HealthNotes

The following foods are the least likely to provoke allergic reactions:

Beverages:

• Almond milk
• Herb teas (no lemon or orange)
• Pure fruit juices without sugar or additives (dilute 50:50 with water)
• Roasted grain beverages may be used as coffee substitutes
• Seltzer (salt-free)
• Spring water in glass bottles or clear plastic

Cereals:

• Oatmeal
• Oat bran
• Cream of rye
• Puffed rice and millet
• Diluted apple juice, apple slices, and nuts go well on cereal
• Use almond milk

Grains and flour:

• Bean flour
• Buckwheat flour
• 100% buckwheat soba noodles
• Cooked whole gains, such as oats, millet, barley, buckwheat groats (kasha), rice macaroni, spelt (flour and pasta), brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, rice, or millet breads (that contain no dairy, eggs, sugar, or wheat)
• Potato flour
• 100% rice cakes
• Rice crackers
• Rice flour
• 100% rye or spelt bread with no wheat
• Rye crackers

Legumes:

• Black beans
• Chickpeas
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Navy beans
• Peas
• String beans

Dried beans should be soaked overnight. Pour off the water and rinse before cooking. Canned beans often contain added sugar or other potential allergens. Some cooked beans packaged in glass jars, and sold at health food stores, contain no sugar.

Nuts and seeds:

• Nuts and seeds, either raw or roasted, without salt or sugar
• Nut butters from health food stores or from fresh ground nuts (such as almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, sesame butter, and sesame tahini)
• Peanuts are a common food allergen and should be avoided, along with peanut butter

Oils:

• Use cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils (available from health food stores), as they are safer for the heart and blood vessels. Do not use corn oil or “vegetable oil” from an unspecified source, as this is usually corn oil.
• Canola oil
• Flaxseed (edible linseed) oil (Use this oil for salads or adding to cooked foods, but not for cooking as heating this highly unsaturated oil will destroy some of the essential fatty acids and create potentially toxic byproducts.)
• Olive oil
• Peanut oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame oil
• Sunflower oil

Protein:

• Canned tuna, salmon, and other canned fish
• Lamb
• Poultry and fowl

Vegetables:

• All vegetables except corn are generally acceptable.
• Tomatoes sometimes cause problems and should be avoided by susceptible individuals.