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Spices

They add nuance and zing to a variety of dishes, but there’s no getting around spices’ origin: pungent plants. For some people, eating the spices made from these plants leads to a just little sniffling. For others, it may cause itching, swelling, and even burning of the lips.

What to do: Avoid the spices more likely to cause trouble: coriander, poppy seeds, pepper, dill, paprika, cumin, and saffron—which, in broad strokes, means Indian and Middle Eastern food. If you’re not sure which spices bother you, record what you’ve been exposed to each time you have symptoms and look for the common denominator.

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