Info on low histamine chicken and fish for trip to Edinburgh.

[Swissgirl]

Good evening all. Bit of background:

I have MCAS, autoimmune thyroid disease ( Hashimotos), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. As I have to be on an extremely restrictive diet due to allergic and intolerance type reactions, I can only eat certain foods ( low histamine, gluten free, corn free, dairy free, soya free, egg free, low sulphur, no nightshades), no nuts or seeds, no oils, etc. I have to buy fresh water fish and chicken that is caught/ slaughtered, cleaned and frozen straightaway in vacuum packaging, and freeze all leftovers or cook from fresh or frozen, to avoid high histamine levels. This is the only protein I tolerate, and have to eat 2x daily to stabilize blood sugar. I live in Switzerland and have managed to get my diet and reactions more under control and stabilized most of the time, although I also take Nalcrom or Allergoval for digestive support.

My sister is getting married in Scotland in September and I would dearly dearly love to be there at the wedding to celebrate with my family. I haven’t been able to travel out of the country for 3.5 years due to Covid and now being off sick for over 2 years since MCAS diagnosis. Partly also because eating is such a problem.

So, my question is:

Does anyone know any places in or near Edinburgh were I could get hold of chicken or fresh water fish ( possibly even sea water fish) that is definitely low histamine (frozen asap after catching/ slaughtering)?

Do Aldi or other supermarkets sell natural coconut yoghurt ( no sugar) with fewest amount of other ingredients?

Is there oat and rice milk available with no sugar or other added ingredients?

What about GF oats, GF oat flour, Ghee?

Thanks for any help, particularly info on the chicken and fish. I would be really grateful for any feedback.

[Mastomum]

Hi Swissgirl, I have same issues and restrictions but can't tolerate gf oats. However all these products are available from our supermarkets. I shop at aldi and there are gf ranges such as no sugar oat milk but tesco has more gf choices. And in uk any frozen white fish from there is safe. Frozen immediately it is caught though Aldi fish is disappointing. Frozen chicken is same. Yoghurt made of coconut is at tesco and all supermarkets have no sugar oat milk. Not sure about oat flour but there is range of gf gf oat cerals in all supermarkets.. I had a bad reaction last night with relatively safe food. I have to take bisoprolol beta blocker and take as reactions affect heart and take benadryl, which immunologist asvised me to open capsule into water for quicker results. Also take ketotifen.They do work for me. Hospiralised several times prior to this. Hope you can enjoy your trip

[Swissgirl in reply to Mastomum]

Hi Mastomum. Thank you very much for your reply. My apologies that it's taken so long to respond. Yes, I would dearly love to be able to attend my sister's wedding, especially as she had now also just had a baby, and I haven't seen her for 3 years.

What a pain that you don't tolerate GF oats and all the other long list of foods. I've read that quite a few Masto/MCAS patients don't tolerate them. Fortunately, so far I seem to be OK with them. I really appreciate all the info you 've passed on. When you mention frozen white fish, I assume this is marine fish and any type available in the supermarket? And available in both Aldi and Tesco? As I have Hashimotos and read a lot of Dr. Izabella Wentz's books, blogs, FB page, etc. I decided on her recommendation to start taking Saccharomyces boulardii pre/probiotic a few weeks ago, and since then my GI symptoms are a little better. I am tolerating high sulphur foods more and it has helped with stopping diarreah. I will at some point do a SIBO breath test, as I think this is causing some of the major GI issues. On a good note, I've started eating 1x quail egg a day, and so far am tolerating them, so that's been a huge improvement. Your health situation sounds even more complicated than mine. I wish you all the best with your health. 🌸

[Jess-UKMasto Administrator]

Alpro is a commonly available brand in the UK, so you can check their products if you don't already know them. (I know I've bought them in mainland Europe before, so you may already know.) I would take a look at the online grocery delivery services such as Waitrose, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco to see if those are helpful to you in planning ahead. GF oats are available (though I don't tolerate them). I've never noticed the flour, but I haven't looked for it. Ghee is readily available due to lots of South Asian cooking. You can sometimes find Bob's Red Mill brand products, which are easy to check out on line for whether they are safe for you. You can also bring along the oats/flour and milk in a checked suitcase (obviously bag the factory sealed milk carefully)? That's what I do for breakfast foods when I travel. I don't know about the meat and fish, I'm afraid.

[Swissgirl in reply to Jess-UKMasto]

Hi Jess. Thank you very much for your reply, that is very helpful. My apologies for taking ages to get back to you. By the way, are you the same Jess that runs the FB group? Someone very helpful on there told me about the possibility of carrying frozen meat and fish in a cool bag on the plane ( in this case Easyjet) and I checked the UK border control conditions and it’s possible as I am travelling from Switzerland. Thanks again🌷

[janeps]

Hi, my daughter has MCAS. I am an avid label reader as one wrong slip with ingredients can be devastating. If you want good quality ingredients without hidden nasties your safest bet is Waitrose. Hope this helps x

[Swissgirl]

Hi janeps. Thank you very much for your reply, that is very helpful. My apologies for taking so long with my response. Yes, I know how devastating consuming the wrong thing can be, unfortunately!

I will check out Waitrose online and see what I can find.

All the best and thanks again🌷