7 ms·

Meat allergy from tick bites is on the rise–and US doctors are in the dark

50 points by ranger207 3y ago

fberger 3y ago
Radiolab had a great episode about it in 2016: https://radiolab.org/podcast/alpha-gal https://radiolab.org/podcast/alpha-gal
CobaltFire 3y ago
I recently got tested for Alpha-Gal due to some issues when I eat meat (autoimmune flare ups). It came back negative, and a random comment on here referring to Neu5gc gave me another place to look, which seems to be helping (I’m essentially vegan + fish now). As far as my doc not being prepared, he was 100% onboard with investigating it. I probably got lucky.
- SkyPuncher 3y ago
  Most docs respond to logic and reason. I suspect the challenge is differentiating “I want to try this crazy fad with little scientific backing” from “I’d like to explore this as a possible path of treatment. Here’s the science and what we need to do to support this line of inquiry”
  - CobaltFire 3y ago
    So much this. Bringing peer reviewed papers and the like was a major factor in how I’ve managed my care and my sons Chemotherapy.
- OJFord 3y ago
  > vegan + fish According to Wikipedia's table (and the term's page itself) that is still 'pescatarian': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Varieties https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Varieties I looked it up because I happened across the table recently and wondered what this was called - I did think pescatarian implied dairy & eggs. (So maybe you were right, 'vegan + fish' is easier than 'pescatarian w. dairy or eggs'...)
  - CobaltFire 3y ago
    I mainly specify for ease; not a ton of people know what pescatarian is. Vegan + fish is easy to parse for your average person.
    - nullindividual 3y ago
      When I was pescatarian I found very few people knew what that was, so I cut the seafood and became vegetarian. Now I don’t have to explain myself.
  - danShumway 3y ago
    > I did think pescatarian implied dairy & eggs Agreed, GP is technically pescatarian (no meat except fish, dairy/eggs are irrelevant), but pescatarianism is usually used to indicate a subset of vegetarianism not veganism, so "vegan + fish" conveys more information to me.
lockhouse 3y ago
I think I’d rather get Lyme disease than a meat allergy.
- eggy 3y ago
  I was vegetarian for over 7 years, and I have since switched to a carnivore diet. I have had no issues so far, and I have lost 13 lbs. and packed on more lean muscle. On the dark side of things, alpha-gal is not found in primate and human and human meat, so along with the cordyceps zombie apocalypse, it's not looking good for humans ;)
  - replwoacause 3y ago
    That is a dramatic change. What caused to go make the switch? Do you miss being a vegetarian?
    - eggy 3y ago
      I was a vegetarian while living in Macau, China for over 6 years and a year in Indonesia as well as when I came back to the US, so for about 8 years actually. It was very hard to avoid "vegetarian" meals with animal broth in them. I got down to 178 lbs and I was ripped, but I felt I was hitting a wall in going beyond a certain amount of effort whether reps with push ups, pull ups, or running times. I also felt like I had a brain cloud after a little exertion. I have been experiencing a much more keener sense of alertness, focus, and clarity and more strength endurance while on the carnivore diet. My body craves my late morning meal and I have not tired of the basic menu choice. I am also very interested in how a vegetarian diet that is soy-based (tempeh was a favorite, my wife's Indonesian), beans, legumes, or dominated by a few choice vegetables can lead to build up of an unwanted substance. Isoflavones (phytoestrogens) from soy products and consuming certain quantities, or like broccoli having thiocyanates that can lead to issues with the thyroid. My mom had thyroid issues, and I am hyper, so I flagged this. The more I read about the bad in vegetables rather than the "you can never get too many vegetables" mentality made me not take for granted that vegetables are healthy. Moderation in everything, however, a strictly beef diet with very low sugar intake seems to be doing wonders for my health. I remember eating a lot of cashews and I was told that the antioxidant oxalic acid is good for you, however, 3 to 4 oz. a day is too much and is bad for the kidneys. I loved cashews!
wrycoder 3y ago
I guess dinosaur isn’t “meat” anymore? I.e. chicken.
1letterunixname 3y ago
I'm a lazy vegetarian, but this sounds terrible.
Modified3019 3y ago
I don't know the specifics, but a tick bite is apparently the reason Wendell from level1techs is rapidly losing weight. :(
- throwawaymobule 3y ago
  I think its his diet, more specifically. Sucks that it's forced on him, but at least it's only a second-order effect.
throwawaymobule 3y ago
Surprised nobody's made an indie movie in which bioterrorists get the material from.these ticks into the food supply somehow. I can imagine it working either taken way too seriously like a Tom Clancy script, or super tongue-in-cheek and parody-like.

