Celery is that well known strong tasting vegetable, commonly thought to contain less calories than the energy used to consume it. Made up mostly of water, it’s amazing that this unassuming green food stuff is so widely used for its crunchy leafy stalks, root and seeds in food flavourings across the world. Celery is part of the carrot family, plants having flowers in umbels, also including parsley, anise, caraway and dill.
Celery allergy seems to be far more common in central Europe, mainly France, Switzerland and Germany, and less so in the UK and US, where peanut allergy is the most common. It is one of the small number of foods, the biggest being peanut, that appear to provoke the most severe allergic reactions; for people with celery allergy, exposure can cause potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
Cooking celery does not destroy the proteins which cause the allergic reaction. Celery root, commonly eaten as celeriac, or put into drinks, is known to contain more allergen than the stalk, however the seeds contain the highest levels of allergen content. Dried celery or spice is also highly allergenic and likely to cause a reaction if a person is sensitive to raw celery. Exercise-induced anaphylaxis may be exacerbated and an allergic reaction can be triggered by eating foods that have been processed with machines that have previously processed celery, making avoiding such foods difficult. For this reason celery is noted on allergy labelling with as much importance as peanut.
Allergy to celery seems to be linked to people with seasonal hay fever to birch and/or mugwort pollen (usually March/April). This is called cross-reaction and is often an important cause of food allergies. Celery allergy due to cross-reactivity occurs at certain times of the year, i.e when the pollen of the wormwood plants and birch trees trigger celery allergy as they have similar cell structure to the celery plant.
Read Alex Gazzola’s interesting article, Oral Allergy Syndrome
From Bacon Wizard, Jasper Ackroyd on the Foods Matter website, celery also contains high levels of nitrate, even more than is found in bacon, so it is often used as a “flavour”, a great way for food manufacturers to get large amounts of nitrate into the recipe undetected and undeclared.
There are also phenols, or natural chemicals called apigenins in celery. Whilst these are thought to have good effects on the body for some people, it could be these that trigger allergic reactions to celery in others.
How to spot the symptoms of celery allergy
The first signs of an allergic reaction are usually a tingling and itching sensation of the mouth, lips, throat and tongue, a minute or two after eating celery. Symptoms including raised bumps and itching, can also spread to the face and eyelids; the skin rash, along with hives, swelling and eczema is another symptom.
Extreme swelling of the throat may cause constriction of the airways, which can result in breathing difficulties, asthma, sneezing, coughing and wheezing. The allergic reactions might also include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and stomach cramping. In severe situations, patient suffer from anaphylaxis with various symptoms like rapid pulse, sudden drop in blood pressure, confusion, slurred speech and loss of consciousness. If not treated swiftly and correctly with adrenalin and hospital admission it may even result in death.
Which foods contain celery?
Celery can be hidden in many food stuffs, and not just the obvious salads, sandwiches and soups. It is often used in stocks, stock cubes and gravy, ready meals, sauces, crisp flavouring and spice mixes. It is often used in oriental cooking as a flavour enhancer. It is very difficult to avoid celery in restaurants as it’s not commonly listed in menu ingredients and can be found hidden in so many things.
Top 3 lifesaving celery free cupboard essentials
Look What We Found allergen free soup
There are a couple of brands of tinned soup that don’t contain celery. So far I’ve discovered the Free & Easy range, Suma and Look What We Found Pea and Ham soup. This latter is by far my favourite at the moment. It’s got big bits of ham in it and is almost as tasty as home made soup.
The Free & Easy range includes Leek and Potato and Green pea.
- Leak and Potato – Ingredients: water, potato 13%, leek 8%, red lentils, onions, sunflower oil, sea salt and pepper
- Green pea – Ingredients: water, peas 24%, corn syrup, sunflower oil, sea salt, parsley, black pepper.
Watch out though, their parsnip soup, though sometimes not labelled, does contain celery in the vegetable bouillon. Ingredients: Water, Parsnips (14%) Red Lentils (4.8%) Onions, Rice Flour, Sunflower Oil, Vegetable Bouillon (Sea Salt, Yeast Extract, Rice Flour, Palm Oil, Onion, Celery, Carrot, Parsley, Turmeric, Sea Salt). Sometimes this parsnip soup only says ‘vegetable bouillon’ on the ingredients and doesn’t list out the actual things in it.
