Foods

For the past 3 years (and maybe longer, I can't exactly remember), my body's had a really strange reaction to certain foods- my ears will turn red and get really hot after eating cheese ritz bitz, and sometimes after I eat popcorn. I figured it might be the sodium, but I don't know why this would affect my ears. My hearing doesn't change or anything, it's not life-altering, just annoying and looks funny.

Does this happen to anyone else or am I just really ..odd?

It's certainly a strange reaction, but at least you know which foods to avoid.  

That is odd.  Only thig I can think of is the butter gunk that's added.  Personally, bananas are my enemies!  Yes, I have no bananas! I will not eat them here or there - I will not eat them!

anyone can develop a food sensitivity.  usually it's to something you've eaten a lot of for a long time.  i had to go off wheat a few years ago, because even the smallest amount (i.e.: thickening in a small bowl of creamy soup) would make my heart race and give me insomnia.  i can eat wheat now; i just don't eat pasta 9 times a week like i used to =/

just stay away from that stuff for a few months, maybe a year, then try to reintroduce it and see what happens.  i suggest you do this now, before the sensitivity starts to affect something other than your ears ;)

A couple of years ago, I noticed that when I sat down at the movie theatre with my bucket of popcorn that after the first handful or so, my heart would race. It was so odd. I never have had any heart issues, but I wondered if it was the salt raising my blood pressure and allowing me to actually feel the heartbeats. Is that possible?

When you mentioned your ears turning red, I thought of blood pressure again and of the sodium in the Ritz Bitz or popcorn.

But I've had some weird reactions to food. About 10 years ago, I went through a period of time where I couldn't eat lettuce. Whenever I ate a salad, I'd get a terrible case of indigestion/upset stomach. Almost felt like food poisoning (but I've eaten bad scallops before so I know the agony of food poisoning.) After a year or so, I gradually began eating salads again, but I was careful and always had a roll or some bread to start with.

Then it was almonds. I noticed a little indigestion after an Almond Joy bar, and then a whopping case of indigestion after some Almond M&Ms. Even a chicken salad sandwich with almond and lime made me ill. (And you couldn't even see the almonds in it! I had to go back and check the menu after I felt ill to see what was in the chicken salad.)

I can eat almonds again now, but I'm careful. Now I can't eat pineapple. I think my body hates me. And that probably makes us even.

My reaction is to everything. Only I get varying degrees of reaction. Whenever I eat something, my heart rate increases and my entire face flushes (cheeks chin and nose) really embarrasing and I get left with what looks like hives, particularly on my nose. Horrible! Doesn't help that I have a pale rosy complexion anyway. I had a food allergy test done, and cut out all of the foods that he tested for that I reacted most to.

But anyways, it got to the point where I got fed up of caking myself in make up, and not eating the foods I soo wanted to, went to the docs and he concluded that my brains crosswired in that instead of a salival reaction I get a nervous system reaction when I eat.

So he prescribed beta blockers, I've been on them a year and can now just about tolerate onions (one of the worst foods I could eat) and if I eat chocolate, I just get a spot or two. Too much wheat leaves my skin blotchy. As does caffiene and artificial sweetener. Occasionally my skin will flush up on its own, but its never for as long or as bad as it used to be.

I find that going to the gym also helps as well.

Thank you for this, its so good to know we're not alone