50 points by ranger207 3y ago

Radiolab had a great episode about it in 2016: https://radiolab.org/podcast/alpha-gal https://radiolab.org/podcast/alpha-gal

CobaltFire 3y ago

I recently got tested for Alpha-Gal due to some issues when I eat meat (autoimmune flare ups). It came back negative, and a random comment on here referring to Neu5gc gave me another place to look, which seems to be helping (I’m essentially vegan + fish now). As far as my doc not being prepared, he was 100% onboard with investigating it. I probably got lucky.

SkyPuncher 3y ago
Most docs respond to logic and reason. I suspect the challenge is differentiating “I want to try this crazy fad with little scientific backing” from “I’d like to explore this as a possible path of treatment. Here’s the science and what we need to do to support this line of inquiry”
- CobaltFire 3y ago
  So much this. Bringing peer reviewed papers and the like was a major factor in how I’ve managed my care and my sons Chemotherapy.
OJFord 3y ago
> vegan + fish According to Wikipedia's table (and the term's page itself) that is still 'pescatarian': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Varieties https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Varieties I looked it up because I happened across the table recently and wondered what this was called - I did think pescatarian implied dairy & eggs. (So maybe you were right, 'vegan + fish' is easier than 'pescatarian w. dairy or eggs'...)
- CobaltFire 3y ago
  I mainly specify for ease; not a ton of people know what pescatarian is. Vegan + fish is easy to parse for your average person.
  - nullindividual 3y ago
    When I was pescatarian I found very few people knew what that was, so I cut the seafood and became vegetarian. Now I don’t have to explain myself.
- danShumway 3y ago
  > I did think pescatarian implied dairy & eggs Agreed, GP is technically pescatarian (no meat except fish, dairy/eggs are irrelevant), but pescatarianism is usually used to indicate a subset of vegetarianism not veganism, so "vegan + fish" conveys more information to me.

lockhouse 3y ago

I think I’d rather get Lyme disease than a meat allergy.

eggy 3y ago
I was vegetarian for over 7 years, and I have since switched to a carnivore diet. I have had no issues so far, and I have lost 13 lbs. and packed on more lean muscle. On the dark side of things, alpha-gal is not found in primate and human and human meat, so along with the cordyceps zombie apocalypse, it's not looking good for humans ;)
- replwoacause 3y ago
  That is a dramatic change. What caused to go make the switch? Do you miss being a vegetarian?
  - eggy 3y ago
    I was a vegetarian while living in Macau, China for over 6 years and a year in Indonesia as well as when I came back to the US, so for about 8 years actually. It was very hard to avoid "vegetarian" meals with animal broth in them. I got down to 178 lbs and I was ripped, but I felt I was hitting a wall in going beyond a certain amount of effort whether reps with push ups, pull ups, or running times. I also felt like I had a brain cloud after a little exertion. I have been experiencing a much more keener sense of alertness, focus, and clarity and more strength endurance while on the carnivore diet. My body craves my late morning meal and I have not tired of the basic menu choice. I am also very interested in how a vegetarian diet that is soy-based (tempeh was a favorite, my wife's Indonesian), beans, legumes, or dominated by a few choice vegetables can lead to build up of an unwanted substance. Isoflavones (phytoestrogens) from soy products and consuming certain quantities, or like broccoli having thiocyanates that can lead to issues with the thyroid. My mom had thyroid issues, and I am hyper, so I flagged this. The more I read about the bad in vegetables rather than the "you can never get too many vegetables" mentality made me not take for granted that vegetables are healthy. Moderation in everything, however, a strictly beef diet with very low sugar intake seems to be doing wonders for my health. I remember eating a lot of cashews and I was told that the antioxidant oxalic acid is good for you, however, 3 to 4 oz. a day is too much and is bad for the kidneys. I loved cashews!

wrycoder 3y ago

I guess dinosaur isn’t “meat” anymore? I.e. chicken.

1letterunixname 3y ago

I'm a lazy vegetarian, but this sounds terrible.

Modified3019 3y ago

I don't know the specifics, but a tick bite is apparently the reason Wendell from level1techs is rapidly losing weight. :(

throwawaymobule 3y ago
I think its his diet, more specifically. Sucks that it's forced on him, but at least it's only a second-order effect.

throwawaymobule 3y ago

Surprised nobody's made an indie movie in which bioterrorists get the material from.these ticks into the food supply somehow. I can imagine it working either taken way too seriously like a Tom Clancy script, or super tongue-in-cheek and parody-like.