WARNING!! MANGO = SUMAC!!!!

I am allergic to Mangoes! It's awful! I love them but they do not love me! I think someone out there may have made a Mango Mary Voodoo doll and pricked it to pieces with a very sharp fork! Just look at my face!! That's what even touching a Mango can do to me. This has been a tricky discovery to make. I had broken out a few times (on my lips only) after eating fresh Mango. My lips would just swell up and I would look like Angelina Jolie for a couple of days and that was it. It was hard to figure out that it was the Mango because the swelling wouldn't start until about 2 days later!!!!! Also, sometimes I would drink Mango juice and nothing would happen at all.
Then.... at the end of this past December I turned into a monster for a week! One afternoon I started itching and my eyes started swelling and feeling heavy. I took a Benadryl and when I woke up the next morning I was covered in a horrible itchy rash on my face, neck, and arms. I couldn't even open my eyes! I thought that I must have gotten poison sumac from sleeping with the dogs a couple of nights before! They must have ran through a patch at the river! I had to go to the doctor. He gave me 3 prescriptions. I told him I thought it must be Poison Sumac. He said it looked like it was. I also told him I'd had a few sips of a Mango Smoothie 2 days before this all happened. He said he didn't think it was that. I didn't either.
Flash forward! Four days ago I made a fresh Mango salad. Two days ago I woke up looking like a hideous monster again with the same exact rash!!!

I went back to the doctor. He sent me away with the same three prescriptions and a referral to an allergist that I'm going to see in a few weeks.

I went home and jumped on line! I was shocked by what I read:
Mangoes are in the Sumac family!!!!!

The oil in mango sap can cause an itchy skin condition called allergic contact dermatitis.

File these under things that may give you a severe rash:

Poison ivy, poison oak and ... hold up ... mango?

Blame it on a chemical called urushiol, which is found in the oil of mango sap.

"That chemical is also found in poison oak and poison ivy, so people who have a history of reaction to poison oak and poison ivy would also react to this," said Dr. James Sweet of the Asthma, Allergy and Sinus Center of Hawaii. "They should be cautious about handling mango."

SO......... If you are allergic to poison ivy, oak, or sumac PLEASE be careful with Mangoes!! They are dangerous!!!! Get someone else to peel them for you and only eat what you know has not touched the skin at all!!!!

I'M NOT ON A DIET........

.......I'M JUST ON A HEALTHY EATING LIFE CHANGE PLAN.........

Over the last 4 years I have steadily gained 2 1/2 a year. I went up one pants size and just recently I had to go up another!!!! Not a good feeling! I haven't seen my butt a lot over the last 10 months because I haven't had much access to a full length mirror, but I saw it trying on jeans a few weeks ago and I was upset by what I saw! I decided I was going to take action! I would start walking more, and stop drinking cokes, and stop eating desert.
Well, a few days later I had 4 slices of pizza!!! 4!!!! And a coke, of course, and then split an ice cream Sunday for desert!!! I'm glad I did it though! I made me so miserable that it's what finally put me over the edge. The very next day I threw away all the crap in my frig and cupboards; I'm talking a half gallon of ice cream, a coconut cake, good crusty bread, chips, cookies! I Scattered some out for the birds and then smashed to rest of it into the trash! It felt really good.
I went to the store and bought tons of almonds, soy nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried fruits, fresh fruits out the wazoo, fresh veggies, flourless sprout bread, plain soy yogurt, and some rice. I'm restraining myself from pasta and bread (except for the sprout bread) for a while. I'm not drinking the cokes! Well, I wasn't; I finally broke last night and drank almost half a can for my desert. Cokes are my weakness! But other than that coke I have been successful in staying on the plan of eating only whole foods. When I get a sweet tooth I have been eating little pieces of super dark organic chocolate (75% Cacao)! Also, I made a mock ice cream that satisfies very well. I'll add the complete recipe later, but pretty much, it's just frozen banana, skim milk, and coconut shreds mixed with a little yogurt and dark chocolate flakes. It's amazing!
I've been making some really great tasting, nutritious soups, salads, and fish. I feel like I am going to be able to stick to this for a really long time! I'll be posting as often as possible. I am working a lot now so it might be in chunks but I really want to share these ideas so I'll do my best. Thanks!

It's been only 10 days and I have lost 4 pounds! I haven't gone hungry at all. I can eat whatever and whenever I want as long as the only foods I have around me are mostly fruits, veggies, and nuts! I need to go outside an blast those 3 cans of Coke I have left in the trunk of my car with a bazooka!!!!!!!!