The newer tests weren't available when I had the first tests in Feb 2010, and I've been GF, DF, SF as 100% compliant as humanly possible since then. Whereas I'm not getting up 25-30 times a night, I am certainly improved. However the best BM I can produce is "soft serve" or worse, so decided it was time to get the C-1 panel. Results are not causing me to insert a happy face, and I'd greatly appreciate any guidance.
Here are the results:
C-1) Antigenic Food Sensitivity Stool Panel
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods ***** 40 Units ***** (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
While all of the foods tested can be immune-stimulating, the hierarchy of reactions detected were as follows:
Food to which there was no significant immunological reactivity: NONE. Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+): NONE. Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+):
Rice
Oat
Chicken
Beef
Pork
Cashew
Walnut
Almond
White potato
Food to which there was significant and/or the most immunological reactivity (3+):
Corn
Tuna
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: Tuna
Meat toward which you were next most immunologically reactive: Chicken
Meat toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Beef
Meat toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Pork
Nuts:
Nut toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Cashew
Nut toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Walnut
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.
FURTHER, THIS INFORMATION ON DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS LEAVES ME A BIT PUZZLED.
"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.
If you reacted to more than one of the grains, meats, or nuts, we recommend that you first eliminate from your diet the one food from that class you reacted to most strongly, while keeping in your diet the ones you reacted to less strongly. When you want to try and eliminate additional foods, do so in the order of the strength of reaction from highest, intermediate, to least. In the case of potato, you may want to eliminate it if you reacted positively to it."
Since so many of our group have been there, done this, I'm wondering if I'd get benefit by reducing the 3+ by say 50-75%, or is this an all or nothing deal like gluten & soy? I talked to the staff at the lab and they mentioned that salmon is cross reactive with tuna so that should be eliminated also. The corn is as bad or worse than gluten or soy in being in everything--baking powder for gosh sakes? They seemed to encourage rotating any one 2+category to only 2X a week, but I'm hoping that will mean on the "period of weeks, months and sometimes years" the test results information mentions re elimination.
As you can see I'm unsure which way to leap, but so far am attempting to get corn out as much as possible, and tuna maybe once a month and see what happens.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Beverly
Enterolab test interpretation help please
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hello!
You should be able to eat pork & almonds a few times a week! :) I don't trust oats due to cross contamination.
The mean value of all 11 foods is high...mine was 30, which means you've been reacting for a longer period of time.
I eat lamb, elk, turkey, venison for protein. I eat cooked squashes and carrots. I can eat coconut & sunflower seed butter.
It's all trial and error now to see which foods work for you. So choose one food and eat it for at least 3 days and see what happens & to discover if it is safe for you. That's how you can build up your possibilities.
Do you eat eggs?
You should be able to eat pork & almonds a few times a week! :) I don't trust oats due to cross contamination.
The mean value of all 11 foods is high...mine was 30, which means you've been reacting for a longer period of time.
I eat lamb, elk, turkey, venison for protein. I eat cooked squashes and carrots. I can eat coconut & sunflower seed butter.
It's all trial and error now to see which foods work for you. So choose one food and eat it for at least 3 days and see what happens & to discover if it is safe for you. That's how you can build up your possibilities.
Do you eat eggs?
Linda :)
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
Beverly,
Well, at least the results show why you haven't been able to reach complete remission, so now you have the information you need to plan your recovery diet.
Regarding their advice about avoiding foods selectively, many members here just cut them all out and worry about reintroducing/testing them one at a time to see if they might be safely reintroduced after they have been in stable remission for at least a respectable amount of time.
If you prefer to cut them out selectively, then do as they say, and remove the worst ones first. And remove them completely. Just eating less of a food that causes us to produce antibodies does not resolve the problem. We will still produce antibodies to that food even if we eat only tiny amounts — IOW, "all or nothing" usually yields much better results when it comes to avoiding any specific food sensitivity.
Here is some information on elimination diet planning:
Elimination Diet
Basically, the idea of an elimination diet is to eat only a few foods to which you do not react for a long enough period to allow your digestive system to heal enough to begin working normally again. Some healing is required because without some semblance of normal digestion, it's almost impossible to tell whether or not we are reacting to any given test food, or if we are just reacting to the same old, same old.
There's little point in testing gluten back into your diet. Based on our accumulated experience here, if you have MC, then the odds of you not being sensitive to gluten are almost as good as your chances of winning the lottery.
