Los Angeles resident Jenna Gestetner, 21, was born with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), which causes her to be allergic to over a hundred substances, allowing her to eat only 13 types of food. However, she has not let this despair her; instead, she has creatively developed her own recipes using limited ingredients, which have been well received by internet users.
Gestetner told FOX News Digital that she has been allergic since childhood, and after the age of 12, her skin and gastrointestinal allergies became more severe, and by the age of 18, she could only eat 15 types of food. Any other foods caused her entire body to feel unwell.
After medical examination, she was diagnosed with MCAS, and the only foods she can eat without an allergic reaction are white fish, turkey, green beans, zucchini, cucumber, lime, dates, grapes, raspberries, pears, chia seeds, lotus seeds, and olive oil.
Foods she absolutely cannot touch include rice, pasta, bread, cookies, red meat, chicken, lettuce, apples, lemons, and special sauces.
Now 21 years old, Gestetner is a student at USC, and her biggest challenge in daily life is dining out and ensuring that her ingredients are not mixed with others. She says that most restaurants do not have dishes she can eat, so when she goes out to eat, she first has to look for a few restaurants that offer food she can consume. Additionally, she needs to contact the restaurant in advance to confirm that the cooking process will not involve other ingredients, making dining out a frequent source of anxiety for her.
As for her daily diet, Gestetner mostly eats the same dishes: turkey with chia seed pudding for breakfast, protein sources with vegetables for lunch and dinner, and fruits with lotus seeds as snacks. She mentions that the key is to ensure sufficient calories while also maintaining nutritional balance.
However, after sharing her experiences on social media and providing recipes made with ingredients she can eat, she received a lot of positive feedback, enabling others to face challenges positively and move forward.
USC
Los Angeles