Yeast Allergies?

[MkaliHashiki]

About a week or so ago, I started experiencing this crazy itch of my head, face, & neck & arms combined with a heat. So bad I thought I was going into anaphylactic shock (I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, lol). The itch has persisted but the heat has gone away. I was trying to think if anything changed in my diet. And besides a particular huge batch of non-organic ginger (about 5 pounds) that was on the sale shelf at the local co-op, & which I've been putting into EVERYTHING (plus my housemate made candied ginger with it that I've been eating), the only thing that has changed in my diet is that now about 85-90% of my beverage consumption is some beverage that I fermented. Mostly using storebought yeast, but some using wild yeast.

I just googled "yeast allergy" and something came back about "wine allergy" in which they talk specifically about being allergic to the yeast used in fermentation.

Has anyone else heard of "yeast allergy" or known someone who experienced something similar?

MkH

[ningly]

I have caught up with a friend who had allergic reactions with some forms of mold and it was said that it was kind of a challenge to figure out what it really was because you are not going to be exposed to it often.

Symptoms can be as simple as headache, sneezing, itchy nose and eyes, nasal congestion to even sore throat. With that, it can be generalized into a number of ways so you have to watch it out carefully, really.

[fermented-foods-live]

Hi, If you already have a yeast allergy in your system called Candida which you can look up on a search engine and get alot more info about- then eating yeast related things can cause many side effects. But also because you were eating the candied ginger... the ginger is great (unless it did have pesticides or something in it) but the sugar part is the problem. The sugar feeds any candida in the intestines, which it usually lives peacefully with other bacteria, but when it gets alot of sugar it can outgrow the beneficial bacteria and give you the allergies. I was allergic for awhile and the remedy was to avoid both sugar and yeast unfortunately. Candida overgrowth is very common today, it is more talked about for ladies but is in both sexes. It is a problem if you take antibiotics at any time, which kill good and bad bacteria, then it gets a head start. In hospitals they give all kinds of antibiotics and often forget the importance of probiotics and candida albicans is a very big problem. also with weak immune systems from many causes . I would first try probiotic suppliments that you can find at health store which give you doses of the beneficial bacteris, and cut down on sugars.That may get your system back in balence. Best wishes.

[MDee]

"fermented foods live" is right on. I hope probiotics work for you....they never did for me. I have had very severe candidasis (yeast overgrowth in GI tract and else where in body). I'm an extreme case but i have to avoid all sugar and starch period. However what gets rid of yeast reactions faster than anything for myself...and so far I've never seen it fail for anyone else...is raw "saturated" (has all types of fats in it) fat. For the vegans/vegetarians virgin coconut oil or avocado's...raw cream (high fat milk) or raw kidney fat work great if you are okay eating raw animal foods. If lower sugar and probiotic's doesn't cut it...try it.

[Aliyanna]

If you bought non organic ginger...than it could be anything from the stuff on the ginger on the outside...to the way it was grown.

It is possible to have a yeast allergy...specificlly yeast...I have some myself. It is often related to candida in the body...but it can occur alone. Can you eat breads with yeast...or other ferments?

Personally, I have systemic candida...and I also have allergies to mold and yeasts....esp aspergillis and penicillin molds....which unfortunately means no miso.

The first thing I would do..is take something to modulate your immune system. I take Beta 1-3,6 glucan...from betaforce.org...oddly enough it's base is a type of bakers yeast..but not had a problem with it. In fact it helps with a lot of things. It helps the immune system to modulate and respond correctly instead of over or under reacting. I had a black mold and aspergillis infection in the house...and it took a while to get it fixed...and Betaglucan is what kept me alive!!
hth
A

[Isabel]