To be honest, with an overall score of 40, I'm kind of surprised that whomever you talked with at the lab would suggest a rotation diet for 2+ or 3+ foods. That will sometimes work with relatively low overall scores, but with high scores, I would be very cautious about foods that ranked above 1+ (such as foods in the 2+ and 3+ category). If I felt that I just "had" to eat some of those foods, I would forget about the 3+ foods until I had been in stable remission for a year or 2, and then I would consider "testing" them to see if I might be able to tolerate them. I would rotate the 2+ foods on a 3 or 4 day schedule, and keep a detailed food/reaction diary, to track any possible reaction patterns. On the days when you eat a specific food, you can eat it at more than a single meal, if you wish, so long as it is the same day.
And I agree with Linda about oats. Most of us here seem to react to oats, so despite the fact that it shows up on your results as the "safest" grain of the 3 tested, it is almost always the riskiest, because the avenin in oats contains at least 1 autoreactive peptide that is very similar to the alpha gliadin peptide in gluten (in wheat).
FWIW, I too had to avoid corn while recovering, and you are correct — it's in almost everything that's processed, including most GF foods and most drinks, so it's very difficult to avoid. Avoiding corn pretty much rules out processed foods and commercial mixes. I was limited to unsweetened tea and Virgil's Root Beer if I wanted to drink something besides water, because most commercial drinks contain high-fructose corn syrup.
There is a good chance that after a year or so of healing, you may be able to tolerate most of those 11 foods again (I can tolerate corn just fine now), but the key is to allow your digestive system to heal long enough that all those antibodies have time to fade away. Eventually, our immune system forgets that we are sensitive to such foods, if we avoid them long enough, provided that it is not in a stimulated condition (barely below the reaction threshold), because of cross-contamination in the diet with gluten, dairy, or soy.
Do you mind if I add your results to our list?
Tex
Well, at least the results show why you haven't been able to reach complete remission, so now you have the information you need to plan your recovery diet.
Regarding their advice about avoiding foods selectively, many members here just cut them all out and worry about reintroducing/testing them one at a time to see if they might be safely reintroduced after they have been in stable remission for at least a respectable amount of time.
If you prefer to cut them out selectively, then do as they say, and remove the worst ones first. And remove them completely. Just eating less of a food that causes us to produce antibodies does not resolve the problem. We will still produce antibodies to that food even if we eat only tiny amounts — IOW, "all or nothing" usually yields much better results when it comes to avoiding any specific food sensitivity.
Here is some information on elimination diet planning:
Elimination Diet
Basically, the idea of an elimination diet is to eat only a few foods to which you do not react for a long enough period to allow your digestive system to heal enough to begin working normally again. Some healing is required because without some semblance of normal digestion, it's almost impossible to tell whether or not we are reacting to any given test food, or if we are just reacting to the same old, same old.
There's little point in testing gluten back into your diet. Based on our accumulated experience here, if you have MC, then the odds of you not being sensitive to gluten are almost as good as your chances of winning the lottery.
To be honest, with an overall score of 40, I'm kind of surprised that whomever you talked with at the lab would suggest a rotation diet for 2+ or 3+ foods. That will sometimes work with relatively low overall scores, but with high scores, I would be very cautious about foods that ranked above 1+ (such as foods in the 2+ and 3+ category). If I felt that I just "had" to eat some of those foods, I would forget about the 3+ foods until I had been in stable remission for a year or 2, and then I would consider "testing" them to see if I might be able to tolerate them. I would rotate the 2+ foods on a 3 or 4 day schedule, and keep a detailed food/reaction diary, to track any possible reaction patterns. On the days when you eat a specific food, you can eat it at more than a single meal, if you wish, so long as it is the same day.
And I agree with Linda about oats. Most of us here seem to react to oats, so despite the fact that it shows up on your results as the "safest" grain of the 3 tested, it is almost always the riskiest, because the avenin in oats contains at least 1 autoreactive peptide that is very similar to the alpha gliadin peptide in gluten (in wheat).
FWIW, I too had to avoid corn while recovering, and you are correct — it's in almost everything that's processed, including most GF foods and most drinks, so it's very difficult to avoid. Avoiding corn pretty much rules out processed foods and commercial mixes. I was limited to unsweetened tea and Virgil's Root Beer if I wanted to drink something besides water, because most commercial drinks contain high-fructose corn syrup.
There is a good chance that after a year or so of healing, you may be able to tolerate most of those 11 foods again (I can tolerate corn just fine now), but the key is to allow your digestive system to heal long enough that all those antibodies have time to fade away. Eventually, our immune system forgets that we are sensitive to such foods, if we avoid them long enough, provided that it is not in a stimulated condition (barely below the reaction threshold), because of cross-contamination in the diet with gluten, dairy, or soy.
Do you mind if I add your results to our list?