Look What We Found Pea and Ham soup ingredients:
Water, Peas (33%), Onion, Gammon (6%), Potato, Vegetable Stock, Olive Oil, Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper.
I asked ‘Look what we found’ about the vegetable stock and they told me it contained the following: vegetable concentrates (carrot, onion, and leek), water, salt, spice.
It’s just so tasty. Try it! I promise you won’t be disappointed. To find out more read a blog post dedicated just to this lovely soup, “Look what we found – gluten, dairy, celery and tomato free soup”
More details on Suma soup ingredients to follow shortly…
Marigold celery free vegetable stock cubes
The only stock cubes I’ve found that don’t contain celery are Marigold Organic Swiss vegetable bouillon.
These are great because they are gluten free (although they do contain maltodextrin), dairy free, soya free, yeast free and tomato free. Brilliant!
Ingredients: sea salt, palm oil, vegetables 13.5% – (onion, carrot, parsley), maltodextrin, spices (mace, lovage, turmeric, bayleaf, pepper). These are really tasty but I often use two as they are not as strong as normal stock cubes.
Free&Easy vegetable gravy sauce mix
Again, the only gravy granules sauce mix I’ve found that do not contain celery is Free & Easy Gluten Free vegetable gravy sauce mix. It’s also free from dairy, tomatoes, gluten, yeast…
Ingredients: brown rice flour, cornstarch, hydrolysed vegetable protein, extract of roasted barley malt, powdered onion, sea salt and ground pepper.
This product is guaranteed gluten free too.
Do you have a sensitivity to celery? I’ve had exercise induced anaphylaxis now on two occasions where I’m sure I didn’t consume dairy or nuts (my usual triggers) and now, having researched this food allergy I’m wondering whether on those occasions it could have been caused by celery. I can’t exactly confirm what time of year these reactions occurred but they could well have been during the birch pollen hay fever season. Since I found many references to it being linked to exercise induced anaphylaxis it’s a strong possibility as it’s hidden in so many things.
I’d love to hear from anyone else with this allergy, or anyone who has found any other brilliant celery free products.
Related posts:
Thanks for the reminder of that article of mine, Ruth. I may have a word with Michelle as it needs an update!
When I was researching my second book, Living with Food Allergy, I was trying to find unusual sources of each key allergen – take a look at the Marmite label!
I may be imagining this, but celery also has some other compound in it which can react with skin if you come into contact with it a lot (celery harvesting / celery packing). At least, I think it’s celery… will have a look when I have time.
Marmite! I forgot about that one. Yes I came a cropper with that one. Before I sussed it out as the cause nearly every meal was making me ill. My Marmite on toast was not helping… I do miss Marmite. I’ve never done any harvesting or picking. Interesting to hear about that though. Thanks Alex.
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Anaphylaxis is the most dangerous symptom of a celery allergy. It’s common with food and insect stings and can be fatal. Someone experiencing anaphylaxis will have severe swelling of the face and throat that constricts the airway, making it impossible to breathe. They could also quickly experience shock, which if left untreated can be fatal.
symptoms can occur within minutes of consuming celery to up to five days after eating the vegetable.
Thanks for the comment Best Diet Supplements. People should know how to recognise a anaphylactic attack now.
Thank you for this! This is the first I’ve read about this allergy although I self-diagnosed almost 30 years ago when my lips and eyes swelled up beyond recognition on 3 occasions. Since then although I’ve tried to avoid celery I know that I have eaten, with no obvious effect, some products which contain cooked celery so am very interested to hear about the cross-reaction. I’m not aware that I have hayfever though.
It’s a really hard one to avoid but also, many foods change when cooked. Celery supposedly doesn’t change but maybe something alters so that you can eat it cooked, buit not raw. Very interesting.
