Potato Free anyone?

Recently I have come to the conclusion that I have a reaction to potatoes in any form.  As an adult I have always had problems with acne.  I am talking about big, sore, festering cysts that last for a month or more.  At one point my whole left cheek was one big bright red/purple puss filled mass of cysts.  It took years to fully heal.  I couldn't even sleep on that side because it hurt so much.  Since then it has been 2-4 cysts a month.  Most of them the size of a pea.  They fester under my skin till finally one day they become a white head and begin to heal.  I have tried just about every topical cleanser out there.  I was even on antibiotics for quite some time with limited success.  I am nearly ready for Acutane (the side effects scare me).  I definitely feel it is time to  got to a dermatologist again (I use to have one years ago).

Last year my older sister told me that she found out she has a reaction to potatoes and sent me an article.  Did you know that potatoes can cause asthma attacks or eczema for those that are sensitive to it? Here is the link she sent me. Potato and other foods can cause eczema.

Since December I have been trying to avoid potatoes but I keep forgetting that my son's gluten free foods have potato flour in them.  The result of my potato free trial has been that when I have even one small french fry or a muffin with some potato flour I will have 2-3 cysts pop up with in a 1-3 days.  I can have gluten, so really the solution should be that I just don't eat his specialty foods.  However, I am not going to bake two different batches of say banana bread muffins just so that I can avoid potatoes.  There are certain things I make that the whole family eats.  My husband and one son cannot tolerate gluten or dairy.  My other son cannot tolerate dairy.  I have only found that potatoes are a problem.  Life is much easier when you don't have to be a short order cook for every meal, every day.

Soooo I went to trusty Google to look for a gluten free flour mix sans potato flour.  I have tried exchanging corn starch for the potato starch in the flour mix.  I have not decided if I notice a big difference so I may keep doing that.  However, I wanted to see what other options there are.  There could be something out there that is much better than the traditional GF flour mix, so I am looking.  I found a GF flour mix at No Gluten No Problem.  Their  flour mix that is a little different and they have substitutions for those that cannot do sorghum, corn or potato flours.  I have not tried this out yet but wanted to share this with you. 

I also wanted to point out the sort of problems food allergies/sensitivities can cause other than those that effect the inside of our bodies.

In my family I have found the effects of foods can cause stomach upset (pain and diarrhea) as well as mood swings (down right irritable is being kind), meltdowns, and skin problems.  I always thought of food allergies to be those that caused swelling and hospitalization.  So much of the time they describe the inability to tolerate foods as sensitivities but that seems to be down playing to me.  People don’t take “food sensitivities” as seriously as “food allergies.  Most people tend to think that if you are “sensitive” to something that you can still have a little of it.  Once they see the results in my son, they vow to never let him have that food again.  People that don’t have personal experience with food allergies or sensitivities  just don’t get it.  I am not sure that I did before we had to worry about them.  I am far more understanding now than I ever was before.  It has become important to me that I consider foods that I provide for family and friends.  Food is such a big part of socializing that I find myself not wanting anyone to be left out if I can help it.  I think how much it must suck to be at a party and not be able to eat a single thing that others are enjoying (especially for young kids.)  Many times it is a simple choice of going with plain potato or corn chips verses ones with flavoring.  It can be as simple as putting meat, cheese and crackers on separate platters instead of all on one.  Cooking plain burgers and setting them aside (on a separate plate) before adding cheese to the ones remaining on the grill.  Put the dairy filled vegetable dip on the side rather than in the middle of the platter or serve hummus instead.  I almost always play it safe and bring foods for my son that I know are safe.  I can then make him a plate with items that I know he can have from the party and fill in with the foods I have brought.  This way he never feels left out.