08 PM

I'm looking for ideas on how to maintain a healthy diet that works around my food allergies.

I am allergic (doctor-confirmed) to soy, fish, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and tree nuts. I can eat fruits and veggies if they've been cooked. I am not a doctor or a dietician and I don't know if it is possible to supplement the vitamins that are usually obtained through these foods. It worries me particularly that I can't eat fresh fruits and veggies. Does anyone have similar allergies? How do you get the nutrients you need? Ideas from anyone (not just those with allergies) will be vastly appreciated.

posted by yogurtisgenocide to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Would cookbook's for people suffering from Crohn's disease be helpful?
posted by mecran01 at 4:13 PM on June 3, 2006

Even if you take supplements, it's best to eat a good variety of (cooked, in your case) fruits and vegetables because there may be beneficial things in them that we either don't know about yet or aren't able to extract/synthesize and put in pill form.

Is (light) steaming enough for you? Steamed broccoli, cauliflower, corn, green beans, sauteed greens (spinach, bok choy, swiss chard...), etc could do a lot for you. And there's always baked squashes and sweet potatoes, and plenty of cooked tomato dishes exist. And legumes--lentils and beans and whatnot are pretty healthy and are a great source of fiber.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:17 PM on June 3, 2006

Ask your doctor if he/she can refer you to a medical dietician. The dietician can help you work around your allergies and construct a healthy diet.
posted by Joh at 11:09 PM on June 3, 2006

Fruit-wise I can think of apple sauce, poached pears and grilled pineapple off the top of my head. There are some veggies that provide more nutritional value cooked than raw, I think spinach is one (or at least the iron in spinach is more available when cooked). This is a handy book to have around. It has info on vegetables that include both raw and cooked categories. I've temporarily misplaced my copy, so I can't give you more examples. But it's a great resource.
posted by overanxious ducksqueezer at 11:49 PM on June 3, 2006

You need to get another opinion. I've never, ever, heard of anybody being allergic to all fresh vegetables. Ditch the quack and get a real allergy screening.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 12:32 AM on June 4, 2006

I second Mr Gunn. Vegetables are basically composed of water, fiber, vitamins, and simple sugars. There are some fruits that cause allergies, like strawberries, but all fruits?. Definitely get a second opinion.
posted by azuma at 6:56 PM on June 4, 2006