I’m allergic to celery but only mildly. Really it’s from the seeds, like in celery salt, that I have bad reactions. Although for me, a bad reaction is my mouth feeling kind of tingly and numb. Raw celery makes my tounge itch slightly and I almost never notice it in cooked food (the plant not the seeds). My doctor said that some of the proteins can be broken down when cooking and with the addition of more things going on and melding, less of the allergens are present. I don’t know how right that is, but it seems to be true for me.
‘Look what we found’ pea and ham soup is also celery free and completely delicious. http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/Page/productDetail.aspx?ProductID=15
Dear Ruth,
I have been suffering for 27 years with a celery allergy. Fortunately it is not as serious as yours but very uncomfortable and pain-
full. I get severe gastric upset with swelling of the abdomen. Funnily enough I have found that good ol’ Pepto bismol and buscupan(pain killer for stomach cramps) help enormously until the “effects” wear off. It may take 3 to 5 days. Sometimes I even manage to “Poison” myself… like tonight…I misread a label and missed the spices in the list. So I made meat sauce with sausages (spices on the ingredients), soup with the sauce and to make matters worse tried some organic multi coloured carrots. I think I shall purchase shares in Pepto Bismol…; )
To matters even worse I used anise and parsley in the sauce, not realizing that it could be cross reactive. Cumin is in the same family. Be careful it is in all premade curry mixes. and may be cross reactive. I have taken to eating thai green or red curry paste. I have also taken to making all my own soups in large batches and freezing portions of varying sizes. Also have found that I cannot eat any food that has been cooked in the same oven that has had a celery containing dish cooked at the same time. ei. stuffing with celery and a seperate roast chicken.
Well that’s interesting, I’ve often wondered about other spices as I do sometimes have unexplained attacks and never find out what caused them. The bain of my life is ingredients lists which say ‘spices’ or ‘vegetable stock’ or ‘boillion’. How do they get away with it? I thought everything had to labelled these days by law if it contained one of the top allergens? Unfortunatly celery is a bit of a way down that list so it doesn’t always get mentioned. I made myself a Thai Green Curry last night – yummy. I use Mae Ploy curry paste and that’s fine for me. No celery in sight. I hadn’t thought of the effects of something with celery being cooked in the same oven! Now that does complicate matters I should imagine. As far as I know though – no celery ever passes my threshhold – but I guess it could be a problem when eating out. Thanks again for the comment. And I agree – pain killers can be really helpful yet not many doctors would advise that. Is Pepto Bismol something to calm the stomach?
Hey i have a question why is it i cant eat celery stalk or leaf but i can seed sometimes?
Well that is odd as apparently the seeds are supposed to be the most highly allergenic, however if there’s one thing I’ve leant on this allergy journey I’m on, it’s that very few people are exactly the same. This little plant seems to contain many different elements, perhaps there is less nitrate in the seeds and you might be reacting to the nitrates in celery. Do you struggle with other nitrate containing foods? I”ll look into this – very interesting. Thanks the comment!
As it’s only happend once, I can’t say for sure, but my allergist’s best guess to an anaphylactic episode was celery-based food dependent exercise induced, so it’s possible. I just avoid raw celery so I don’t have to wonder has it been long enough to exercise, etc……. I’ve never had the problem with exercise alone, luckily, but I will say I toned down running outside a lot after that.
Hi Jules. Sounds very similar to my experience and yes, it does make you a little more wary of running outside, especially alone, which is usually what I do when I go running. I’m lucky that mine is only food related but some people do react to exercise alone – a very scary prospect indeed! Stay safe, eat carefully, and make sure you have your medication if you go running – just in case…
Wow…how interesting is all that. I found out last year, I think about this time, that I have this celery allergy. I couldn’t believe it at first because I have never had allergies to anything. But after the third episode and nearly passing out, I had to come to grips with a new thing to deal with in my life. The wierd thing though is that it kind of went away 6 months later. I found that out by accidently eating the celery one time and nothing happening. Then I tested the waters by having more. Again nothing happened. Well that was 6 months ago and tonight I had a full blown crazy allergic reaction to some Chinese food that had celery. So im thinking its a seasonal allergy for me, right? Does anyone else see a pattern of some kind with this celery allergy? I would like to find anything that kind of lets me know when to expect it to start and when I can look forward to it giving me a break….help!
