Just in time for holiday feasting: will a low-nickel diet help nickel allergy symptoms?

Just in time for holiday feasting: will a low-nickel diet help nickel allergy symptoms?

Ready to do a little holiday indulging? Concerned that it may affect more than your waistline? Here's a bit of good news for nickel allergy sufferers!

But first things first: While it may not fit into your schedule to visit your dermatologist or allergist before the holiday meal this year, be sure to make it your number one New Year's Resolution. Only these professionals can provide an accurate diagnosis and medical advice regarding your nickel allergy and whether a low nickel diet will be a benefit.

Our bit of good news is that one day of holiday feasting should not create a problem for most people with nickel allergy! Continued consumption of high nickel foods does seem to have an affect on a minority of the nickel allergic population. Studies are indicating a relationship between the ingestion of foods high in nickel and conditions such as hives and eczema in a small number of people tested.

If your allergist has recommended a Low Nickel Diet, you probably already know that many foods have the green light.  Holiday staples such as turkey and cranberries are not considered problematic sources of nickel in the diet - so load up your plate!

There may be items on that holiday table that you should avoid if a strict diet has been recommended. Cocoa, chocolate, shellfish, fruits, whole grains, beer, red wine, onions, raw carrots, and most canned foods may contain significant amounts of nickel. However, nickel content often depends upon factors such as the soil where the crop was grown as well as how it was processed and then stored. High nickel in the soil, along with nickel-laden processing equipment and storage containers will lead to higher nickel in the product, making it difficult to accurately identify high nickel foods.

A bit more good news: While the avoidance of tea and coffee on a low nickel diet is suggested, other studies have shown that one or two cups of these beverages on a daily basis should pose little concern. In addition, some studies indicate a diet high in vitamin C and iron can counteract the absorption of ingested nickel.

Individuals who react to nickel ingested through diet have a systemic nickel allergic reaction; those who react only at the point of contact on the skin have allergic contact dermatitis to nickel. The Nickel Allergy Experts at Athena Allergy are ready to help those ACD patients avoid nickel to ward off worsening symptoms.

If your symptoms are found only at the site of the skin's contact with nickel, you should focus on ways to prevent that contact and the resulting rash. Over twelve years ago, Athena Allergy introduced the first pre-mixed and pre-measured dmg spot test for nickel, making it consumer-friendly and easy to use.  Nickel Alert™ has since been used extensively for rapid and accurate testing for nickel in metals. Nickel Alert is so extremely sensitive it will detect nickel in minute amounts of one part per ten thousand. Once nickel is detected, the skin must avoid that nickel in order to evade nickel allergy symptoms.  Nickel Guard™ is clinically proven to provide a micro-bond with metal to assure that nickel cannot contact the skin.  

Another avenue for avoiding nickel is to replace products that contain nickel with those that are guaranteed nickel free.  Athena Allergy offers an wide array of handcrafted in the USA nickel free belts for men, women, and children. We also are proud to provide Made in the USA Nickel Free Earrings in beautiful designs and a variety of color options. We take our customer's nickel allergy concerns to heart and strive to offer the best products, top-notch customer service, informative articles, and  guarantees so that visitors to our site find the answers they need to live a nickel free life!