Cashew Butter

[Craig Loizides]

A few years ago I had an allergic reaction to mangoes. My lips became very dried and chapped and a day or 2 later I developed a rash. I had mangoes previously without problems but they had been cut into pieces by someone else. The times (unfortunately it took 2 reactions before I associated it with mango) I had the problem I cut the mangoes myself and sucked every last drop out of the skins. It turns out that the skins of mangoes contain urushiol which is the same toxin in poison ivy. People who are very sensitive to poison ivy often react to mangoes as well.

I had a similar reaction a few days ago although not quite as bad. The only new food in my diet was cashew butter. I did a quick search and to my surprise cashews and pistachios are in the same family as mangoes. The strange thing is I've eaten cashews and pistachios lots of times without any noticeable problems, but this was the first time I had cashew butter. The toxin is supposed to only be in the shell and roasting is supposed to destroy it. I guess some managed to get into the butter. I think I'll just avoid all cashews and pistachios in the future. Has anyone else had a problem with cashew butter? Does anyone know of any other foods containing urushiol? My list of foods to avoid so far is mango, cashew, and pistachio.

[Garrett Smith]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacardiaceae

[Mike ODonnell]

Was it "RAW" or "ROASTED" nut butter? Personally I got rid of the nut butters (was doing Almond mostly) for removal of excess PUFAs....feel 100x better and notice much less inflammation issues.

[Craig Loizides]

Dr. G -
I saw that list yesterday. The only items in that list that I recognized were mango, cashew, pistachio, poison ivy, and sumac.

MOD-
It was cashew butter made from dry roasted cashews. Actually, I don't think you can get "raw" cashews because of the toxin issue. Do you avoid nuts or just nut butters. I don't do much of either. A couple tbsp of almond butter 2 nights a week and a couple handfuls of almonds or pecans 1 or 2 times a week.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Craig Loizides

It was cashew butter made from dry roasted cashews. Actually, I don't think you can get "raw" cashews because of the toxin issue. Do you avoid nuts or just nut butters. I don't do much of either. A couple tbsp of almond butter 2 nights a week and a couple handfuls of almonds or pecans 1 or 2 times a week.

I tend to do no nuts really nowadays....more fats from sat and MUFA. Roasting is an issue with any nuts....even almonds and walnuts, raw butter is best. But then again...I feel better with less PUFA intake, so really don't do nuts that much anymore.

[Jane Michel]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

Was it "RAW" or "ROASTED" nut butter? Personally I got rid of the nut butters (was doing Almond mostly) for removal of excess PUFAs....feel 100x better and notice much less inflammation issues.

Mike do you notice much inflammation with raw nuts as well? I don't get rash but seem to get bloating with raw and roasted nuts, especially cashews.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Alicia Zhuang

Mike do you notice much inflammation with raw nuts as well? I don't get rash but seem to get bloating with raw and roasted nuts, especially cashews.

Yes as I was eating a ton of raw almond butter back in the day. As for bloating...well your gut may be trying to tell you something....(or were you talking about whole body bloating...aka retaining water?)

[Jane Michel]

Mike I noticed some water retention around my upper neck/lower chin area but it was particularly bad at the lower abdominal area.... does that mean allergy problems?

[Garrett Smith]

I think MOD should just go to ND school and get it over with... I'll write the first recommendation letter!

Alicia, your symptoms do sound like a food hypersensitivity issue. You have mainly two choices to figure out what it is--strict avoidance and re-introduction, or a high-quality food sensitivity/allergy blood test. The first takes a lot of planning and self-discipline and is "free", the second is done pretty much for you and costs several hundred dollars. If you want to do the second one, I utilize Alcat http://www.alcat.com/, PM me if you are interested.

I've just never felt good on cashews of any type.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

I think MOD should just go to ND school and get it over with... I'll write the first recommendation letter!

Why....they serve Guinness there??? Ha. Thanks...but I am soooooo done with school....unless it's all female and I sneak in....