From Anaphylaxis to Recovery: The Role of Diet in MCAS
Summary: After battling severe allergic reactions in the US, a woman with MCAS found relief in Europe and revealed how diet and environment impact immune health.
Introduction
A woman, using moniker Bee, was residing in America, showed instances of anaphylaxis, hives and stomach aches owing to the American food she consumed comprising of fresh produce, cheese and wheat breads.
After being subject to such medical conditions, she moved to Europe in November 2024. She said that little did she know that her food choices would lead to her to take such a drastic step. Her diet was chicken, coconut and broccoli, and she felt as if her body was shutting down due to lack of proper nutrition.
She shares posts on Tiktok, about her diet and lifestyle. In one post she says that she wants to see how foods trigger her histamine reactions in USA and in Europe.
She said that she suffers from Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) which is an “allergy adjacent condition that develops out of the blue.”
Understanding MCAS and Its Symptoms
MCAS is a medical condition which causes the toxins or pathogens to overproduce to combat the invader (food one eats), the symptoms being itching, hives, flushing, diarrhea, abdominal pains, dizziness, low blood pressure and brain fog.
To find out more, she thought of experimenting and eating all the food that used to cause her allergies and illness, when she was in the USA. She ate pizza, pasta and French fries, but there was no reaction at all.
After a series of medical tests, it was found that the food-based mycotoxins were the reasons of her MCA episodes.
Public Reaction and Medical Advice
Bee, in a recent video, is shown eating breaded shrimp at a Thai restaurant, which got viewed 2.1 million times. One of the viewers Dr Rubin, who is TikTok’s famous allergist, said that “people should not try out new foods without medical supervision especially if they are prescribed epinephrine for potentially life-threatening allergies”.
Inputs from various media sources.