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.
thanks for your replies. Linda, I do eat eggs--my original test was 10 on that, and I rightly or wrongly figured that was close enough to ignore it, what with the need to go GF, SF & DF. My yeast was 20, and I did go on yeast free after about a year of working on the gluten, soy and dairy. After eliminating it from mid April to mid July I found no difference, hope that was long enough to get an accurate result.
Tex, I knew you'd come through for me! Of course you may add these results to the list. And my original test results 2/4/10 might not have gotten in the list since that was when you were in the hospital I think. For the record, in case it didn't:
gluten 221, soy 14, dairy 14, egg, 10, yeast 20.
This really clarifies what was keeping me up nights. I may have misinterpreted the information I was given--I talked to both the receptionist and the nurse, but think I was in a state of shock wondering what the heck I'd be able to eat!
Thanks Again, Beverly
Tex, I knew you'd come through for me! Of course you may add these results to the list. And my original test results 2/4/10 might not have gotten in the list since that was when you were in the hospital I think. For the record, in case it didn't:
gluten 221, soy 14, dairy 14, egg, 10, yeast 20.
This really clarifies what was keeping me up nights. I may have misinterpreted the information I was given--I talked to both the receptionist and the nurse, but think I was in a state of shock wondering what the heck I'd be able to eat!
Thanks Again, Beverly
Thanks. I'll add these results. It appears that I did list your original test results, so you must have been kind enough to have reminded me of them later.
Tex
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.
After much research, I started the elimination diet today. I agree that it makes much more sense to do it that way than to rotate foods I've been diagnosed as being 2+ and 3+. I wanted to run this by the board to see if you think I'm on the right track.
I decided on buckwheat groats and quinoa for my starch. Everything else was in the 2+ & 3+. And since all the meats tested were as well, fish is it for the moment. Sauteed sole in olive oil tonight, doing baked rock fish tomorrow. Wednesday I'll get some bison and lamb, maybe turkey if I can find a small piece.
I bought a 20# box of apples from the farm store, made 7 quarts of applesauce, really good. We've had bananas, and broccoli. Also have patty pan squash from garden (my last 2 of the season) and some yellow wax beans just starting to come on.
When comes to the testing phase, I can't see even testing the 2+ and 3+ items until I test the meager things remaining. Just thought one of the things I definitely ingest every day would be homemade hemp milk. So that will be one of the first, then when I can get to a rotation phase I can start at the bottom and work my way up. Might need to wait a while on that though.
Does this sound like I'm on the right track? Any other suggestions/comments will be greatly appreciated.
Beverly
I decided on buckwheat groats and quinoa for my starch. Everything else was in the 2+ & 3+. And since all the meats tested were as well, fish is it for the moment. Sauteed sole in olive oil tonight, doing baked rock fish tomorrow. Wednesday I'll get some bison and lamb, maybe turkey if I can find a small piece.
I bought a 20# box of apples from the farm store, made 7 quarts of applesauce, really good. We've had bananas, and broccoli. Also have patty pan squash from garden (my last 2 of the season) and some yellow wax beans just starting to come on.
When comes to the testing phase, I can't see even testing the 2+ and 3+ items until I test the meager things remaining. Just thought one of the things I definitely ingest every day would be homemade hemp milk. So that will be one of the first, then when I can get to a rotation phase I can start at the bottom and work my way up. Might need to wait a while on that though.
Does this sound like I'm on the right track? Any other suggestions/comments will be greatly appreciated.
Beverly
Hi Beverly,
Yes, that sounds like a good plan, with these possible caveats:
A few of us are sensitive to buckwheat, if I recall correctly, so you may have to keep an eye on it for a while. Also, some quinoa is cross-contaminated with gluten, unfortunately. If you buy a kosher brand, you will avoid that risk.
Before the turn of the previous century, after the government promoted an extermination program for bison, in a cruel and misguided attempt to starve out western native American tribes, bison populations were so low and some survivors were so scattered, that many stragglers joined herds of cattle, and cross-bred with domestic cattle. And over the years, some bison ranchers have occasionally intentionally cross-bred them with domestic cattle in order to breed out some of the serious health defects that creep into a herd after decades of inbreeding. Therefore, virtually all bison today carry small percentages of domestic cattle DNA. Venison should be a safe choice, and so is rabbit, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, antelope, etc.
You may also need to keep an eye on some species of fish, because some other species may cross-react with tuna, but that's impossible to predict, since we are all different.
You're off to a good start. Best of luck with your treatment, and please keep us posted.
