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This may butt up against other allergy cure questions, but I wanted to be more specific.

Are egg allergies inherent in my immune system? Or is it something that I can cure with a proper probiotic regimen to heal my gut?

I'm slowly coming to terms with being somewhat intolerant of eggs. They give me "rushed digestion" and watery BM. It really sucks, because I love eating eggs and cooking with eggs, and making smoothies with raw eggs.

EDIT: I have a CONFIRMED egg intolerance. I cut out eggs for 2 weeks, then reintroduced one raw egg into a smoothie. Ouch. Took about 3 hours, and then I had to run to the bathroom.

I really want to cure myself of this if possible, as eggs are SUCH a good source of protein, and so easy to add to smoothies.

EDIT 10.20.11 - I layed off the eggies for about 4 months, and dialed in my diet. Stayed away from inflammation causing foods, and tried my hardest to heal my leaking gut...AND...It seems to have worked! Over the past 3 days, I've been reintroducing raw eggs. 3 days ago, I shook one raw egg into my daily heavy cream, iced tea, cinnamon frappe with no trouble. 2d days ago, I added a second egg with the same results.

Yesterday I added 2 eggs to my daily tea frappe at around 5:30, then 2 more eggs and cream, with cinnamon, Barenjager, apple spice bitters(homemade)...and I think I overextended my reach JUST a bit...little looseness this morning, but nothing like it used to be, and no rumbling or squeaking from my stomach either.

I think as long as I don't overdo it, I should be fine, and I'm very excited to share this news. You CAN resolve an egg intolerance, it seems.

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Have you tried experimenting with eating just the yolks? – Phoenix May 27 2011 at 17:19
I do what Phoenix recommends; 4 yolks from boiled eggs a day. Best case scenario with whites for me is being bound up for a couple days. I'll pass. – Travis Culp Oct 21 2011 at 16:49
I find I'm better off if I eat the egg whole. Also, not sure if this is related, but my seasonal allergies have all but disappeared as well. Now if I could only cure my allergies to cats and dogs that developed in my 20's. :( – Futureboy Oct 21 2011 at 16:52
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I just figured out how to resolve my eggs tolerance too! I am super allergic to soy, so I found eggs from chickens that haven't been fed soy and I am golden! – Senneth Oct 21 2011 at 17:11
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Actually Vital Farms is the brand -sold at whole foods. I contacted them to double check that their feed doesn't include any soy. It does not. They are a great company! I had tried to trust my local farmers market eggs -but I reacted to those eggs. I don't think alot of farmers put much thought into whats in their supplemental feed. – Senneth Oct 21 2011 at 19:59
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6 Answers

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I am not a doctor (well, I am, but not in medicine), but here's what I've deduced from what I read in a bunch of other places: Generally, the allergies like eggs, various meats, etc are due to the proteins in those substances getting into your blood via a leaky gut. Your immune system will respond to any protein that it doesn't recognize and will start attacking. So if you have a leaky gut then the proteins in eggs will get into your blood and your immune system gets angry. If this is happening, then you should go on a super-strict gut-healing diet - I think you could start with Robb Wolf's "autoimmune protocol". Once you're sure that your gut is healed, then you can start slowly reintroducing things and see how it goes. If your gut is in good shape, then you shouldn't be getting those foreign proteins into your body and you should be fine.

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I'm in agreement here! I've got leaky gut and slowly but surly I can now add egg yolks to my intolerance list. Over the last 7 years its one thing after another that I'm adding to my no eat list. I'm seriously studying GAPS which holds hope for me to be able to heal the gut and start eating normally again/I will now look into RW's protocol as well (thanks!!). Probiotics and/or Digestive enzymes just aren't enough for me at this point....thats where I'm at now as well. – Kelly May 27 2011 at 17:45
I thought I could tolerate eggs, but when I removed them my overall tone seemed to improve (at least that's what my mother said). My mood is great now, I'm really calm, probably omega 3-related. – Korion Oct 21 2011 at 17:16
good shit, great post. dead on. – DH Dec 29 2011 at 11:31
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If you have issues with eggs, eating them raw may be causing the problem. The main problem for many people is the avedin in the white, which is deactivated at over 85C. Poaching is apparently not great at deactivating it as the white does not reach 85C throughout before cooking is stopped.

So the best way to test your egg tolerance is to first eat a hard boiled yolk. If that's OK, try soft yolks, then hard-baked whole egg, and finally fried and poached whole egg.

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In the mean time, have you tried Organic Egg Beaters from Trader Joe's? It's the only way I have been able to enjoy eggs so far and they are great in a veggie frittata!

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I have just started LDA (low dose allergen) shots for my food allergies. These are different from the allergy doctor office weekly kind, which are only for airborne allergens (and there are other differences). I am just in the first stages and have been told I need to take them every two months for 3 shots before I will see any results at all. (then at least for a year..every two months). Here is a link, but you have to scroll down to read about it. Its also known as low dose immunotherapy and EPD. So does it work? Well my ultimate goal isn't the same as yours since I only want to calm my digestive system down enough to heal leaky gut. Am I brave enough to test it out by eating some eggs in a few months? I sure will! Will I be testing my other food allergies (soy, dairy, gluten?) Nope!

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any updates? Did you re-test with eggs? – Futureboy Oct 21 2011 at 16:40
Oops. See my update under your original post. LDA was a bust though! – Senneth Oct 21 2011 at 17:12
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Mercola suggest eating only 2-3 eggs a day and only 5 days a week to avoid allergies...

However he indicates that eating them raw resolves the issue. I know it is not exactly what you are asking...

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I also have digestive problems after eating eggs, however I can tolerate tropical traditions eggs as the chickens are fed a soy-free diet. Even they will give me problems after too many days in a row because the chicken feed contains grains, so I usually limit them to weekend breakfasts.

If you are familiar with Paleo Approved, last I heard, Karen has yet to find a chicken farm in the USA that would be considered strictly paleo because the chicken feed always contains grains.

So if you are eating any old "organic" chicken eggs, the chickens were likely fed a grain based diet. Even if they are pastured, they still have feed supplemented. No one seems to want to feed their chickens grubs, crickets and seeds.

I've been considering raising my own, however I don't have the room and my dog would probably eat the poor chicken.

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What is wrong with feeding chickens grains? – Matt Jun 16 2011 at 17:21
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I suppose they eat some in their natural habitat, but not in the amounts they are supplemented, and never would they eat soy. Their natural diet is more along the lines of insects, worms, seeds. – Nancy Jun 16 2011 at 17:36

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