What is a Salicylate?

Green Bean Girl has been M.I.A....

A little over a week ago, I had a great conversation with my pal Beaker from Team TMR. My symptoms had me in a whirlwind and I was so overwhelmed I wasn't seeing the patterns anymore. The more I learned about food, the less sense any of it made.

Although I have gut issues, and an allergy to candida, sugar did not make me feel nearly as bad as eating an apple or raw vegetables.

Meanwhile, the wheat allergy I had easily managed for years, turned into a 7-10 day horrific event from even the slightest infraction. My stomach would blow up like a balloon covered in painful itchy welts. The pain was so severe, I would alternate covering my stomach with ice packs and peppermint oil.

I also have a confirmed allergy to dairy. It has given me clogged sinuses, mucus, skin rashes and brain fog in the past. But since moving to Texas, everything changed. Different cheeses cause very different reactions. But plain ice cream doesn't have much effect.

Oh, and now when I eat cooked onions, I get boils on my cheeks.

Lovely, huh?

So, when I started breaking out into hives from green beans? Well, I was about ready to give up.

I started really researching Histamine and Histamine rich foods. I began taking a DAO enzyme supplement to help my body get rid of the histamine. I was doing some better...but why did it seem like the supplement only helped with some food reactions and not others.

Cue the beautiful and brilliant Beaker.

She taught me about salicylates.

Essentially, salicylates are natures natural pesticide in fruits and vegetables. And some people are very sensitive to them.

I read many food lists to see what the offenders could be. After becoming aware, I took out some major players in my daily routine.

1)Peppermint Oil and Peppermints

Twice a day I took peppermint oil in capsules and was a peppermint and Altoid junkie. I even used peppermint toothpaste, body and face wash.

2)Licorice Root Digestive Enzyme

Taken with everything I ate.

3)Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil was a huge part of my daily life, as was Peppermint Oil. I used it to coat and cook all my food, as well as lotion and deodorant.

As I continued down the food lists, I noticed that many of the foods that I reacted to that were not high histamine, were high salicylate. And if they were both, high salicylate and high histamine, well, my DAO enzyme just didn't seem to work.

A lot of things are starting to make sense, and I'm hoping now by reducing my salicylate load, my body will not be in constant crisis, and I can start to heal.

A few other key points:

-I was using calcium for migraines. Ditched it when I learned calcium makes mast cells explode.

-I was dependent on high doses of magnesium, which seems to be one of the key elements in healing this type of illness.

-B vitamins and aminos had been a real help to me in the past and came up again as keys to healing.

I'm hoping these few changes will make all the difference. It may take 4-6 weeks to rid my body of the salicylate stores. 

here goes nothin'