If you are having persistent symptoms despite eliminating everything, don’t forget to check your toothpaste and other toiletries. Once I removed artificial flavors and colors from my diet, I quickly realized I was having milder symptoms with “natural flavors” and “organic flavors”. So…I am actually allergic to flavor. I cut out the LaCroix and Annie’s fruit bars and pretty much everything with taste. And still…I kept getting sick. And then I remembered the toothpaste. I had already switched from Crest to Tom’s of Maine, and didn’t think to check the ingredients. Sure enough, the mild trigger “natural flavors”. Plus xylitol, a moderate trigger. Plus carrageenan, which I have not yet tested but is heavily processed and totally could be a trigger if I were brave enough to test it. After switching to Pretty-Franks for real all natural tooth powder a few months ago, I have had weeks of consecutive good days.
Check the rest of the labels, too. I don’t know what to do with all the chemicals. Products are generally full of chemicals that I am unfamiliar with. It seems more acceptable than with food. But I just came across a leave-in conditioner in the back of my bathroom cabinet that had my nemesis Red#40, Blue#1 and Yellow #5. In my case, Avocado is also a huge trigger, so I have to scour labels for avocado oil. Then I had to circle back and check all my kids hair products, since I can’t seem to stop kissing them on the head. Being sickly is exhausting!
