Connecting the celiac disease and food allergy/intolerance community together by sharing our stories to food freedom. From our beginning struggles to striving after a diagnosis, we can all relate and help each other out by sharing what we’ve learned and our unique personal journeys.
Freedom Feature number 3 is coming at you today and I am more than excited to bring it to you! After my "What To Avoid" allergy series post on nightshades last week, Cristina and I connected and talked about doing a feature. Why? Well, Cristina is a food blogger who started her blog, "I Say Nomato", after finding out her husband had a severe nightshade allergy! She's now pretty much the authority on the subject of this lesser known allergy, so having her tell her story is the perfect way to show you all just how serious nightshade allergies are. I know you all all will find this enlightening and I'm proud to welcome Cristina to the Freedom Feature!
Background: Who are you?
Hi! I'm Cristina. I’m a teacher who hasn’t been teaching very much lately (at least in a classroom!). Four years ago my husband and I decided to up-end our lives and follow his dreams of being a doctor by moving to the Caribbean for school. Since then we’ve been very nomadic, living in Baltimore, Louisiana and New York, and I can’t wait to see where our adventures take us next!
What was life like before your diagnosis?
How did you find the right doctor and end up getting properly tested and diagnosed?
How did life change after diagnosis?
Why did you start your blog? What did you hope to achieve out of doing so?
What makes your blog unique and what does it (or what you hope) add to the community?
Do you have a Celiac/Food allergy tip to give?
Read. Labels. Learn their language. Through trial and error, we’ve discovered that things like ‘spices’, ‘vegetable starch’, or even ‘natural flavour’ can contain nightshades that the producers don’t have to specify. Don’t even get me started on how they put paprika in almost everything red, orange or yellow (lookin’ at you, cheese!)
Have any favorite gluten-free foods or brands to share?
We have yet to find a really good or reliable nightshade-free food brand here in Canada, but I have to say thank goodness for Kraft Old White Cheddar. The orange stuff has paprika in it, and I refuse to make this house cheese free!
Can you share your favorite recipe with us?
What do you hope to see in the future; for yourself and the gluten-free/food allergy community?
AWARENESS. So many people are out there suffering needlessly, ignored by doctors who don’t know it’s a even a thing and have given up on them. I cannot tell you how many e-mails I’ve gotten from people who know nightshades are the issue, but no one believes them or takes them seriously. It’s not a Top 8 allergy, but it’s there. Even arthritis sufferers find marked improvement when they stay away from nightshades.
For the future, I would love to see clearer ingredient labels. For people who don’t have a Top 8 allergy (and even if you do!), there is so much vague language, when all I want to know is if they put potato starch in it! I would also love to see this allergy being taken more seriously by medical professionals. It’s not even considered in most elimination diets. Please help spread awareness! Tell a friend today!
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kimmythevegan
Cristina - thank you so much for sharing with us! I am familiar with nightshades promoting inflammation, but I hadn't considered it as an allergy source.
My husband has a lot of similar issues to what your husband has. We've tried so many elimination diets and have seen so many specialists, but haven't figured it out. We tried eliminating nightshades, so I don't think that's it - but this really does give me hope that we will eventually figure out the cause.
"For the future, I would love to see clearer ingredient labels. For people who don’t have a Top 8 allergy"
YES! I wish labels were clear.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Kimmy! Labels, education, and transparency are key for all of this!
Dee
I'm loving this series -- it's so informative!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Fantastic!
swayam
This was seriously inspiring. Loved reading this.. what a wonderful woman..More power to you!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thank you!!!
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish
I love learning about new blogs through these posts! So fun! Each one has been a new blogger to me.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Well that's great!
Ilka
Thank You for sharing this beautiful blog. I have visited "I say nomato" numerous times, and I absolutely love it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
She is a great lady!
Nikki Frank-Hamilton
Wow! Isn't it amazing how quickly the changes take place when you figure out your allergy or intollerance? When I omitted gluten my pain was gone within a week, mostly, and the inflammation shortly followed. Then in the next month I lost 25 pounds, crazy. A year later I am much happier, and I really watch the foods I eat, I never want to go back to that point.
It's so cool that Mr. & Mrs. Nomato finally figured it out, and even better, that Mrs. Nomato has become a solution for many with the same issues!
I know I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, I love this series!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
When we figure it out, it can just unlock our health!
Kathleen
Thank you for the informative post. The bit about feeling better on junk food, frightened me abit because both my husband and I have experienced that. I had better look into this a bit further.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It's always something to explore!
Sandy Sandmeyer
It’s amazing what people can be allergic to. I think that if doctors were more willing to look at food groups rather than dumping everyone into a disease, then we might be able to help people more.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yes! Health professionals are sadly not well educated on food allergies and autoimmune disorders. Since they can be "silent" illnesses, they get brushed under the carpet or refused belief.
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family
My 10 year old son suffers from migraines and stomach pains. He was tested (just blood) for Celiac and found negative. But there is a strong family history of Celiac. When we tried the gluten free diet, it improved his stomach pains but not his headaches.
He is on a lot of medication now. I'm not anti-medicine at all, but I'd obviously rather not have him on so much if I could help him in other ways.