Hi Eden
I’m on websites tonight after having been to the allergist’s office and finding out that I’m allergic to many foods that I love, including milk, oats,oranges and celery!! And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, this is not good news, but I am relieved to have some answers and to know what foods to try to avoid.
I have always had many environmental and medication allergies, so this should come as no surprise. What I have learned over the years is that I can sometimes be exposed or take a medication and get away with it, and sometimes not. It’s not worth the risk, as you’ve obviously just learned. It’s a bit like Russian Roulette. Anaphylaxis can kill you quickly. If you’ve “gotten away” with eating celery now and then, you’ve just been lucky. Avoid it like the hazard that it is (to you) and carry an Epi Pen, just to be safe. Epi won’t kill you, but sounds like celery just might!! Good luck from an empathetic allergy ridden comrade.
I found out several years ago that I was allergic to celeriac (celery root)–this after having eaten it many times, loving it…I am a chef and worked with it in restaurants. One day, I decided to make it for my family…my hands and eyes started itching and I thought it was because Iwas playing w the dog after I’d prepped dinner. I ate a few bites of the dish (celery root gratin) and it tasted “Peppery.” I was uncomfortable through the evening, then got up and looked in the mirror to see my whole face misshapen w hives, which sort of marched down my body head to toe. I called my allergist, he got me prednisone and a scrip for epi pen.
About 6 months later, the same thing happened with raw celery. I have not eaten raw celery again (except once, one small celery stick when I forgot). I have had cooked celery AND handled raw (a lot–I’m STILL a chef and I develop recipes)…I’ve also eaten celery seed in things.
My epi pens expired and I haven’t renewed them, but refreshing my memory on this all makes me think I’d be smart to have the epi pen again…
I have had some allergic sensations when I’ve had things w other spices in them–I have wondered about cumin, so this bit of info in this story was interesting. And scary, frankly…
Hi Barb! Thanks for the comment. I find the taste of celery very pungent too. I can usually tell if a dish contains any, I think that’s my body saying, “Whoah there! You know you shouldn’t be eating this.!”. With celery, if I don’t exercise, I get horrible hives that are kind of like hard white lumps that itch like crazy and contain clear liquid. I cannot avoid scratching these little hives, they drive me mad, and the rash always comes up on my forarms, shoulders, the top of my back, along my hair line at the back of my neck and if it’s really bad, all over my forhead too. I recently risked a celery laced pie. Stupid you might think, but with no oven due to house renovations my very kind and very favourite neighbour made us chicken pie which was dairy, nut and tomato free, what a star! she didn’t know about the celery and had used some baby stock cubes, which were pretty good apart from celery. So I ate the pie, thinking if it’s just in the stock cube it will be a tiny bit, along with a handful of digestive enzymes. I take these wherever I go and especially when eating out. I did have hives on my right arm and shoulder, but managed to avoid too much scratching. It was almost worth it. IN fact it was worth it. It was a delicious, tasty and nourishing pie. I wonder whether I should experiment with different digestive enzymes and be less fanatical about celery… I definitely won’t be doing this before exercise at any point, and am not condoning anyone should risk a serious allergic reaction by experimenting in this way, but you know your body, and i just wonder if cuttting stuff out isn’t the answer for mild reactions like hives. However it’s not the birch or mugwort pollen season now so clearly I do have a sensitivity. Raw celery sends me completely allergic. A very tricky one. Another blog post on digestive enzymes is called for here! Every tried them Barb? They definitely minimise any reactions for me when I’m not sure about celery. It only works if you have a mild allergy though and for traces of the food. I wouldn’t eat celery pie and try this!
