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sinus congestion?


silk

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My last hold-out on dairy was tea with milk, but it seemed to be giving me sinus congestion, and dairy is so often paired with sinus congestion, that I figured that was it. In the last three months I haven't had any dairy except for three days of a cup of tea with milk in early November. -- I was hoping it could work out, but had an instantly stuffy nose. Didn't like the feeling of stuffy nose, so said goodbye.

When I went on the whole30 (I'm on day 8) I tried tea with coconut milk and initially didn't like it at all, but gave it a second try and got to really like it.

Now I have a stuffy nose! What can it be? Is it the tea with coconut milk? Is it the nuts (I'm not eating very many) ? This doesn't feel like stuffy nose from a cold. It feels like a stuffy nose from something I ate. What in the list of whole30 compliant foods could be causing sinus congestion? Thanks for your help.

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This woman's really motivated by her love of slow,long, deep, fine nasal breathing. I eat a lot of eggs and it generally doesn't result in sinus congestion, so it's hard for me to think it might be the eggs. It's also hard for me to consider that while I'm restricting my diet so much, I'm getting some 'random' sinus congestion. I'm not happy thinking longingly of the days before whole30, when I ate kitchari and had such clear nasal passages! Any suggestions short of taking this down to green leafy vegetables and adding other whole30 foods back one at a time?

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I hear you. Personally, I think eggs are the most likely contributor. Negative reactions to foods, especially when they're pretty far upstream from the gut, aren't typically immediate reactions. That's part of the reason why M&D's reintroduction phase is as drawn out and careful as it is. If I eat dairy this morning, I'm not going to notice an issue until I wake up the next morning.

Dropping eggs is really intimidating for a Paleo person...but it's only a month or so!!!

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This is kind of a random thought: Is the weather where you are kind of hinky? Here in the sticks we've been having 30-40 degree swings during the day, and short bursts of hot/cold weather intermittently. My poor 4YO can't keep her nose clear to save her life. The weather change really messes with her.

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No, the weather isn't all that hinky.

And no, I don't have a problem dropping eggs. Since eggs haven't been an issue before, it's hard to imagine them being an issue now. I'm aware of the possible lag time between foods and reactions. Is there a reason eggs would be problematic on a whole30 when they haven't been before? This is far from the first time I've done dietary eliminations / restrictions and eggs never suggested themselves as problematic before. Not saying you can't be right, but I'd like to have some sense of why now if not before?

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high quality, expensive, not-in-a-teabag tea --I haven't been a fan of alcohol or coffee, but I do enjoy tea. I know about crazy things like soy in teabags (what were they thinking?)

Anyway, thanks, guys. I guess at this point I'm willing to live with the mystery of it.

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I ran into this too when first adapting paleo-style food. (This is just my own thought and by no means a medical opinion.) Symptoms like sinus congestion and itching as well as stomach upset can be related to foods high in histamine. Many paleo favorites are either high in histamine or contribute to processes that lead to increased levels of histamine. Some of these include avocado, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant, fish, shellfish, tea and eggs, as well as acidic foods like vinegar and fermented products.

Solutions can include scaling back those histamine foods, as well as trying an over-the-counter histamine allergy med. I found I just needed to tailor my diet so I wasn't loading up on too many of these. If any of this sounds familiar, you could try stopping those foods if you're eating them and see what happens. A nutritionist who specialises in food sensitivities would be better poised to advise you further.

Here is a list of foods. There is also a lot of info out there with a quick google.

http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/pages/lowhistamine.htm

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