My enterolab results are in.

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:06 pm

Tex you have my permission to post my results with the others. All-in-all I 'm not alarmed. There were couple of surprises, like I seem to react to rice more than potato yet I feel better after eating rice compared to after I eat a potato. And soy is a definite problem so I need to avoid the additives. I have not eaten oats in months. At some point I will try them but I'm not eager to. So here goes:

A + C) Comprehensive Gluten/Antigenic Food Sensitivity Stool Panel
(Combines Panels A and C at a discounted price)
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 32 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 19 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 16 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 18 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 26 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Interpretation of Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods: Overall, there was only a modest amount of immunological reactivity detected to these antigenic foods in terms of fecal IgA production.

Thus, the overall average food sensitivity antibody value for this panel is an assessment of your overall humoral immunologic food reactivity, which can help determine if dietary elimination trials may help you. If the mean value is less than 10 Units, the humoral immune reactions can be considered absent (negative); if greater than or equal to 10 Units, they can be considered present. Rather than reporting the absolute value of a positive result for each individual food, since it cannot be considered as an assessment of severity, the results are reported in relative terms between the foods tested. This provides you with the knowledge of which foods are stimulating the most immune response which, in turn, is indeed the most practically applied information to dietary elimination trials. The report information that follows is based on these facts.

While all of the foods tested can be immune-stimulating, the hierarchy of reactions detected were as follows:

Food toward which you displayed most immunologic reactivity: Pork, Tuna, Beef, Chicken
Food toward which you displayed intermediate reactivity: Corn, Walnut, Cashew, Rice
Food toward which you displayed least immunologic reactivity: White potato, Almond, Oat

Within each class of foods to which you displayed multiple reactions, the hierarchy of those reactions detected were as follows:

Grains:
Grain toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Corn
Grain toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Rice
Grain toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Oat

Meats:
Meat toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Pork
Meat toward which you were next most immunologically reactive: Tuna
Meat toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Beef
Meat toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Chicken

Nuts:
Nut toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Walnut
Nut toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Cashew
Nut toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Almond

Nightshades:
You displayed immunologic reactivity to white potato, the member of the nightshade family usually consumed most often and in greatest quantities. While this does not necessarily mean you would react to all other nightshade foods (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), it is possible. In the realm of elimination diets for immunologic disorders, nightshades are usually eliminated as the entire food class (i.e., all four previously mentioned foods in this class). This is especially important to the clinical setting of arthritis.

Dietary Recommendation Based on Test Results to Individual Foods: This test panel was designed to guide your choices when building a new more healthful, less antigenic dietary plan. The results are delivered in such a way that you are not left with “nothing to eat,” but instead they guide you in avoiding the foods in each group that are most stimulating to your immune system. We discourage dietary changes that involve removing too many foods at once. This can lead you to feel too hungry too often, especially if adequate healthful replacement foods are not readily available. Dietary elimination (beyond gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free) is best approached over a period of weeks to months and sometimes years, removing one or two additional foods at a time, rather than removing many foods at once.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: The level of intestinal anti-gliadin IgA antibody was elevated, indicative of active dietary gluten sensitivity. For optimal health; resolution or improvement of gluten-induced syndromes (mainly falling into six categories abbreviated as NAAAGS – neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, asthma, abdominal, glandular deficiencies/hyperactivity or skin diseases); resolution of symptoms known to be associated with gluten sensitivity (such as abdominal symptoms - pain, cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea and/or constipation, chronic headaches, chronic sinus congestion, depression, arthritis, chronic skin problems/rashes, fibromyalgia, and/or chronic fatigue); and prevention of small intestinal damage and malnutrition, osteoporosis, and damage to other tissues (like nerves, brain, joints, muscles, thyroid, pancreas, other glands, skin, liver, spleen, among others), it is recommended that you follow a strict and permanent gluten free diet. As gluten sensitivity is a genetic syndrome, you may want to have your relatives screened as well.