Thanks for all the posts concerning celery allergy. I thought I was the only one. 22 years ago I reacted severely to celery with hives in my throat and difficulty breathing. The doctors weren’t able to give me any as I was pregnant. Over the years I had three more serious reactions. I’ve stayed right away from any celery that I know of, but the reactions were undetected in things like spaghetti sauce and chili. I can’t even eat anything that ‘might’ have been in contact with celery like raw vegetables on a plater. During my last reaction, my eyes swelled shout and my lips swelled. I have to take inhalers as breathing is difficult. I also carry an epi pen just in case. I have to mention my food allergy when I go out to eat and if I’m in doubt at pot luck dinners, etc…. I just go without rather than take any chances. I do have fairly severe hay fever.
You are definitely not the only one, and I’m so heartened to hear that I’m not either! When I wrote this post I never thought I’d get such an amazing response. I thought this was so rare – but it’s also the most scary of my allergies. Even brisk walking after eating something with celery can give me an allergic reaction. Not worth the risk. There are soups, sauces and stock cubes out there and cooking from fresh is always tastier and better.
My allergy is also severe enough that I can detect celery on a person’s breath, if they’ve eaten it and my throat can get itchy from that alone. I have never bought celery since my first reaction so my kids have never even eaten it either. (And as a child, I ate it all the time.)
Thanks for the comment Karen. I too ate celery as a child with no problems. I have to admit I never really liked it. Yuk! maybe my body was saying “Don’t have this any more!” but over the years things got worse and worse. It’s not he easiest thing to avoid though as it’s used in a flavour in so many things. Stay safe fellow celery allergic!
Thanks for article and all the comments. Figured I’d add mine – maybe I’ll learn something. I have had 4 food reactions in past 2-1/2yrs. 1st was angioedema – thought it was halibut. 2nd and 3rd were severe skin rashes – again thought it was some type of fish. First skin tests produced negatives for all fish, dairy, nuts, etc. Not sure if it means anything, but last 2yrs I’ve been practicing vegan diet 90% of time. I was given an epi and no episodes for 6months until this Sept when I ate Celery Root Hash Browns (have eaten them before with no issues) and had severe stomach cramps, then throat swelling, then hives, and rash.. everything. It was a fun day in the ER. I then tested for celery (skin and blood) and was negative but we did find out I am quite allergic to sagebrush/wormwood. Today we took the celery root hash (from my freezer) and the Dr ground it and mixed with saline and did a skin test and I reacted. No surprises there.. he also tested the mixture on his asst who does not have a sagebrush allergy and he did not react. Looking back to my 1st 3 reactions, it is possible that there was celery seasoning in the meals I ate. The theory at this point is that (1) I’m allergic to celery root but not celery and/or (2) The sagebrush/wormwood pollen cross reacted with the celery plant I ate since it was Sept. So, I continue to carry my epi pens and avoid all celery. Any similar situations or ideas are appreciated. My stumped Dr and I would appreciate them. Thanks
I just realised that I had an allergy to celery during thanks giving.. The stuffing in my turkey had celery in it and I had the worst night of cramps and vomiting ever… I soon after got an allergy test and teested posotive for celery… My question is does anyone know the chemical or ingrediant in celery that causes the reaction… I know that the plant has a composition of nearly 90% water.. This information would be extremely usefull for me.. Thanks
Hi Andrew. I’m not 100% sure but I do know that celery is very high in nitrates. It also contains phenols, or natural chemicals called apigenins which are supposed to very good for most people, but are thought to be the culprits for causing anaphylaxis in unlucky individuals like you and I. It’s hidden in so many things too. VERY frustrating! Stay safe!
My celery allergy started as an adolescent with raw celery causing the tip of my tongue to become numb. I never liked the taste of raw celery because of the burning/numbing sensation on my tongue. Now almost 50 years later, my allergy has worsened. I cannot tolerate any celery, raw or cooked. Even the minutest amount causes my mouth to become numb, starting with my tongue.
Andrew:
If you do a thorough search on the web, you will find a website which describes a celery allergy and offers great information on the subject.
http://www.food-allergens.de/symposium-2-3/celery/celery-allergans.htm
Hi Particia. Me too! I never liked it as a child. Always thought it was a foul vegetable but could tolerate it cooked in stuff. However, over time, I now can’t even have the tiniest weenist amount without being really ill. I just get serious hives which burst and clear liquid comes out. If I do exercise, even brisk walking I’m in serious trouble and have had anaphylaxis on two occasions because of celery. Thanks the link. I will check it out.
