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An emergency-room doctor shared a surprising element that might be causing unpleasant symptoms.
Rick Pescatore, a popular figure on TikTok with 119,000 followers and the handle dr.rickpescatore, drew around 592,000 views of a video in which he said that one woman in five is allergic to a metal “hiding in her diet.”
Pescatore elaborated: “The metal is nickel. You know it from cheap earrings—the ones that turn your ears all red and itchy.
“That’s a nickel allergy and it’s one of the most common allergies there is.”
‘Pain and nausea’
Pescatore noted that new studies say you might be reacting to nickel in your food.
He pointed to a new study from Brazil in which the researchers pointed out that oral vaccines for nickel are only available in Europe.
“Therefore, we can only control our patients with an exclusion diet,” the researchers wrote.
“Patients with contact dermatitis to nickel, gastrointestinal symptoms and urticaria must be investigated about the ingestion of foods containing nickel.”
Pescatore pointed out that nickel can be found in spinach, beans, soy and dark chocolate.
“When you eat it, it can set off the very same reaction that set off on your skin, but inside the belly. It manifests with bloating and pain and nausea. It can oscillate between diarrhea and constipation.”
‘The real trigger’
According to Pescatore, the condition is surprisingly common, and many women are told that they just have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
“One woman in this study had that label for years and her symptoms went away about a month after she found the real trigger,” he said.
Pescatore added that the allergy doesn’t apply to everyone and viewers shouldn’t quit eating vegetables over a video.
However, “if fake jewelry breaks you out and your gut’s been a mystery for years, those might be the same problem,” he said.
“Ask your doctor about a very simple patch test. It’s a clue that you’ve been wearing the whole time.”
‘So much sense’
TikTok contributors were concerned by the report, amid 1,200 comments after 592,000 views in two days.
“Spinach, beans, dark chocolate? The things a lot of women eat when menstruating,” one commenter observed.
“OMG, I’m allergic to nickel in earrings,” another exclaimed, “This makes so much sense.”
Finally, one person theorized: “Since autoimmune conditions are connected to the gut, I wonder whether nickel allergies are (or can be) connected to autoimmune disease. It would be an interesting area to research!”
Newsweek previously covered a mysterious metal that showed up in writings from a Renaissance alchemist’s lab, as well as what happened when a person cooking at home heard a loud “bang” from their kitchen and found their cast-iron skillet broken.
Newsweek has reached out to dr.rickpescatore for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.’
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