Pollen-Food Allergy Syndrome (PFAS formerly Oral Allergy Syndrome)

Hi, @msrobotics - this is very interesting. To be honest, though I've had allergies diagnosed when I was about 14, I had not heard of pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) or even the formal name it used to be called, oral allergy syndrome. I did some elimination diet testing back when I was about 15, which was not a terribly fun process that left me asking for an apple or similar at restaurants with friends eating French fries and desserts. I think after that, with only a mild allergy to corn coming out of the process, I did not pay a lot of attention to oral allergies and their connections to other substances to which one may be allergic.

Here is some Mayo Clinic information on PFAS, which you'll note in a subheading in this information on food allergy in general:

- Food allergy https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/food-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20355095

This part of the article was particularly interesting: Proteins in certain fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices cause the reaction because they're similar to allergy-causing proteins found in certain pollens. This is an example of cross-reactivity.

Have you found a list of foods and related pollen allergies from your doctor or another source that you can reference, msrobotics? Or do you tend to run into the foods related to the pollens you are allergic to through your own experiences as you go?

I've looked for different food lists. There are a number of reputable sites that have lists of foods to be cautious of for certain allergies.

This has a list of the foods based on category.
https://allergyasthmanetwork.org/health-a-z/oral-allergy-syndrome/
This one has it by season with one major allergen listed.
https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/oral-allergy-syndrome-%28oas%29
This one has a more comprehensive list of foods for birch.
https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/ORAL%2520ALLERGY%2520SYNDROME_tcm75-580982.pdf
I asked the allergist and dietitians about getting tested and was told that a positive IgE test for a food is only 50% correct, but a negative test is 90% correct. Thus, they don't bother with testing. I was hoping to get tested to see what foods were likely to cause me issues.

Typically, I will eat something and if I'm having some sort of symptom, like overheating or a funny tongue, I'll search for "OAS" and the food item in Google (without quotes) and it'll show if it's on someone's list or not.

I've also done multiple elimination diets under the care of the dietitians for other reasons and have had it with elimination. Plus, elimination of foods for a binge eater is a horrible thing.

Oh, I wonder how many people that are "gluten free" also have allergies and might actually have OAS instead of an issue with gluten.

@msrobotics - tagging a Mayo Clinic Connect member who has mentioned pollen-food-allergy syndrome (PFAS) or oral allergy syndrome so they can comment on if they have found that an entire group of foods related to the allergen is off limits @jwfletcher. @mgnunez75 @rebaba @sueinmn @terrirussell @leannekolo21 @oceantroll @madvzebra also may be familiar with this syndrome and have some input for you.

@msrobotics Dear Friend, I have had OAS for over two years now and can tell you it's very complicated. It's more than just raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It's how your food is processed, stored, and cooked. For example, the coffee bean would be a typical allergen for us. However, it goes through so much transformation to end up in the ground state, that your immune system will never be able to read its protein and mistake it for a tree pollen. So I do lots of reading on MS Copilot (or any AI tool) to determine what's safe for me. Another example is bread. As long as it's white and has been thoroughly cooked, it might be safe. That's because there are no granules left that contain pollen like multi-grain bread. Best of luck!

@msrobotics As Lucy mentioned, I have some familiarity with oral allergy reactions - my daughters, brother, sister and I each react to quite dramatically to different foods, as do a number of nieces and nephews.
My triggers are wheat, tree nuts and sweet peppers. My sister's are apples and stone fruits - but only if raw. My brother reacts to dozens of foods and has a SEVERE ragweed allergy that has landed him in the hospital.

The pollen concept is new to me, but makes sense. As a kid, I reacted severely in any barn where wheat straw was used, but had no reaction to Timothy hay, barley, oat or rye straw. As for diet, I tolerate oats, barley, buckwheat and Spelt, but NO wheat in any form. We have not found an uncontaminated source of rye to try. I look forward to reading more about this concept.

@jwfletcher Unfortunately, regular pasta has not been the case for me and has likely been my biggest issue since I was a little kid causing me to always be hot. We never knew I had allergies, just asthma. Like you, I only found out about the allergies in the last two years.