Mine worsened in 2007 when I became allergic to latex, an associated allergy. In June 2011, my face swelled and I had heart palpitations.
I used to be allergic to birch and grass/rye pollen, other associated allergies. Back in the late 1970s, I had allergy testing and was treated for them.
I have a latex allergy… wow! Are they linked? That’s interesting. Also allergic to grass and birch. Well i never.
I am a 34 yr old female with some med allergies and seasonal allergies, which worsen or lessen depending on which state I live in (I scratched 24/7 the entire 2 years that I lived there!). I am also allergic to cats. I take Zyrtec daily. I have a daughter with a severe peanut allergy.
Anyway, I have eaten celery my entire life, loving celery and peanut butter. A couple of years ago I started to notice that any time I ate celery, carrots (uncooked) or avocado my mouth would slightly swell. I pretty much avoid celery and uncooked carrots now but love avocado so much that I eat it regardless of the slight reaction.
Last night, however, I enjoyed a delicious plate of cashew chicken from our local chinese restaurant. About 2 hours later I suddenly became extremely itchy, my face swelled up, I turned beet red, was burning hot on the outside but freezing on the inside, got immediate stomach cramps, felt light-headed and my legs gave in. I could still breath fine but I was a bit freaked out, as you can imagine. I went to the hospital and was given antihistamines, which fixed me right up.
Today, I called the restaurant to inquire as to what was in the cashew chicken dish – they responded that in addition to chicken and cashews, it contained celery and carrots along with other veggies, and brown rice – no MSG. Ugh! I googled celery allergies, since I have had issues with celery prior, and the symptons above were right on! I am going to have an official test done but I am sure that I need to avoid celery at all cost now!
Thanks for the information!
I developed this allergy a few years ago. When I tell people that I am allergic to celery they pretty much laugh. I have had to stop eating out and have to make most food from scratch. My ex mother in law cooked with it even after I told her I was allergic. People don’t seem to understand how serious this is for me. What can I do? If I was allergic to peanuts people would take me seriously.
I know exactly what you mean. It’s embarassing and you tell from their faces that they think you’re making it up. If people laugh it’s because they don’t understand the seriousness of it. I think it’s a form a bullying. If you said, “I just can’t loose this weight and I’m really self conscious about it”, would it be acceptable for them to laugh? Similarly if you said, “I’m on a diet and want to cut out certain foods.” Not quite the same but why shouldn’t someone be able to limit their food when on a diet, would it be acceptable for someone to snigger, sneer and laugh? No! it wouldn’t. I guess it’s human nature a bit. Only the other night I was disappointed listening to the radio when they were seriously taking the P out of allergies, to the point where one person in the sketch had an allergic reaction, his mouth swelled up, tried to sing in silly voice, and oh this was hysterical! I kid you not. I think it’s sad that as a nation we ridicule so much yet we understand so little. It makes me want to never eat out and to just cook my own food. Much easier. I just meet people for a drink, or go to certain restaurants where I know I’ll be OK. But it’s depressing isn’t it, sometimes. Gosh! what a rant! Chefs and waitresses just don’t get it either. They get nuts and gluten but the rest, you must be making it up, mad or just a nutter.
I totally know where you’re coming from. If these people are you friends then they should laugh. Do you carry an EpiPen? Consider explaining to them what happens to you, how ill it makes you and show them how to adminster your EpiPen. If they still laugh then perhaps they’re not very nice friends!
So relieved to read that I’m not the only one with this allergy! i get tingly lips and a bad gastric upset with celery stalks. Even the smell can set me off (supermarkets can be a trial) No problem with celariac though, which is weird. Most people are helpful and sympathetic, but some people don’t take it seriously with the ‘oh, I didn’t think you were serious’ type comments. Some restaurants think it’s ok just to take out the celary from salads (I’m sure they wouldn’t do this with peanuts). Now I always check (sensitivity to the smell is useful here). Veg soup is a no-no though, as hardly anyone seems to know what’s in it for sure.
