Update and My daughter's EnteroLab Results

[kayare]

Hi All - I've haven't posted in a while, but I have been reading posts several times per week. I am still working fulltime and have also opened a business, so I am working a lot! I have been very strict with my limited diet and am feeling quite well most days. I'm sure I still have fine tuning to do (I still have some arthritis), but I am a different person this year than last thanks to this forum and the help I received here!

My daughter is now 18 and has struggled with her health for several years now. She has had anxiety since she was young. She was hospitalized three years ago for a week with a "virus" that made her very ill. Last year, she had a fairly mild case of mono. For about two years, she complained of stomach noises and disturbances. Her grades dropped because she wouldn't try on tests. The room was quiet, and she was sure others could hear her stomach making noise. She stopped eating breakfast and other meals and lost an alarming amount of weight. I took her to a pediatric GI. He did two colonoscopies. His diagnosis was IBS and, later, lactose intolerance. She didn't improve.

She is very determined to get well and has completely changed her diet. Since then, she is feeling much better, but not well yet. She has a B+ average in college this year. :-) Any advice will be welcomed! Which foods do you all think should she completely avoid?

Here are her (Katie) results from 3/7/2013: Yes, It's fine to post them.

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 28 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 127 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA 11 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 22 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)



HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis Allele1 0303

HLA-DQB1 Molecular anaylsis Allele 2 0602

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,1 (Subtype 9,6)


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

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

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

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

Nightshades:

You displayed immunologic reactivity to white potato, the member of the nightshade family usually consumed most often and in greatest quantity. 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.

Thank you!!

Kathy

[Zizzle]

Sorry about your daughter. Her results certainly point the finger at food intolerances. Did I miss it, or does this panel no longer test for soy? At least she doesn't have a celiac gene.

[tex]

Hi Kathy,

I believe that if those were my test results, I would totally avoid every food with a positive result in the primary tests (which appears to be all of them), and every food in the worst categories in the 11 antigenic foods panel, and I would be very suspicious of every food in the immediate categories, as well, for the foods ranked in the 11 antigenic foods panel.

IOW, if I ate any of the foods from the 11 antigenic foods panel, they would be pork, rice, and walnut. White potatoes may be OK, but red potatoes or yellow potatoes are easier to digest (and probably safer to eat). Rather than chicken, I would try turkey, for example. Rather than beef, I would try venison (bison might work, but it is not as likely to be as safe as venison). Some or all of these foods might have to be tried by trial and error, to see if they are actually safe for her to eat. They would be safer as part of a rotation diet, but with so few foods to work with, rotation would be mighty tough to do.

Thanks, I'll add these results to our list.

Tex

[Leah]

Unfortunately, these tests show a lot of foods she should avoid. We all know how hard it is for us to do this, but it is even more difficult for a young woman. I agree with Tex. She should stay away from all the high and medium foods along with the big four. So sorry :(
I hope she is able to do this and starts feeling better soon

Leah

[kayare]

Thank you Zizzle, Tex, and Leah! I retyped her results and neglected to report soy which was 10 Units.

She will try the suggested changes such as turkey and pork. She has been drinking some almond milk, but we think she should eliminate that because she still doesn't feel well. She is very athletic - doing crossfit most mornings, and is concerned about her nutrition. She thinks she needs to increase her protein, but she doesn't really like meat. Her favorite is fish. She also claims that salads and raw nuts and veggies bother her. She says she is grateful to find out before she got even sicker.

This problem has plagued our family for at least four generations. I'm glad to finally have some some solutions despite the limitations.

Thank you!
Kathy

[Leah]

Yes, she needs to cook her veggies. Sweet potatoes helped me feel full and get some nutrition. i also drink a green drink that I order through the mail... I drank it all the way through my healing. if she can't eat whole nuts, can she tolerate nut butters? sometimes it makes a difference. Seafood is a great way to get protein.

Leah

[kayare]

Hi Leah - She cooks most veggies and has decided that she has to cook them all for now. Changing over to only sweet, yellow and red potatoes may also help. We've always had a variety, but maybe the white ones aren't helping now. She's been eating almond butter many days, so maybe it's the almonds that bother her. She has discontinued all nuts for now. Maybe she can try a different nut butter later. She adds rice protein to her own homemade green shakes, but we'd both be interested in the one you order. Can you, or anyone, recommend a number of grams of protein she needs each day (this seems to be her focus) for a young, active woman?

[Leah]

I think i can answer that :)
All of us should get AT LEAST 10-12 percent of our total calories from protein.
An endurance athlete needs about 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kg. of body weight.
A strength training athlete needs about 1.6-1.7 grams per kg. of body weight.
(to get your weight in kg. just divide your weight in pounds by 2.2)

Example : since I am 115lb divided by 2.2= 52.27 then multiply by 1.6=83.63 ( so i need about 83 1/2 grams of protein)

Leah

[kayare]

Thanks for your answer! Katie was correct about what she needs, but it looks like I need to increase my protein intake.

Kathy