Living with Alpha-Gal: Hidden Triggers Your Doctor Might Not Warn You About
A photographers journey with Alpha-Gal
Here is a list of items that you'll want to change in your life that many of us with AGS react to. Not in any specific order. What many don't realize, is it is more then just food. Mammal products are found in everyday items too.
1. No Mammal Meat, Pork, or byproducts. (Some can have pork)
2. No Dairy from cows or other mammal (some do not react to Dairy). If you react to it - only use plant based milk (Almond, Oak, Soy, ect).
3. Change to Vegan Soap, Body Wash & Lotion (glycerin is often Mammal derived and is in a lot of products.). Take your own soap to public bathrooms!
4. Change to Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner.
5. Change to Vegan Deodorant.
6. Change household cleaning products to vegan. Example - Dishwasher Soap, Laundry Detergent, and any other cleaning supplies you touch.
7. Pets. Wear gloves to feed them. Don't let them lick you. You can change their diets to fish, chicken, turkey but beware of high cross contamination risks.
8. Sunscreen should be Vegan.
9. Bug spray...go vegan or i recommend essential oils to avoid harsh chemicals. This is especially important as you do not want another infectious bite.
10. Coffee. If you're like me who hates regular coffee but drinks cappuccino or frothy latte... you'll have to make your own. I haven't found any that are safe yet.
11. Non Dairy is not safe. It should say Dairy Free but still read labels. Most non-dairy has milk or mammal derived ingredients.
12. Stay away from Natural Flavors. They are often derived from mammal unless they state vegan).
13. Gelatin. This is in a lot, including Jello, pudding, medicines, ect. No gel capsules or capsules unless they say vegetable capsule.
14. Shaving razors. The gel strip is mammal derived. Many you can remove the strip.
15. Tea bags. They are often mammal derived. Switch to loose leaf teas.
16. Filtered water is often not safe! They filter with mammal bone char. Drink only natural spring water or well water.
17. If you are highly fume reactive..be careful around people who smoke if they had recently eaten red meat it could cause a flare. Smoke can also raise your histamine which you want to avoid.
18. Change to Vegan Toothpaste.
19. Turkey...a lot of processed turkey uses meat byproducts like carrageenan.
20. Carrageenan (meat derived)
21. No Glycerin / Glycercol
22. Be careful with additive gums (Xanthan Gum, guar gum, gellan gum, ect). It can bother those with AGS.
23. Diglycerides (often Mammal derived)
24. Leather. Many with AGS react to it so cover your car seats.
25. Sugar. If it doesn't say pure sugar or organic sugar - it could be processed with bone char.
26. Rosemary Extract - Some are not vegan and could contain mammal products if the product is not labeled as vegan.
27.Tallow / Lard (pork fat)
28. Change to plant based butter. Most butter contains milk.
29. Collagen (is often mammal derived)
30. Avoid Histamines as much as possible. This is an important one! (It plays a key role in the immune system's allergic reactions). Histamines can grow on left overs and uncooked cold foods. There are also specific foods that are high in histamines you'll want to avoid like Chocolate (even the dairy free chocolate). I recommend researching these foods. Avoid having much food for left overs. Try to cook just for that day or have left overs for next day only. When buying raw chicken/turkey... package it into portions and freeze immediately.
31. Don't over work out, or over exercise. This doesn't bother everyone, but exercise raises your histamine levels.
32. If you have outdoor allergies...this may get worse as it can also raise your histamine levels so limit your exposure.
Here's a list of things that help me during a flare up. Please note that currently my flareups involve gut / GI pain, diarrhea, and a few hives.
- Electrolytes. I add to my water.
- Heat. I lay down and apply heat to my gut and backside area.
- Avoid solid food for a few hours, or liquid fast 1-2 days depending on how bad flare-up is.
- Antihistamines will help with flare ups. Just make sure they are AGS Safe.
- Believe it or not, a piece of baked chicken has helped me during a minor flare-up. I think it had to do with the protein.
- Relaxing and breathing exercises can help relax your muscles.
Hopefully this will help you in some way. Living with AGS is not easy and we are all still learning. It's effects us both physically and a mentally. Hang in there!
Be blessed.
If you'd like to check out some of my photos available is prints, puzzles, gifts and more, here are some links:
Fine Art America: https://5-jennifer-white.pixels.com
Pictorem: https://jenniferwhite.pictorem.com
