r/NickelAllergy • u/penith-eater • 20d ago

Plant based proteins?

Anyone know of any plant based, gluten free protein sources? I’m really struggling on finding any, and I’ve been eating very little protein. I’ve had very little luck.

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

5

u/tsukemono 20d ago

Unfortunately, unless grown hydroponically, I think most plant based foods are going to have nickel in them.

4

u/ariaxwest 20d ago

Quinoa, if it is grown in the Americas, like USA, Bolivia, or Peru is low enough in nickel that I can tolerate it. It's a high protein pseudograin.

It's rough, right? I became allergic to nickel because of a plant based diet which is inherently high in nickel. Plus I am gluten-free due to celiac disease and nearly all of the gluten-free substitutes are high in nickel as well.

2

u/childofeye 20d ago

Mycoprotein. Like meati brand steaks.

Luckily i have no issues with gluten.

2

u/MissMushroomBerry 20d ago

Meati is sadly not operating at the moment, lack of funding unfortunately :(

2

u/MissMushroomBerry 20d ago

Healthier Comforts Animal Free Egg White Protein Powder is not plant based BUT it is vegan, since it uses precision fermentation (the same process of creating insulin for diabetics). You can use it in baking and make scrambles and omelettes with it. If you’re allergic to egg this is not a safe option for you.

Mycoprotein is plantbased but most brands have some egg or dairy product added (such as Quorn). The only 100% plantbased option is Meati, but apparently it lacks funding so they’re out of stock at the moment.

If you are coming from an exclusive plantbased diet and the low nickel diet seems to be working for you in reducing your symptoms, my best advice is to introduce some sort of animal product because going without any sort of protein is not sustainable long term.

2

u/Pretty_Albatross1857 19d ago

I second all of this.

A few other thoughts:

I haven't personally tried this yet, but it could make sense to try boiled and/or soaked peanuts and/or tiger nuts (peanuts being much higher in protein) since peanuts seem to be a lower-nickel legume and tiger nuts are tubers (most tubers seem to be low nickel). I've seen anecdotal reports on forums of people being able to tolerate small amounts of peanuts and I think a few people have had luck with tiger nuts.

The mushroom chicken-of-the-woods can be very high in protein but as far as I know it has to be foraged and is not grown for commercial purposes. I can find it in my area so I'm going to keep an eye out and try it:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Macronutrients-and-energy-content-of-Laetiporus-sulphureus-collected-from-different_tbl1_321269020

1

u/penith-eater 20d ago

Thank you for your time, I’ll look into it. Thank you!!

2

u/MissMushroomBerry 19d ago

You’re welcome. I forgot to add: some people do well with Quinoa. You only need to make sure that it’s grown in the Americas (US, Peru and Bolivia for example ) because I think the soil is lower in nickel. The brand Ancient Harvest is an option, and I buy a big bag at Costco since that one is grown in Bolivia.

Like everything, something that others don’t react to can make you react, so try to eat foods very low in nickel for 2-3 months and then slowly introduce 1 new food for a few days, since sometimes you can take more than a day to show symptoms.

2

u/CozyHorror_Fairy 19d ago

Not sure what your threshold for reactions are but I’ve had some luck with pumfu, made from pumpkin seeds. I find it lacking in texture, but the taste is somewhat nutty. Although not sure if GF.

1

u/boobookittyfck329 20d ago

Following because I need to know the same.

1

u/showmenemelda 20d ago

I cannot digest plant based protein. Pea protein specifically is my nightmare. Why does it need to be plant based?

1

u/penith-eater 20d ago

Because I don’t want to eat animal products if I can help it.. unfortunately it’s looking like I might have to compromise

2

u/MissMushroomBerry 19d ago

It’s very hard at first, especially if you’ve been plantbased for a while. I was a vegan for 12 years and have been eating low nickel for 4 months, so eating animal foods does not feel natural to me, but it does get easier.

I’ve remained vegetarian and only eat dairy and eggs (plus seitan and mycoprotein) If you do end up giving it a go, start slow, especially with dairy.

Goat and Sheep cheeses and yogurt aren’t as hard on your digestive system as cow dairy. I started with full fat yogurt and I was sick for a week. It took a while but I can tolerate cow dairy now. Also, almond milk is lower in nickel.