For additional information on result interpretation, as well as educational information on the subject of gluten sensitivity, please see the "FAQ Result Interpretation," "FAQ Gluten/Food Sensitivity," and "Research & Education" links on our EnteroLab.com website.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to food antigens greater than or equal to 10 Units are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. It is recommended that for any elevated fecal antibody level to a highly antigenic food such as milk, that it be removed from your diet.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to food antigens greater than or equal to 10 Units are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. It is recommended that for any elevated fecal antibody level to a highly antigenic food such as egg, that it be removed from your diet.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-soy IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to food antigens greater than or equal to 10 Units are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. It is recommended that for any elevated fecal antibody level to a highly antigenic food such as soy, that it be removed from your diet.

thanks,
Carol

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:32 pm

Hi Carol,

Wow, I just posted my results. Agree with you...I was not alarmed but will find the results helpful. Brandy

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:53 pm

Brandy, I've been thinking about you the last couple of days and wondered if your results had arrived. I'm glad they did and you weren't blown away by the results. Sometimes people get their results and they are shocked or devastated. I'm glad I've been rotating my foods around. I'm thinking it's time to add apples back in and maybe romaine lettuce (very carefully). And soy is definitely bad news for me, so I'll have to adjust around that one.

Hope you are doing well,
Carol

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:29 pm

My results were devastating to me, both because of the range of foods to which I was reacting and because of the level or reaction.
I am glad you both feel your results will help you bring your MC under control!

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 6:36 pm

Hi carol that's great news that you have the results in. I did the MRT testing and about the only surprise was that I showed that I was reactive to white rice. Ive never had a problem with it but did limit it a bit. Early on I did have rice at almost every meal but now I have cut down to about 5 meals a week and I switch between quinoa and potato as alternates.

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:48 pm

Hi Carol,

Thanks for the kind words and you did a lot of the leg work for me prior to my tests! Good luck with apples too! I've been eating one a day since Tex did his apple post. They are certainly not for someone who is not fairly far along in healing but think they are kind of helpful to my digestion now. Good luck going forward! Brandy

Post by **tex** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:49 pm

Carol,

Thanks. I've added your results to our list.

Tex

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:51 pm

Thanks to all of you,

Brandy, it does seem it's a journey we take together.

Joe, I think MRT testing is in my future too, once I sift through all this.

Lesley, I had a split second of "what?" when I saw chicken on the hierarchy of foods I had the most reaction too. Then I read and re-read the interpretation and saw that it is a 'relative' measure.... relative to me. So that leaves me to be the judge of what I can tolerate and what I can't, in effect. Since I've been eating chicken this long and have no problems with it or beef I believe my reaction, while present, is quite low. I'm surviving on these foods without meds and very few problems. Corn on the other hand I had mixed feelings about. I've made corn bread but I don't feel that great a few hours after I eat it and I stopped eating that. So I am in the drivers seat. Now I start the process of challenging a few foods, but at least my suspicions are confirmed.

I greatly appreciate everyone's support,
Carol

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 9:26 pm

I know rice is a no no for me, but I am hoping I will be able to eat chicken every now and again, and/or use chicken stock for cooking eventually.

Glad you are good with your results and I hope you carry on having no problems.

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:16 pm

Hi Carol,

I'm curious what your plan is going forward say for the next 3-6 months if you care to share? I saw your note that you don't feel like you are in remission and I very much feel the same way although to those in an active flare they would probably say we are healed but I agree with you when I don't feel like I am yet in remission. For me I plan to retest nuts in 3 months, retest boars head cold cuts in 3 months, minimize my intake of packaged foods, get to know my local butcher better, spring for a Julia Childs cook book, work thru the pork, chicken, meat recipes in Dees kitchen, work thru the protein recipes in Julia Childs, retest rice and corn in 6 months (grains seem to be problematic for me)....I'm actually not really sure what I'm asking....maybe just looking for some positive words of encouragement. I've been in survival cooking mode for so long that now I want to educate myself on how to buy cuts of meat and pork etc and branch out into better recipes.

