Can you have an allergy to Jelly Babies? - Lung Conditions C...

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Can you have an allergy to Jelly Babies?

21 Replies

Every time I eat jelly babies I get the burps, then my chest starts to get painful and I have problems breathing. The Haribo ones are the worst, Bassetts don't give me as much trouble, but I've had a few supermarket own brand ones tonight and now I'm sat up gasping.

I seem to suffer similar with any fruity sweets, but only just connected them to the breathing problems. It's like I have a lot of bubbles stuck under my lungs in the diaphragm area, when I lay down to try and sleep I burp, which isn't good news as it tastes acid.

Could it be the E numbers in the colours, or something in the jelly ? I really don't know what to make of this revelation but it's certainly something to cut out before bedtime it seems.

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21 Replies

Oh, how awful for you Polly. That doesn't sound pleasant at all.

But, looking at this positively, by avoiding jelly babies, you'll stop feeling like this, and as an added bonus, stop consuming empty calories. Why not try nibbling on some grated carrots? I've found them sweet enough to stop sweetie and chocolate cravings :)

Sandra x x x

libby7827 profile image
libby7827

Hi, I love jelly babies but they give me a really bad stomach ache, whichever brand I had, and stopped having them. I thought it was probably the gelatin but also thought they wouldn't be easily digested and it's not as if I ever stopped at just a few! So no more jelly babies for me. Libby

SecondLife profile image
SecondLife

Hubby used to be able to eat whatever he wanted, including loads of sweets and tinned fruit, since becoming poorly he developed a severe reaction, almost anaphylactic, to something but we didn't know what. We went for every test possible and in the end it was his physio who suggested it could be food, eventually had that test and it turned out to be pineapple and dairy. Strange thing this illness and today's food

I would cut them out permanantly for a while,then see how you feel in a couple of weeks :)

phillips1 profile image
phillips1

Hi Polly.

I always bite their heads off first. That stops the little devils causing me problems. Have a good day.

Bobby xx

in reply tophillips1

Look for something else to chew. Packets of fried fruit?

in reply to

Hi, never tasted fried fruit. Is it good? :) :)

in reply to

What a clanger!! I meant dried fruit. Wash your brains out, annieseed !

libby7827 profile image
libby7827 in reply to

Oh, I don't know, banana or apple fritters, dribble, drool. x

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusie in reply tophillips1

LOL! I always bite their heads off first as well :)

lilliput profile image
lilliput in reply toSeasideSusie

Same here just the green ones are sneaky.

Jelly Babies are for children with robust constitutions, stick to Gummy Bears. :) :)

knitter profile image
knitter

Oh gosh, I have just stocked up on jelly babies as on special offer at Tesco...and my breathing is poor and I have a headache .... are they another thing to add to my list of "no-nos" like chocolate and cheese and wheat. Never had any problems before with any of them

libby7827 profile image
libby7827 in reply toknitter

Send them to me, I would be willing to give them one more try just to be sure..... ;-)

Toci profile image
Toci in reply toknitter

I'll eat them for you knitter. I love the little blighters and have no problems with them. x

scrobbitty profile image
scrobbitty

Could be the colouring and E numbers or the gelatin they use - either way it's probably au revoir jelly babies to be sure. Have discovered that midget gems give me heartburn so they have been put on the naughty list - thank you chocolate for not letting me down. :) xx

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusie

Lordy I hope not!

Sounds as though there's something in jelly babies that's causing indigestion/reflux plus a problem with your breathing. Sad as it seems you might have to give them up. I'm very willing to help out if you've just stocked up on them :)

Does it happen with anything else so you can see what they have in common and know to avoid it in future?

Is4bell4 profile image
Is4bell4 in reply toSeasideSusie

Not forgetting they are made from beef gelatine, could this be why indigestion/reflux.

???

xx Ros xx

knitter profile image
knitter

jandan is a great jelly baby eater....by the way has any one heard from her since the changeover? I think she had a hospital appointment booked.

Off to buy some fruit now, better for me really...cherries here I come.

I used to nibble dried fruit, I was particularly fond of apricots until I realised they were making me bad too. It seems that they are preserved using sulphur dioxide and that was causing me to catch my breath a lot. Looking a bit further into it I found that asthma sufferers can be affected by this stuff - so dried fruit took a hit.

I've eaten a lot of fresh fruit since but avoided grapefruit as I am on simvastatin. Pineapple irritates my throat, probably because I was eating a full one at a time as a meal. And yes, I had taken the skin off.

It was only a little packet of jelly babies, all gone now as the last 3 survivors were shot at dawn.

I have similar problems with boiled fruit sweets but not blackcurrant and licorice, which I usually get. I only got jelly babies because they didn't have any of those.

I stopped chocolate a while ago, I was going mad on the stuff. I found a shop selling 4 small Cadbury bars for a pound, and realised I was eating 2 of those a night. The surgery were not pleased with my blood results !

I have had the nibbles for years, since giving up smoking. Nothing is good for me it seems :(

I can't have nuts as they get into my teeth, dried fruit has too much preservative, chocolate makes my blood sugar go up, crisps make my skin oily as well as my tummy bloated.

I think I will just have to live on soup for the rest of my natural...

Thanks for all your replies.

knitter profile image
knitter in reply to

Hi Polly58, just to thank you for the jelly baby post, I have been eating stacks of them as can't eat chocolate anymore...decided last night not to have any any lo and behold no headache this morning but still coughing sadly.

Looked at the list of ingredients in Bassetts babies...says sulphites and maybe wheat....I can't eat wheat anymore...but natural colours and flavours.

Bought some cherries and grapes, but I have a feeling sulphur in grapes too..oh well! Thanks again. J

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