Profilins

I am sensitive to several fruits, and for years I was trying to find a connection between them all.  A couple of months ago I thought “Hey, why don’t I just put all the fruits I’m allergic to into one Google search and see what comes up?”  The result?  Profilins!  Turns out, most of the fruits I’m allergic to — almost all of them — contain a profilin (plant protein) related to Birch Tree Pollen and Grass Pollen (which gives me severe hay fever every summer. So stupid to move next to Linn County, OR for 5 years…the “grass seed capitol of the world”!!!)  I had a great link to a chart that lists profilins and related fruit allergies, but I’ve lost it.  If I find it again, I’ll post it for sure.

So the coolest part about this find is that the experts on fruit allergies state that profilins are found more in the skins of, say, apples, than in the rest of the fruit, and that any process that pasteurizes or cooks the fruit degrades the offending profilins. Peeling works, too. So I tried it out and when my son asked for apples, I ate one slice but left the peel. Guess what? I didn’t have to take a nap! Then I ate the peel and BLAMO! Super tired.

I’m going to try apple juice next time we buy it because it’s pasteurized and will probably be ok too. That would open up a WORLD of possibilities to me, juice-wise. Do you even KNOW how many juices use apples juice as a base? Almost all of them. I can’t tell you how much I love apples. I used to eat Granny Smiths by the bucket full when I was younger. I think if I just peel them I will be able to eat them more regularly. Super cool!  [happy dance]

Of course, there are some fruits I have severe cataplectic reactions to, like bananas and kiwi, which are linked to the above-mentioned profilins, but also to latex, which also gives me a rash. If I even smell a banana from 10 ft away, I get cataplexy, so this tactic might not work for all of these fruits, but still…the apple thing has me really excited. (Interesting side note: got a rash from latex? try applying hemp lotion. for some reason it seems to make the rash go away pretty quickly. I’m no fan of cannabis, but hemp has my vote for sure.)

UPDATE: OMG I just ate an entire peeled apple and I didn’t have to take a nap. No cataplexy, no sleep attack. HOORAY!! It’s been 7 years since I ate a whole apple! My favorite juice of all time is Cran-Apple. Woo hoo! Apples & cheese … one of my favorite all-time snacks. I’m gonna have fun with this one!