I’ve been away
from the blog for a few weeks. But, I wanted to give the readers an update.
Within the last week, I developed hives on my hands. Never having hives before,
I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. My hands were painful to touch, swollen and
covered in red welts. A visit to the urgent care center confirmed that it was
indeed hives. The next thing was to figure out what substance caused the
allergic reaction. My wife helped me to remember everything we had eaten the
day before the hives appeared. We tracked it down to either tomatoes or soy
lecithin. I didn’t have any tomatoes for several days but the hives were not
subsiding. Unbeknownst to me, soy lecithin can be found in many products. Once
I understood that, I stayed away from anything that contained soy lecithin. At
the end of the day, my hives were beginning to subside. This puts another twist
to my dieting.
Why did I suddenly
have a reaction? I’m not really sure but I suspect that I accidently overloaded
on soy lecithin on the day before the hives appeared. I have eaten so many of
the foods that have soy lecithin, but I do not think I ever had so much within
a 24 hour period. Once my hives have cleared, I will have to do some testing.
My doctor told
me that allergies can appear anytime. Things that may have never bothered you
before can suddenly cause an unpleasant reaction. Learning what I can and
cannot eat and listening to my body is a slow process but it is worth the
reward of good health, fitness and long life.
When I think hives, I immediately think bees, but I suppose that hives
aren’t always for the bees. I certainly would rather let the bees have their
hives, then for me to have mine.
Take care, stay
well, eat healthily, and live long.