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Sulfite intolerance - Elimination diet idea

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Posted 3/25/2013 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys

I have been feeling poorly for 3 years now and have a friend who has told me to try a sulphite elimination diet to see if sulphites are the culprit. I've been through doctors, medication, CT scans etc. and no joy. I had a good look through Alcie's posts on here too which were very helpful - thank you!

My friend's thinking is that I have the exact same symptoms she used to have, so I thought I'd share as she has been sulphite intolerant for years. Her diet tip for me is a 3 day test to see if I feel better. Diet comprises:

Breakfast - porridge or cornflakes/rice crisps (can use a little natural honey to taste).
Lunch - chicken with some salad leaves - no dressing but a bit of fresh lemon juice on it. A small piece of chocolate by way of dessert.
Dinner - chicken again, with either some vegetables (not broccoli) or a small jacket potato with a sprinkling of locally-made fresh cheese.
As for drinks, avoid alcohol, orange squash, tea. A little coffee is ok (with milk, and a little sugar). Drink lots of water.

My symptoms have been:

Bad headaches which come and go
Insomnia, sometimes brought on by headaches
Fluttering heart feeling
Anxiety
Stuffy head/nose/sinus pain
Tender head to the touch which rashes easily
Rash on face from time to time

My diet has usually included:
Wine (red and white)
Beer
Garlic (I like cooking stuff like lasagne, curry, pasta sauces)
Processed meats (hams, salami etc.)
Cheese
Bread (yum yum)
Filtered water using a carbon-based filtration system

If anyone is interested I shall post again in a few days and let you know how I get on with this diet!

Duncs
Posted 3/25/2013 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Duncs.

I'm not fond of most elimination diets, but they can be helpful if you are very careful. You still need to keep a good food diary!

Cornflakes - look at the ingredients. Malt is suspect. Is it an extract or the actual sprouted grain? How much sugar? Sugar has sulfite.
Lemon juice - fresh or frozen is clean, but bottled is always sulfited.
Cheese - soft cheeses are fairly clean, but the harder the cheese, the more sulfite.
Most brands of tea are OK.
Sugar - don't use the cheap beet sugar which isn't labeled where it came from. Cane sugar has less sulfite, but still has a little.
Bread is OK if you make your own. It can confuse things though, because you can also have wheat allergy or intolerance.
The onion family of vegetables have a fair amount of sulfite.

Do you see why it's easier to just keep a log of what you eat and write down your symptoms? Remember that migraines can come up to 2 days after consuming sulfite - if you don't tolerate it.
Posted 3/25/2013 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alcie

I had a feeling you'd post - you seem to be the resident Sulphite (or you would say Sulfite) guru!

Sad fact is that all the stuff I like to eat is standing in the dietary identity parade right now, waiting for me to point the incriminating finger at it. So I shall see how I get on after a few days I guess.

Out of interest how long have you been managing your intake like this, and do you still get the headaches/symptoms at all?

Cheers

Duncs
Posted 3/25/2013 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Duncs.

Actually there are lots of sulfite people here and a bunch know as much as I do and probably more.

I've been managing sulfites since I found out what caused me to have a heart attack in 2006. I get tachycardia as one of my symptoms and one fine day it turned into vasospasm in the coronary arteries. My cardiac enzymes were never elevated. I just had a small pinch that wouldn't quit.

The problem with food intolerance is you have to find the specific part of the meal that is the culprit. You can't just stop eating everything. That's when you do the "challenge test." You have to do this under the direction of a doctor if your reactions, like mine, are life threatening. Look that one up for directions by using the search box.

I'm lucky not to get headaches from sulfites, although that's common. I have enough headache since I got a broken nose from an airbag in an auto accident. See http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm for sulfite headache.

Keeping a really good journal really was my breakthrough on getting a diagnosis. Not all doctors believe in sulfite sensitivity, including my first allergist, my gastroenterologist and my cardiologist. But my second allergist says she sees this all the time, and avoiding high sulfite food has made a huge difference. I've been in the ER a few times with arrhythmia when I consumed something that was highly sulfited. I have medicine from my cardiologist to control rhythm when I need it now.
Posted 4/3/2013 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
Here's an easy and safe test:

Take a large dose of Vitamin B12 (large dose = anything equal or greater than 1000mcg; I find I need more like 2-4000mcg B12 to counter a sulfite reaction, but it may be different for everyone) when you first feel a headache coming on - preferrably methylcobolamin or hydroxycobolamin, and not the cheaper cyanocobolamin. If your symptoms improve, you likely have a sulfite issue.
Posted 4/4/2013 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
well, i tried my low sulphite diet for 3 days and there was no perceptible difference. so i then went back to eating as usual, which is when my symptoms began to abate. i have begun to sleep better and not have the head pressure headache all day most days. i do still have it waking me up once or twice in the night though so it'd appear to be related to being in a horizontal position. the investigations continue...
Posted 4/6/2013 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
Headaches - front of the head or the back? Front can be sinus, sometimes sinus infection. Back of head can be pinched nerves in cervical spine.

CT - head? neck?

What was in your diet?

Glad you are feeling better!
Posted 4/27/2013 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alcie
I wanted to post on a thread started as "Anyone else with a sulfite intolerance? I would love to hear from you!" but it is the only one that is "locked". I wanted to put my first sulphite post there. Can you help me?
J0HN_S
Posted 4/30/2013 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
John_S,

You should start a new thread titled something to the effect of, "Sulfite Intolerance 2"

HealingWell likes to limit the length of the threads otherwise they take too long to load. That's why the Sulfite thread was locked...it had gotten too long.
Posted 1/8/2014 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi I'm new to this site. I am waiting on an appointment to diagnose whether I have a sulfite intolerance. I have had symptoms and generally felt unwell for around six years. Iv had any other tests over the years and nothings ever come back. I recently started keeping a food diary after I started getting facial swelling, hives and other symptoms. A friend of myn suggested sulfite to me and everything has kinda fallen into place. This is such a frustrating thing! I have to wait four months to be seen. I can't go on feeling like this for much longer. How do you go about a detox ? Amy :-)
Posted 1/9/2014 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Amy.

As Razzle said, starting your own thread is a good idea.

Razzle is also the expert on sulfite allergy. I'm only experienced in the sensitivity. So ask for Razzle.

Your symptoms may be from salicylates instead of sulfite. Have you been tested for this? I don't know wht tests, if any, there are.

Detox is simply avoiding foods containing the suspected allergen. Forget the gut cleaning remedies. Simple avoidance will clean you out soon enough. Diarrhea will just make you feel worse.
Posted 1/9/2014 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your reply il start a new thread I'm sure it's sulfites as I have done so much research. I have bad allergic reactions and panic attacks with all wine and champagne, and have noticed I am particularly sensitive with food such as egg, garlic and onions. I was also taking raspberry ketone tablets before I knew about sulfite and going into shock on them. I looked recently and they are full of sulfite. I feel brain confused and 'zoned out' everyday ! Hopefully my organic no sulfite diet will start helping soon as it's early days
Posted 2/16/2015 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Should I be concerned about hidden sulfites in Natures Made Potassium Gluconate? Ingredients are Cellulose Gel, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, Croscarmellose Sodium.
Posted 2/16/2015 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Sulfright

As for the post I just read you should be careful that diet is FULL OF SULPHITES. I have been listening to the doctors and doing my own research. As for your head aches it could be cause by diet drinks if you drink any. It maybe the aspartame in it. My husband struggle with it for a long time and had ct scans ect.. to find out through a friend that it was the aspartame. This I know.
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