Sunday, July 5, 2015

In which this pizza enthusiast has a wheat sensitivity

Germany is the land of delicious, artisan* bread products and cakes. It's amazing just how much bread people eat here; it's not uncommon for it to either star in or accompany most of a day's meals. I stayed in hospital for fewer than 24 hours once here and in that time, I was offered 7 (!!!) pieces of bread as my meals. To be fair, I think that they had no idea what to give me because I identified as a vegetarian.

Anyway, I do find the bread here very tasty, but I started to realize that I didn't feel so well after eating it. I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence but once found myself feeling quite ill after eating pasta for breakfast. At that point, I figured that there weren't any other intervening variables on what could be making me feel sick so I asked my doctor for an allergy test for wheat. I think he rolled his eyes a bit because Americans are obsessed with wheat allergies/sensitivities and many people don't actually have them but munch on gluten-free bread nonetheless. Since I'm allergic to a ridiculous amount of other things, I figured that it was worth a try.

Indeed, I did register as slightly allergic to wheat. I had the same allergy score for wheat as I have for dogs. With dogs, I can be around them and pet them, but if I really snuggle them, I end up with itchy eyes and skin, even if I've taken an allergy pill that day.

Since I don't have an extreme allergy to wheat, I can eat a bit of it and I'm basically okay. However, I was a dummy today and ate some delicious pizza. Within a few hours, I had a pounding headache and lots of sinus congestion. I've also been hanging out with some doggie friends and my eyes are itchy. It's a carnival of allergic reactions!

I know better.



*egads, is that word obnoxious when used in American advertising, but it's apt in Germany because it actually is artisan.

4 comments:

  1. Oops! What a pain! By accident I discovered I have an allergy to yogurt, (formerly) one of my favorite snacks. Cutting down on pasta and bread has to be hard! But you do what you have to do...

    Love the word "egads"! :-)

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  2. I am also sensitive to dairy, too. In fact, it's worse than bread is for me. Considering that I love pizza, it's a sad thing. I actually put myself through college by working at a pizza restaurant and ate it almost every day. No wonder why my stomach always felt as if I had a lump of lead in it :(

    Why is it that the most yummy things are bad for us? sigh

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  3. How do they do the food allergy test? I've been wondering if I may also have some issues with dairy/lactose.

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  4. My doctor did a blood test for me. I was happy about that because I had another friend who had to use that special shelf in the toilet, if you know what I mean. I wanted NO part of that one!

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