graceeatsclean Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Hi! So today is day 20 of my January Whole30, and for the most part I feel good. I'm sleeping pretty well and have decent energy and all that good stuff. My skin, however, is not okay. I've always had eczema issues, which flare up on my face and leg when I'm super stressed or when my skin is super dry in the winter. That's happening a little on my leg, but there's more to it this time. I've been breaking out in hives and itching like crazy all day every day for the past few. The itching & hives are mostly concentrated around the back of my neck and just into my hair at the nape of my neck, and around my jawline, but also pops up on my arms and legs occasionally. I thought initially it was my clothing, but I've tried different fabrics for the past few days and the symptoms are consistent. The only thing I can think of is that it's something I'm eating? I haven't introduced any new foods during Whole30, but I have significantly increased my intake of tree nuts. I'm eating almonds/pecans/macadamia nuts as part of meals and snacks, plus I've been using a lot of coconut oil and almond milk and/or coconut milk/cream in coffee. And some almond butter. I've never had any reaction to nuts before, except for cashews (which, pardon the TMI, make me gassy and occasionally give me diarrhea if I eat too many). But I've also not eaten this quantity before. Is it possible that I'm a little allergic to tree nuts and this quantity is triggering a reaction? Or does anyone have any other ideas? I made the "nut connection" yesterday, so today is my first day I won't be eating anything that falls into the tree nut category, so I guess I'll see how that goes. I have an appointment with my dermatologist next Monday, which is the earliest they could fit me in. I've been treating with Claritin and cortisone 10, but would love any insight in the meantime. Has anyone else seen this happen before? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It may technically not be an allergy, but you might have exceeded a threshold for nut consumption that is beyond what your body can tolerate in a healthy way.In general, we recommend limiting nuts anyway on a Whole30. Smart move to back off the nuts, nut butters and nut milks for a few days, and see if that gives you improvement. (Note: coconuts are not in the nut category.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graceeatsclean Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks, Chris. I knew nuts were supposed to be limited, and I've probably just been depending too much on them. I'll cut them out completely for a few days and see if that helps. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graceeatsclean Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 In case anyone wanted an update, my symptoms continued getting worse so I went to the dermatologist. She said it's definitely an allergic reaction, and because it was systemic (literally all over my body) she is confident it's diet-related. So. Yeah. No way of knowing what the trigger is, could be nuts or eggs or even the grass-fed/pastured chicken, beef & pork. So instead I got prescribed hardcore steroid creams and heavy duty anti-histamines to treat. So bummed that this happened. My first Whole30 didn't have any of these kinds of side effects, and I felt awesome. This time I feel... pretty terrible. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Did you continue to cut out the nuts?Unfortunately the steroids & anti-histamines are just like a sticky plaster and unless you can find the root of the problem it isn;t going to go away.If you've cut out the nuts with no joy I probably tried removing eggs next.That said if you could post a few days worth of your food intake we can take a look and see if anything else jumps out - hopefully we can help you get to the bottom of it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graceeatsclean Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 I gave it a couple days without nuts, then had a larabar as I was in a pinch between appointments. Here's my food journal for the past several days: Day 21 Meal 1 homemade breakfast pork sausage, scrambled eggs in ghee, and reheated some leftover roasted brussels sprouts from last night. And some blueberries. Meal 2 was three hardboiled eggs with a dollop of mayo & mustard, and topped with some compliant relish along with a few pieces of compliant bacon and some sauteed baby zucchini. A little pineapple. Mid-afternoon I had some carrots dipped in homemade ranch, plus a couple pieces of prosciutto. Meal 3 Roasted chicken quarters. I melted some more ghee with hot sauce, garlic powder and onion powder for a buffalo-like sauce. Alongside we had some roasted sweet potatoes and broccolini. Day 22 Meal 1 shredded up some homemade hash brown (russet potatoes) and cooked them in ghee, homemade pork breakfast sausage and baby zucchinis cooked in its fat, and two eggs. Meal 2 I had some dates and sunbutter, m1 was super late so I didn't really have "lunch" Meal 3 Part 1 roasted mushrooms and wood fired wings with rosemary salt. Meal 3 Part 2 bunless burgers and mashed potatoes with my ranch, and on the side had some mashed avocado and homemade pickled red onions. Day 23 Meal 1 Roasted sweet potatoes, eggs scrambled with ground beef and topped with salsa and avocado. Meal 2 A little sweet potato, chicken salad, artichoke hearts, some TJ’s sauerkraut (so yummy) and fruit. Meal 3 For dinner I had thawed some chicken wings, and we baked those up with some fries and sautéed brussels sprouts on the side. a couple dates and sunbutter. Day 24 Meal 1 compliant bacon that just needed to be finished with some eggs scrambled with spinach, half an avocado and some berries. Meal 2 Chicken salad with some beets and pineapple. Post-WO half a larabar ON the road (60+ min run) + applegate farms all beef frank with mustard & my ketchup. Meal 3 meatballs for dinner. Pork & beef combo all spiced up, baked and then dumped into some beautiful homemade marinara. Served them up over some mashed cauliflower & potato (huge head of cauli + 1 small russet) and roasted asparagus on the side. Day 25 Meal 1 Applegate all beef franks with scrambled eggs, roasted asparagus and berries Mid-Morning stuck in a doctor’s office waiting room through lunch, so larabar Meal 2 The last of the chicken salad…. today with beets, avocado and olives Meal 3 Leftover pork/beef meatballs with cauliflower & potato mash, plus 2 dates with sunbutter **NOTE: the chicken salad in these is made of: cooked & cubed chicken breasts (1 lb), 4 hardboiled eggs, celery, grapes, compliant dill pickle relish & homemade mayo. I've also already made lunch for the next 2 days, which is ground turkey and a broccoli slaw with a dressing made of homemade mayo (egg!), avocado, lime juice & spices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 If you've had skin issues before, it's entirely possible that it's something you eat regularly, so try and do some good scientific testing on yourself Some things you might want to try isolating (steroids will cover symptoms so you may not be able to see improvements): Nuts Eggs Dates, sweet potatoes & other FODMAPs Avocado/banana/plantains - latex allergy Ghee If you get down to meats, I'd try avoiding them for more than a day or two and if you have a reaction to eggs, chicken may be an irritant too. Pork Chicken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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