Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@jennaxhealth/Jenna Gestetner
Topics: Health, California, Food and Drink
Emily Brown
Topics: Health, California, Food and Drink
A woman has been forced to create a diet around just 13 foods due to a condition that's left her with more than 100 different allergies.
Anyone with a food allergy knows how frustrating it can be to constantly check packets and menus to make sure the food is 'safe', but 21-year-old Jenna Gestetner has more things to look out for than most.
Jenna, from Los Angeles, California, has struggled with her health since she was a child, and told Fox News Digital she was always labeled as 'sensitive'.
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"I had sensitive skin, a sensitive stomach and got sick/injured easily," she said. "When I was about 12, things started getting worse."
Jenna realized symptoms including pain, nausea, fatigue and dizziness became worse when she was eating certain foods, so she began cutting down on certain items.
"When I was 18, I was down to eating less than 15 foods [and] I knew I needed answers for my physical health but also my mental health," she recalled.
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In her bid for answers, Jenna sought medical help and was finally diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS); a condition which causes 'repeated episodes of the symptoms of anaphylaxis - allergic symptoms such as hives, swelling, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing and severe diarrhea', according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.
Her diagnosis led her to 13 foods she's able to eat without typically getting a reaction: white fish, turkey, green beans, zucchini, cucumber, lime, dates, grapes, raspberries, pears, chia seeds, water lily seeds and olive oil.
The major foods she needs to avoid include rice, pasta, bread, red meat, chicken, lettuce and apples.
As a result, Jenna tends to stick to the same meals in her day-to-day life to maintain her health, including turkey and chia seed pudding for breakfast, protein with vegetables for lunch and dinner, and fruit or water lily seeds for snacks.
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She does share videos of her creating different recipes online at @jennaxhealth, and she can go out to restaurants as long as she takes certain precautions first, such as checking the menu to make sure they have something suitable.
"I then have to contact the restaurant to make sure they can make it in a way that works with what I can eat," Jenna said. "Even then, eating out causes me a lot of anxiety because even small amounts of other foods could cause me to have a reaction."
The most important thing Jenna has to think about is her calorie intake, making sure she's eating enough and getting as many essential nutrients as possible from the 13 foods.
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By sharing her experiences online, Jenna said she has got a 'very positive response' from people in similar situations who feel 'validated and motivated to keep moving forward and to also see their challenges in a positive light'.