Enterolab vs. Alletess IgG testing
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robinc2525
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Enterolab vs. Alletess IgG testing
I tested high only for gluten and rice on the Enterolab tests. However, a few months ago and also last year I had IgG blood tests for food sensitivities and tested high for many, many foods. Some of the results conflict, for example, I tested very high for casein on the IgG test and it was fine (8) on the Enterolab test. Brown rice was fine on the IgG and 3+ Enterolab. So I am wondering, does one of these tests trump the other?
Robin,
IgG antibody levels are basically a reflection of chronic IgE reactions. IgE antibodies indicate immediate reactions, wheras IgG antibodies indicate long-term reactions. The blood tests are often useful for detecting classic allergies, but we have found by experience that such blood tests provide too many false positive and false negative results to be very useful for determining the type of food sensitivities that are associated with MC.
The reactions that cause the inflammation that is associated with MC produce IgA antibodies in the intestines, and those antibodies are easily detected in stool samples, but they do not readily show up in the blood.
The ELISA tests that are used to detect IgA antibodies in stool samples are very specific, (meaning that they will only detect antibodies to a specific protein) so each test is designed to detect antibodies to the most likely protein that causes the greatest number of people to react. Therefore, it is theoretically possible that someone may not produce antibodies to the proteins tested for (such as the primary protein in casein), but they might be sensitive to some other protein in casein (or a protein in whey), for example. This is not common, but it is possible, and in that situation, the EnteroLab test would show a negative result.
IOW, no lab test is perfect. There are exceptions to every lab test ever developed, and therefore the EnteroLab tests are are also vulnerable to that possibility, but statistically, that's a very low probability situation. Experience shows that on the average, the EnteroLab tests are several orders of magnitude more accurate and more reliable than any other test currently available for determining food sensitivities that cause digestive issues.
Regarding your rice test result, note this line in your test results:
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 6 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
That mean value of "6" is well below the threshold for a positive result (10). That implies that none of the foods in that test are likely to be a problem, regardless of their ranking in the results. If the mean value had been 10 or above, then the result for rice would have meant that you should avoid rice. With a mean value of 6, it's very unlikely that rice will be a problem for you.
Incidentally, the only difference between brown rice and white rice is that the hull (which contains most of the fiber) is removed from brown rice in order to make white rice. This makes white rice a much safer food for us (than brown rice), since we have to minimize fiber in order to optimize the healing conditions for our gut.
I hope this helps to clarify the situation.
Tex
IgG antibody levels are basically a reflection of chronic IgE reactions. IgE antibodies indicate immediate reactions, wheras IgG antibodies indicate long-term reactions. The blood tests are often useful for detecting classic allergies, but we have found by experience that such blood tests provide too many false positive and false negative results to be very useful for determining the type of food sensitivities that are associated with MC.
The reactions that cause the inflammation that is associated with MC produce IgA antibodies in the intestines, and those antibodies are easily detected in stool samples, but they do not readily show up in the blood.
The ELISA tests that are used to detect IgA antibodies in stool samples are very specific, (meaning that they will only detect antibodies to a specific protein) so each test is designed to detect antibodies to the most likely protein that causes the greatest number of people to react. Therefore, it is theoretically possible that someone may not produce antibodies to the proteins tested for (such as the primary protein in casein), but they might be sensitive to some other protein in casein (or a protein in whey), for example. This is not common, but it is possible, and in that situation, the EnteroLab test would show a negative result.
IOW, no lab test is perfect. There are exceptions to every lab test ever developed, and therefore the EnteroLab tests are are also vulnerable to that possibility, but statistically, that's a very low probability situation. Experience shows that on the average, the EnteroLab tests are several orders of magnitude more accurate and more reliable than any other test currently available for determining food sensitivities that cause digestive issues.
Regarding your rice test result, note this line in your test results:
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 6 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
That mean value of "6" is well below the threshold for a positive result (10). That implies that none of the foods in that test are likely to be a problem, regardless of their ranking in the results. If the mean value had been 10 or above, then the result for rice would have meant that you should avoid rice. With a mean value of 6, it's very unlikely that rice will be a problem for you.
Incidentally, the only difference between brown rice and white rice is that the hull (which contains most of the fiber) is removed from brown rice in order to make white rice. This makes white rice a much safer food for us (than brown rice), since we have to minimize fiber in order to optimize the healing conditions for our gut.
I hope this helps to clarify the situation.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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robinc2525
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Thank you Tex. I have been thinking about your reply and it takes a while to sink in. Do you think it would be helpful to stop eating foods that tested high on the IgG tests, or would you not pay attention to that test due to the likelihood of false positives/negatives? I have been gluten free for 7 months and that is the only item according to the Enterolab test that I should not eat. However, I still have loose stools, though I only go once or twice a day. I also still have an issue with urgency and that is what I really want to go away! I also have pain on my right side off and on. Something just still isn't right.
I actually had not been eating any foods from the IgG test for 3 months. I was on a diet of just chicken and rice, olive oil salt and pepper for most of that time (I added red potatoes in after about 2 months). During that time is when I stopped having D and my side pain subsided a little and I started having fewer bm's a day. When I got the Enterolab results back I started eating corn products instead of rice. So I tried having popcorn, and a few times I had corn chips as a snack. It seemed to have made things worse. I was having more intense side pain so now I'm kind of thinking that I shouldn't do corn and should go back to rice.
I am currently on Uceris and am really trying to figure this out so that I can go off it and not relapse. I feel like the time to heal is now and I don't want to be eating foods that will hinder that process but most of the time I am just not sure if what I am doing is right.
Thanks-
Robin
I actually had not been eating any foods from the IgG test for 3 months. I was on a diet of just chicken and rice, olive oil salt and pepper for most of that time (I added red potatoes in after about 2 months). During that time is when I stopped having D and my side pain subsided a little and I started having fewer bm's a day. When I got the Enterolab results back I started eating corn products instead of rice. So I tried having popcorn, and a few times I had corn chips as a snack. It seemed to have made things worse. I was having more intense side pain so now I'm kind of thinking that I shouldn't do corn and should go back to rice.
I am currently on Uceris and am really trying to figure this out so that I can go off it and not relapse. I feel like the time to heal is now and I don't want to be eating foods that will hinder that process but most of the time I am just not sure if what I am doing is right.
Thanks-
Robin
It might be worth a try, to see if it helps, because you might be having mast cell reactions to those foods, rather than IgA modulated (T cell-associated) reactions.Robin wrote:Do you think it would be helpful to stop eating foods that tested high on the IgG tests
The corn certainly sounds suspicious. Or the problem might be due to the extra fiber in corn (white rice has a relatively low fiber content by comparison). FWIW, my pain was usually most persistent on my right side, also.
There's a good chance that if you can manage to wean off the Uceris successfully, and continue to heal for say 6 months or so, afterward, you may be able to slowly reintroduce some of the foods that seem to bother you now. Healing does wonders for the gut, but it can take a long time.
You're very welcome,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.