SULFITE FREE FOODS:
NO WAY OUT TO SURVIVE -
THE FIGHT GOES ON

by YASMIN
(MAPLE)

All foods that are packaged, boxed, come from a different country such as fresh fruits, vegetables etc. all are sprayed with sulfites. Also white rice, sugar, salt, any starch are all bleached with sulfites, all flours bleached, all dried fruit and veggies preserved with sulfites, dried beans, lentils, etc all with sulfites.
All seafood sprayed with sulfite to keep it fresh and not get the black mold on them.

There is no getting away from these sulfites.

Although USDA and FDA and CFIA allow 10ppm, the manufacturers are not required by law to put sulfites on the label if it is 10ppm or under. NOW this is a big issue of life and death for a person with this allergy because if the label does not say sulfites and the person consumes it, they are in trouble and the doctors at the emergency room at hospitals do not know how to deal with this.

Epipen and Twinjet which is epiphrenine and supposed to be injected in cases of allergies (like peanut etc), this cannot be used in the case of emergency of a 'sulfite allergy' because sulfites are used in this medication for preserving the medication!! ??

To learn more about sulfite allergy, go on google and check it out. There is so much information out there yet there is no help for people like us, no prevention, no cure, just a bandaid, use reactine and Benadryl. There is one out of a 100 people with this sensitivity and no money for research, that’s not fair.

You think that you are allergic to shrimp, that is not the case, if you eat the shrimps from the sea (fresh) as in the Bahamas for example, you will be fine. Fresh fish and lobster from the sea is fine as long as its bought from the fisherman and nothing is added to preserve it. Best to buy right from the fisherman at sea.
If you eat the shrimp purchased from the supermarket, ha, you are ill, this is the sulfites sprayed on it that's making you sick. They spray ALL SEAFOOD regardless if it is in shell or not like lobster, shellfish etc or Cod, Halibut, Tilapia, etc.. This spraying prevents black spots on the shell and retards spoilage of fish.

Do not eat the fish from the river even if fresh, like Tilapia or Salmon, it has sulfites, the river water is full of sulfites. Is this true??

I don’t know, I haven’t had any fish or meat for two years and am badly in need of protein in my diet as I can only eat chicken breast boneless only, nothing with bones, there is sulphur in them that leaches into soups or food when cooked.

You must eat organic foods only and don’t be fooled. There is a catch here too.
All organic foods are NOT necessarily sulfite free!! Digest this one!

They can even be 100% certified organic but when food travels over borders, it is either sprayed with sulphite or sits in a tub of sulfited water or ice.

Some will say their foods are 100% organic BUT organic only means pesticide free, does not mean preservative free by any means. So be careful and research and check anything that goes in your mouth including toothpaste, floss and creams, haircolor, soap, laundry detergent etc. WOW!

Foods can be of organic nature, that is no pesticide has been used during the growing of the food, BUT when it comes to shipping out the organic foods from California or other USA places to Canada, they either sit in a bin of sulfited water or sulfites is sprayed on them just before shipping out to help to stop the spoilage as the truck travels all the way to Canada.

So, you really have to be careful. There is actually no way out for a person like this, they must grow their own food, it comes down to this.
Here, too, is a problem because for a person like me, I cannot do this. I have a rotator cuff injury and my right arm is useless and am in a lot of pain all the time. I fell at work, twice in the slippery snow outside our office door and hurt my right shoulder and back.
I have a hip injury on my left side and left knee where I fell at work over a huge box in the way at the office and have been suffering in silence all these years, now and is getting worse.

I have spondylsis in my upper back.
My neck and jaw always are seizing up with the sulfite sensitivity, I don’t know where to go or turn to, its very scary and frustrating especially when my throat starts to close or when I get the digestive turmoil and cramps, nausea and feeling of distress and doom, and feel like I am going to die. I can do nothing but lie down or sit and not even move.

The hospital doctors cannot treat you, they will just check for a ‘heart attack or stroke’ as the symptoms mimic that and in spite of you telling them millions of times that it is the allergy and please help me, they ignore you completely and just do all the tests for the heart and in the end tell you, oh your heart is fine, you are not in trouble!!!! Huh??

The epipen or twinjet injection (which is epinephrene) has ‘sulfites’ in it for preserving the medication!!!

So, your only hope is Benadryl liquid 2 teaspoons and God be with you.

Thanks, Yasmin

Kathi's response:

Yasmin,

You have obviously lived with this a long time and have grown accustomed to your limitations.
Yes, you resent them, but there is no one on the face of the earth that can blame you for that.

I really only have two suggestions for you, both of which I do not believe you are going to like or even want to hear. But certain situations in life require drastic measures.

Number one: since you are unable to grow your own food, get yourself near a source that can AND does. This means you will probably have to move.

I get the impression you must live in an urban environment. This restricts your food choices immensely. You need to be somewhere you can pick up the phone, call the farmer and just ask "what's in season, send me some please." Then buy some in bulk as the season's change and get extras in your freezer. This way you can have some of everything as the season's change also.

My number two suggestion will fit right in with the number one suggestion because you need a new medical team.

Since you have moved, you will automatically have to get a new doctor. I do not know how many times you need to go to a doctor, but obviously you are not getting any satisfaction out of your current program. If you find a new doctor, work with them on your condition, you may find some kind of relief.

Do not be unrealistic though. No doctor is going to be able to take away all your problems. But if you work with a new one, they may be able to help you learn to adjust to your restrictions.

Try to change up a few limitations with your current lifestyle (yes, this is going to be difficult also because moving alone is not easy and you will need help). But I do think if you could make your current environment more conducive to your condition, you could also make your life easier.

Good Luck to you!