I am a 70 year old female, allergic to carrots, celery, parsley, parsnips, dill, coriander, cumin, etc. for about 35 years. I can smell carrots and celery in the produce aisle. My nose starts to tingle. I cook mostly all my own food. It is too hard to go a restaurant and explain. I never eat Chinese because I can’t ever be sure what’s in the dish. Once, a restaurant server just took the celery stalk out of a drink and gave me the drink back. I had a VERY bad reaction once to a jellied waldorf salad. I never expected celery. I am writing to warn all readers to check breath fresheners and some drugs with additives to make the drug more palatable. A chewable breath freshener makes a big deal of containing parsley for fresh breath. It would kill me. Thanks for helpful ideas.
Hello Dolly! Thanks for your comment. We share quite a few allergies. I am allergic to nuts, dairy, celery, coriander, latex (I suspect dill though it’s not in so many things). And you are right. It’s impossible to communicate these kinds and amount of allergies to servers. They just don’t get it and think you’re being fussy or lying or just think allergies are not so life threatening and that traces are fine. They are not! As we all know and have discovered at our peril. I struggle a lot with eating out and cook mostly all our food at home. There are a few places I will go but I tend to stick to the same old thing; steak or ham egg and chips. Not the most exciting prospect sometimes. I didn’t know about breath fresheners containing parsley though. So many weird little things to look out for. Ethnic good is too much of a risk for me too. Have had too many bad reactions to ever wish to risk it again. Anyway, you stay safe and thanks for the tip.
Chobani Greek yogurt strawberry has an ingredient-fruit and vegetable juice concentrate (for color). When my husband opened the package, I got a blinding headache. I had to go outside and then open windows to get rid of the smell. He smelled nothing. Then I read the ingredients. Are there carrots in VEGETABLE JUICE CONCENTRATE?
I never even thought of checking yogurts. This is really good advice for anyone with a carrot allergy. Thanks Dolly! Did you check and find out if it contained Carrot? It’s not one of the top 14 so they don’t have to state it’s presence. Sounds likely though it could have been beetroot or any other reddish colour veggie.
Thank you for this webpage. I have been struggling with allergies for this past year and finally was diagnosed with a milk allergy, birch allergy, and pet allergy. Since then I have been ultra careful not to eat anything with dairy in it but I was still having allergic reactions. Hives and Excema on my trunk area and then some broke out on my face after eating celery with peanut butter on it. I thought maybe the peanut butter was cross contaminated or something and left it at that. Today I ate celery by itself and my mouth immediatly reacted and I had to spit it out. I searched and found that birch allergy can be linked with an allergy to celery and strawberries. Both of which I feel I have had episodes with after eating. Thanks for the insight on your webpage. This has been helpful and hopefully gave me the answers I was looking for.
Glad to help Todd! It’s a journey and a bit like being a detective trying to discover what our bodies are up to. Good luck. I have had a trying weekend at the outlaws. I didn’t stand over mother in law this weekend and check every packet and thing and today I am regretting the lack of vigilance. The skin on my face is RAW> Ouchy. It will pass thought.
Dear Ruth,
I have multiple food allergies, wheat, rye, barley, splet and kamut, dairy, eggs, soy, bakers yeast, brewers yeast, pork, beef, salmon, citrus, apples,bananas, carrots, my personal favourite – celery!! and mesquite, moulds (14 of the 18 types), it makes eating so much “fun”. Particulary when we eat out.
Hurrah for sushi!!! Fish and rice. I have found that Uncle Bob’s Red Mills have many products that are good for people with food allergies. For example…. oats, which I can eat, would sometimes upset my stomach, sometimes not. Then I found out that the oats are made in the same grist mills that = you guessed it – mill wheat, rye and/or barley. Uncle Bob’s Oats are the only thing in his grist mill. There mixed cereals and flours are handy, if a little expensive.
I have also found out that I can eat organic apples and bananas without any adverse reactions. However I have not got up the courage to try organic celery. I have however found out through research on the internet that celery contains approximately 450 seperate chemicals(insecticides, fertilizers etc.) I sometimes wonder if it is the chemicals we react to not the protein in the foods.