Was kind of curious of your thoughts given where you are at? Best wishes! Brandy

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:48 pm

Brandy,
As someone who cooked her way through 2 Julia Child's cookbooks in the early 70s, but never wrote a blog about it I can tell you that Julia Child isn't the right place to start MC cooking. Her recipes are composite and complicated, and full of ingredients that aren't good for you.
Better to follow Dee's recipes, and/or find some on the web.
There are tons of blogs, for example:
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

Karina is also on FB and you can ask her questions.

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:55 pm

Hi Brandy,
Your goals are terrific. Personally I think it's comforting to have a plan and I'm very impressed with how well thought-out your goals are. I think you'll be successful armed with your test results and your willingness to make changes (and sacrifices) where needed.

My current goals are to work some fiber into my diet by trying some fruits (apples, peaches, pears) and see if I can tolerate an occasional romaine lettuce salad. If I can do that my food choices will double!

I also want to try fish (cod, tilapia) and shrimp and I anticipate doing that within the next month, after the fruit and salad trials. Then I need to reduce/drop processed foods that have been my staples like instant mashed potatoes, Baked Lays and rice cakes, because they have no nutritional value. Like you I need to find some recipes to keep the variety going. To be honest I have not thought about what I will challenge in 3-6 months. I'm doing fine with Almond butter, but I would like to try cashews again at some point. I'm taking vitamin D3 and know I need to explore adding more supplements. I'm leaning toward enteric coated fish oil and B-12. Surely I can work those in during the next 4-6 weeks.

I anticipate that MRT testing is also in my future, maybe a year from now. I have an allergic reaction to bananas that looks like a mast cell reaction. I think eventually if I'm ever going to feel my best, I'll need to know what foods bring on the histamine reactions in me.

My other goal is that I REALLY need to get back into shape and increase my stamina. I'm doing better. A day of work does not completely wipe me out, but I lost a lot of muscle in a rapid 24 pound weight loss and my energy is limited. I consistently rotate turkey, chicken and beef and I think if I can keep my protein up I should be able to build some muscle back up. This is important to me. I want to be back to having a 'girls weekend' with my friends or drive 4 hours to see my daughter without fear that I will get sick from fatigue because I wear out so easily.

Well, I started out thinking that I had no authentic goals but apparently I do. Thanks for asking me to outline them.

Please keep in touch with me. I want to know how you are doing, anytime you want to share.

take care,
Carol

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:44 pm

Thanks for sharing Carol. I am waiting for my results and this gives me an idea of what to expect. It seems as if the second test ( which I also took) is more open to experimenting. I love your positive outlook and can only hope that I can cope as well as you are. Please let us know how you are doing with your food plan as you go a long.
It helps us all
Leah

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 8:06 am

Leah,
I'm determined primarily because I've seen improvement and I've gotten some quality back in my life in spite of the restrictions LC presents. Last July and August I spent at least 6 weeks waking up every morning with such intense nausea that clinging to the bed was all I could do. Any day that doesn't start with that is a good one. Once I was prescribed Entocort I was able to get back on my feet and over the next few months I could sort out what to eat and focus on just keeping up with the demands of work, etc. Since stopping Entocort I've figured out a few restaurants I can go to so I can still go out with friends and family. My husband and I have been able to see our daughter perform (she's a Jazz pianist and college student) and attend some events we enjoy (like a couple of KState football games). Eventually I could see that I really wasn't going to just live out my life in the confines of my bedroom and bathroom. Then it became much easier to be positive. But initially, it's tough to be optimistic because you feel so isolated.
I used to coach a traveling fast pitch softball team of middle school aged girls. When they'd get 'down' mentally in a game we always told them to "battle back". I feel like that what we have to do now-- battle back-- and not get defeated.

Carol

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:16 pm

Hi Lesley,

Huge thanks for the feedback! I think I'm going to stick to proteins in Dee's kitchen for now and keep it simple.

Carol,

Maybe we can check back in in about 3 months or so and report back on where we are. Best wishes, Brandy