I'm wondering if he has some sort of allergy or intolerance, but I don't even know where to start with this! We have 5 kids, so radical diet changes over and over again would be difficult.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I'd keep discussion and searching for a solution with your doctor or allergist. Don't let him suffer unnecessarily!
Marla
HI Rebecca,
I love these freedom features - it is always so inspiring& informative to read about real people you went through health problems and found there way to a healthier life. Pinned & tweeted!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yes, thank you!
Melissa @ vegan does it
I'm loving these Freedom Features, Rebecca! I was unaware nightshades were even a problem for some until your previous post on them, so it's interesting to read about Cristina and her husband's experience. Thanks for sharing! This would be a really tough one for me because I love so many of them. I have to agree with you though, smoked paprika ranks pretty high on my list of favorites.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I'm so glad you're enjoying the series Melissa! (I am too!)
Smoked paprika...NONE of my food would be the same 🙁
Linda @ Veganosity
I have never heard of a nightshades allergy. I really didn't even know that potatoes and tomatoes were nightshades until you mentioned it in a post. Great interview, I learned a lot. Thanks!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Linda!
Miss Polkadot
Wow. Is there really any food that's not causing anybody discomfort? Over here allergies or intolerances like these or even more common ones get hardly any attention. It's great you're trying to raise awareness of them and while I have no known intolerances I do hope life will become easier for those suffering from them. As in: companies offering more suitable foods.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yea, well food allergies are different than "intolerences", but Americans/the media don't seem to grasp that concept 😛
Gin
I was riveted to Cristina and Mr. Nomato's story. They're doing their best with a really tough situation. Kudos, you guys!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
They are trailblazers!
Amberjane
The more I read about nightshade allergy the more I think my daughter might have it 🙁 She is always ill
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
She should see a doctor about it then!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
Such an interesting and informative post! Great job spreading allergy awareness 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks!
Krista
I had no idea. That was very informative and educational. Thanks
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Glad you learned something!
Cristina @ I Say Nomato
Thank you so much for sharing my family's story, Rebecca! It feels so wonderful to be heard when it comes to this allergy, as anyone with an allergy knows. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
(oh, and mine is totally tomato sauce! I have the best BEST recipe for it!)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us! Every food allergy and disease needs to be taken seriously and needs its information to be out there, mainstream!
You are the best Cristina! xoxoxo
Nadia
It's so nice of you to feature other people's struggles with allergies and intolerances! Most people would never think you could be allergic to a fruit or vegetable! Great job spreading awareness 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Nightshade education needs to get out more to the public! Thanks Nadia!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
I can totally see why it took so long to find out that nightshades are the issue, they are such a diverse bunch of foods and not ones you commonly think of as the culprit. I love that people like Cristina are driven to share their stories and their recipes with the world to pass along the info and hopefully make this stuff more common knowledge!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yea! It's so great to find specialty food allergy blogs like hers! A nice safe-haven with beautiful ideas!
Meme
That is so impressive! I would have such a hard time avoiding nightshade veggies! I think I'd miss tomatoes the most, not because I love tomatoes, but I use canned tomatoes/tomato paste A LOT and love pizza and basically any red sauce eek!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I know! These things are in a lot more foods than we'd realize!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday
This is so interesting! I don't know anyone with a nightshade allergy, but there was a time when we thought that could be part of my problem (nope). I think it's awesome that Cristina stepped up to be a resource where there just wasn't one.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I know! She did awesome and definitely a gem to find!
Elizabeth Shaw
I really like your feature series Rebecca! What a fabulous idea and so helpful for many!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Liz!
Trish
This is a very interesting and informative post. I think you are doing a great service with allergy awareness!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Trish!
Evi @ greenevi
Thank you for sharing this interview and for introducing me to a new beautiful blog.
Plus I didn't know about nightshades, so it was really interesting to learn about it. (I would miss potatoes the most!!!!! :D)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Glad you enjoyed it Evi!
Harriet Emily
I really love reading these Freedom Features, Rebecca. It's amazing to hear about everyones different stories - they are so inspiring. Before your previous post about Nightshade allergy, I knew so little about it. Cristina is amazing, and her blog is beautiful. I love the look of her sweet potato gnocchi! It sounds delicious.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Harriet!
O I know...gnocchi!!! <3
Emily @ My Healthyish Life
This was really interesting because I don't know anyone with a nightshade allergy. I can imagine it's difficult to convey the severity of the allergy because it's not a top 8 allergen. Although I don't eat many nightshades regularly I would probably miss white potatoes!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yea, it must be weird to explain if your eating out, etc. So "uncommon" to most!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health
i work in a hospital..and im starting to see more and more people asking for gluten-free diet/lactose intolerant/seafood allergies. there are so many people who are truly allergic or sensitive and will need extra attention because that's their only way of living..however, it sometimes upsets me when people blindly follow the trend without understanding the impact on their bodies. It also makes healthcare professionals take all this allergies less seriously because i have had a lady who was eating other gluten-containing food but would demand gluten-free bread because shes allergic. i wish people would stop doing this so that we can dedicate our time in actually treating the ones who need help.
thank you once again.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yea, that's my whole sh'peal I'm always talking about on my blog.