Yes, I have yeast allergies-or rather, currently they are STRONG sensitivities. It kinda sucks, but you get used to it.
I had IGg testing done, it's for foods you are sensitive to (as opposed to anaphalactically allergic to) and it came back that I was strongly sensitive to amaranth, eggs, diary (not goat), cane sugar (I know I am allergic to most grasses) and bakers and brewers yeast-which was the only two they tested, but I have a strong suspicion it's ALL yeasts. I have had terrible problems with candida, and every piece of bread I eat or glass of wine I drink, I feel it. I hasn't yet reached anaphalactic proportions, but my allergies do things like cause digestive distress, runny nose, my face gets very red and dry, and I guess not surprisingly, any yeast that I ingest, within 12 hours my body will usually show it's unhappiness in what SEEMS like a vagina yeast infection-the itchiness and white discharge etc. Kombucha is by FAR the worst-and literally drives me mad-and I learned from Sandor, the "mother" is a SCOBY-symbiotic colony of bacteria and YEAST-OOOOH! So no more yeast for me.
Being sensitive or allergic to the proteins in foods (that's the THING we're actually allergic to, not the whole food) -if we are unhealthy from anything else, and especially if we have digestive issues pre-existing- means that our gut doesn't digest the proteins but rather they permeate into our bloodstream, which causes all kinds of nasty reactions.
It's kind of trial and error to see what you can handle, but just remember that sometimes food sensitivities can show up 3-4 DAYS after you eat the offending item, and it can show up in a myriad of ways anywhere on your body.
I'd say if you think you have an allergy, see a naturopath, and pursue allergy (IGe) and sensitivity (IGg) testing-then at least you KNOW.
And yes, people can learn to live without bread. I eat way healthier now than I did before I got sick. If you miss bread, just eat more veggies, quinoa, rice pasta, tortillas, etc.
Good luck!

[Isabel]

PS, and to MDee,
I couldn't take probiotics for a LONG time because of the candida, but staying away from allergenic foods, getting lots of fresh veggies, alkalinizing (somewhat-I drink lemon water, not expensive ionized water) and taking calcium, magnesium, potassium supplements, Oh, yes, and had to resort to Nystatin (the live, 50,000 unit kind, compounded kind) but hey! FINALLY after 3 years I can do some coconut keifer water and non-dairy probiotics, a bit of salami and a bit of sauerkraut.
Keep working at it! Probiotics really are good for you, you just have to have the ecosystem in your gut that will take them first.

[VaudyP]

Hi i just joined and only just started my first flirtation with MilkKef 3rd batch, Waterkef 1st batch and kombucha (Day 3 Scoby looking not well at all). My third milk kef - just a cupful, left a slimy yeasty like infestation in my throat and bronchial tubes - or has it just promoted a bacterial infection = any ideas?. I swear the onset felt like a radical overgrowth of candida itching my throat. then it moved down chestward to where its more typically the site of some bronchial bug. (IM concerned a bit that that batch of raw milk had already been opened a few days and sat on counter rather long at room temperature before being inoculated with keffir. but it was not unpleasant to taste just quite fizzier than the first 2)

What I dont get though is with my history of candida i thought probiotics were the great thing to keep it in check. YET On this forum ive read about steering clear or limiting probiotics and especially that kombucha may be best avoided for yeast allergics. Well i am a bit confused - indeed its always made sense to avoid all fungi and yeasts, as ive always done, only recently overcoming my suspicion of fermenty hippy cultures due to the heavy probiotic plug. So Im surprised this thread advises against them, for I thought the point was they balance the gut flora. who needs more so than the candida sufferer. So now im thinking its all been a mistake and maybe i should stick to yoghurt. Is that the take home message here? Is there a fermented food that will help not hinder the candida? Is it possible there is another explanation for my reaction to the milk keffir with the possibly compromised milk, such that it might be better next batch? Should I be relieved that my SCOBY has curled up on the bottom of the jug sparing me the responsibility for axing a thriving kombucha on account of yeast incompatibility? In addition over 2 days mere preparation of the cultures ive ingested more sugars taste-testing than i would normally in a month. Should i give up the sack cloth brewing and broomstick and head back to the bright city lights of fresh salad and bottled bifido? I thought lactoferments were going to be a fix, Could someone set me straight on which are the enemy please?
thanks so much,
Vau (Australia)