Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
I have noticed a very odd and perplexing trend in recent years. Allergies to red meat seem to be on a slow but definite rise. They are currently most prevalent in the Southeastern United States.
While not a lot of folks I know have this strange type of allergy, there are definitely a few who do and this is something I had never observed prior to just a few years ago.
What is Causing Red Meat Allergies
I have been at a complete loss to explain to folks why they might be allergic to red meat. I have generally considered it to be yet another symptom of the rampant and worsening gut imbalance problems people subsisting on modern foods and pharmaceuticals suffer from and have advised looking into healing and sealing their gut wall a la the GAPS or SCD protocol with their holistic health practitioner.
Now, there appears to be at least one possible explanation: tick bites.
The Journal of General Internal Medicine has published an article by Susan Wolver, MD, and Diane Sun, MD of Virginia Commonwealth University. Their research identifies the rising trend of red meat allergies which first appeared in the Southeastern United States.
Dr. Wolver and Dr. Sun stumbled upon this connection by analyzing the case histories of three patients. People with an allergy to red meat, a very new syndrome, wake up in the middle of the night about 3-6 hours after eating red meat for dinner with hives. Worse, a severe, life threatening condition known as delayed anaphylaxis may present.
The reaction is thought to be caused by antibodies to a carbohydrate known as alpha-gal.
A patient produces these carbohydrate antibodies after sustaining a Lone Star tick bite. This same carbohydrate is in all red meat – pork, venison, beef, and lamb.
First Allergic Reaction Generally Severe
When the allergic individual consumes these foods, the immune system releases histamine in response to the ingestion of the carbohydrate alpha-gal which is the cause of the hives or anaphylaxis.
Most worrisome, anaphylaxis triggered by red meat appears to be the very first life threatening allergic reaction due to consumption of a carbohydrate rather than a protein. What’s more, this is the first anaphylaxis that occurs hours after exposure rather than immediately upon contact or ingestion.
Could more carbohydrate induced anaphylaxis be on the way?
The conclusions of Dr. Wolver and Dr. Sun:
“Where ticks are endemic, for example in the southeastern United States, clinicians should be aware of this new syndrome when presented with a case of anaphylaxis. Current guidance is to counsel patients to avoid all mammalian meat – beef, pork, lamb and venison.”
The Good News
Some red meat allergy sufferers are reporting that their symptoms disappear when they consume only meat from organic grassfed animals fed no GMO animal feed.
While this information is only anecdotal, it seems that the answer to red meat allergies may be much more complex than the effects wrought by a simple tick bite.
Source: Carnivores: Beware of Ticks
It’s not just the feed that the cows eat, but how they are processed. If you buy grass fed beef from the most well-known site online (I won’t say the name, but it sounds like smellness), it will still contain corn derivatives. Most carcasses are washed down with lactic acid (product of fermentation of corn waste by mold), citric acid (the same), or vinegar (same again). They are then packaged in cryovac packages that are dusted with GMO cornstarch…….expensive grass fed beef ruined in the processing.
The trick is to find a local farmer and a local small scale meat processor who will custom butcher your beef for you using only water! My processor washes all equipment down very well before processing my meat and uses unpowdered gloves and plain white butcher paper. I can’t eat any meat from the grocery store (even organic or grass fed), but I have no issues whatsoever with my custom butchered grass fed beef. I am still looking for completely corn-free chicken (I currently have access to pastured chicken that is fed some corn, but is processed clean which doesn’t work for me), pork (same case as chicken) and ocean fish. Eggs are very difficult as well because they can come from corn-fed chickens, but they are also washed with detergents when sold commercially (eggshells are porous!). Sometimes they are even coated with corn oil after washing to try to mimic the “bloom” that naturally protects eggs. It’s horrifying to see what is done to our food.
Yes, this is the FIRST allergy triggered by a carb not a protein. It is also the first that can trigger delayed anaphylatic shock instead of immediate.
I guess I’m curious, and very confused. Mention of Carbohydrate as cause talking about Protein? Sorry for my lack of science background in my questioning 🙁
I was bitten by 7 (stuck in the weeds with a flat tire) and got the dreaded “bullseye” with 5. I still have strange flare ups of skin illnesses and food sensitivities and it has been 3 years.
I am one of those people with Milk.
i suffered a tick bite a a kid … Would this be an acute allergy or an intolerance?
I tried that. Went on GAPS and still can’t eat it
Some people’s physiology is so messed up that even if they drink 100% grasssfed milk they still have a milk allergy. Most with milk allergies are ok with it but you still have the few that can’t handle even the purest milk.
I have read reports that the issue is because some ticks are GM, but I have not been able to confirm that this is in fact true.
That is quite interesting…I would look at an entire Autoimmune protocol of eating and eliminating all grains/legumes/sugars before I would call it a meat allergy.