Also I have delveloped over the last couple of years a chemical allergy to?? I am not to sure what. It is a chemical used in the manufacture of vynil, brake fluid(the enviromentally friendly one), rubber shoes, some fast-drying paints, etc. It will cause me to collapse into a faint within seconds. I can see and hear but not respond, then the hangover is a headache, disjointed thinking, dizziness, trouble with muscle control, shakes, and general feeling of illness. If you have any ideas where to start looking I would appreciate the help.
It is nice to now that I am not alone when it comes to being allergic to celery. I have found out that Buscopan (an anti cramping drug for gall bladder attacks) works well to stop the cramps. And good ol’ PeptoBismol settles the “raw stomach” feeling. Taken together it helps to “take the edge off” through the first part of the reaction. I still feel icky and have a sore gut for three to four days though.
Thanks for your website. It was nice to read through others comments.
The chemical allergy you are describing sounds like it could be latex- I believe latex is found in all the products you are describing, though I dont know anything about brake fluid.
I agree that people think celery allergy is all in your mind and if you can’t see it, it won’t bother you. Did not like celery as a child and in reading Mom’s diaries I see where she listed celery soup or chicken salad with celery as a meal one day and the next day mentions that I was cranky and sleepless all night. Very difficult for a child to say that every time she eats celery she has icky tummy. The allergy has only gotten worse as I get older and now I have tingling of lips and tongue and swelling of throat in addition to icky tummy and hives. I tell the waiter I am allergic to celery and citrus before I order and have learned to add that “the cook can just pick it out” is not acceptable.
A company here in Canada was advrtising all natural prepared meats, nitate free, and then was forced to change their label as the meats had massive amounts of celery product in them, producing high nitrate levels. Probably ignorance, but it is the type of sneaky labelling that causes problems for those of us with allergies.
I have suffered from food allergies for the past 32 years, just after my oldest son was born. The worst is celery, I have to ask at every restaurant about celery, and have also started asking about celery salt since many places use it to season fish or steak. I grew up eating celery almost every day from the time I could chew it. I have carried Benadryl with me as taking 2-25 mg pills will usually ward of the allergy attack if I start having symptoms, such as very itchy eyes, severe runny nose, stomach cramps and diarrhea.
One time a co-worker brought a dish to work to share that didn’t look like it had celery, after eating a few bites I remembered to ask and was told “Yes, but it’s cut up really really small”.
I am also allergic to almonds and kiwi and sometimes have issues with avocadoes. I also can not eat green beans, potatoes and tomatoes in the same meal. I also can not drink milk on any sort of regular basis – this was diagnosed as a milk allergy when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade before lactose intolerance became well known.
Thanks for posting the celery free soups! I’ll have to see if they have them in the US. I got diagnosed with severe allergies to celery, carrots, and sesame 3 years ago. I was in college and the cook in my sorority house used Mrs. Dash seasoning on most foods, and it has celery and carrots in it. I had been feeling sick to my stomach every day. I had suspected being allergic to celery for awhile. I was mildly allergic when I was younger, but several years ago I ate a salad with celery and couldn’t take more than two bites because my throat itched so bad. I’ve avoided celery ever since. Unfortunately, that’s hard to do here. Celery does not have to be listed on the ingredient list, it can be included under “natural flavors”. That’s a fun surprise. The majority of grocery foods state “natural flavors” which makes shopping difficult. I’ve had a reaction to a frozen meal where celery was not listed, then I found out it doesn’t have to be. All frozen meals I’ve seen say “natural flavors”. I’ve tried to email several brand companies to ask of specific meals had celery in them, but they never replied. I emailed the FDA asking if this rule would ever change and they said it would not, and if it’s listed as a natural flavor there’s only a very slight amount in there, not enough to affect taste. I don’t care if it affects taste, I care if I have an allergic reaction. It’s so frustrating! Luckily I haven’t had an anaphylactic reaction yet, but the more exposures you get the worse the reactions get. Hopefully it never gets to that point!