Tex
Yes, that sounds like a good plan, with these possible caveats:
A few of us are sensitive to buckwheat, if I recall correctly, so you may have to keep an eye on it for a while. Also, some quinoa is cross-contaminated with gluten, unfortunately. If you buy a kosher brand, you will avoid that risk.
Before the turn of the previous century, after the government promoted an extermination program for bison, in a cruel and misguided attempt to starve out western native American tribes, bison populations were so low and some survivors were so scattered, that many stragglers joined herds of cattle, and cross-bred with domestic cattle. And over the years, some bison ranchers have occasionally intentionally cross-bred them with domestic cattle in order to breed out some of the serious health defects that creep into a herd after decades of inbreeding. Therefore, virtually all bison today carry small percentages of domestic cattle DNA. Venison should be a safe choice, and so is rabbit, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, antelope, etc.
You may also need to keep an eye on some species of fish, because some other species may cross-react with tuna, but that's impossible to predict, since we are all different.
You're off to a good start. Best of luck with your treatment, and please keep us posted.
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.
Ouch! that said, I do promise not to shoot the messenger, the information you provided is very important.
I don't think I'm reacting to buckwheat, but will watch for it. I notice that there are some buckwheat pastas available, if the grains don't seem to bother me, will try them.
I saw an article by the celiac people re the cross reactivity of quinoa. It said they tested 15 cultivars and found 2 that were cross reactive, so recommended contacting the company to check it out. I called the Truroot people that Costco uses, and they promised to check to see if they could find out and will email me. Of course I'll share that information if I get it.
The information about bison is confusing--does that mean that it should be avoided completely if you're reactive to beef, at least in this elimination diet?
As for the list of safe meats I have access to--other than if I illegally shot a deer in my front yard--I can find whole duck or duck breast, and that's about it. Maybe a goose around Christmas, but my only experience with cooking one was a dismal failure, we couldn't even get our Irish Wolfhound to eat it. He couldn't get a bite off of it and finally gave up! I know they will eat poultry because one of them stole the remains of our Thanksgiving turkey when we had our back turned one year.
When I talked to Enterolab Phyllis mentioned that salmon is particularly cross reactive with tuna, so am avoiding that. Costco usually has fresh rock fish and sole, so hope it will be ok.
Do you think ghee would be ok? I've seen olive oil and coconut oil mentioned as acceptable oils.
Thanks so much for your help.
Beverly
I don't think I'm reacting to buckwheat, but will watch for it. I notice that there are some buckwheat pastas available, if the grains don't seem to bother me, will try them.
I saw an article by the celiac people re the cross reactivity of quinoa. It said they tested 15 cultivars and found 2 that were cross reactive, so recommended contacting the company to check it out. I called the Truroot people that Costco uses, and they promised to check to see if they could find out and will email me. Of course I'll share that information if I get it.
The information about bison is confusing--does that mean that it should be avoided completely if you're reactive to beef, at least in this elimination diet?
As for the list of safe meats I have access to--other than if I illegally shot a deer in my front yard--I can find whole duck or duck breast, and that's about it. Maybe a goose around Christmas, but my only experience with cooking one was a dismal failure, we couldn't even get our Irish Wolfhound to eat it. He couldn't get a bite off of it and finally gave up! I know they will eat poultry because one of them stole the remains of our Thanksgiving turkey when we had our back turned one year.
When I talked to Enterolab Phyllis mentioned that salmon is particularly cross reactive with tuna, so am avoiding that. Costco usually has fresh rock fish and sole, so hope it will be ok.
Do you think ghee would be ok? I've seen olive oil and coconut oil mentioned as acceptable oils.
Thanks so much for your help.
Beverly
You have a great attitude about your test results. I hope you see improvement quickly. I love ground lamb and it's pretty reasonable compared to other off meats. You can also get some Deli turkey. Just make sure it doesn't have sulphites ( if you can).
Ghee might contain some of the protein of milk, so if you react to casein, you might react to ghee. I'm in pretty good shape and I haven't even gone there yet :)
Good luck
leah
Ghee might contain some of the protein of milk, so if you react to casein, you might react to ghee. I'm in pretty good shape and I haven't even gone there yet :)
Good luck
leah
Beverly,
I would stick to pork a couple times a week, and I agree with Leah that lamb might be a good choice to try. Lamb is an easily digested form of animal protein. You can order venison, elk etc. from the internet, too, and jerky.
I live in PA and am lucky that my family hunts and I get a supply of wild game to consume. I never ate venison or elk before my Enterolab results!
Since your egg result was 10, maybe you could try eating just the yolk a few times a week?
Good luck!!!!
I would stick to pork a couple times a week, and I agree with Leah that lamb might be a good choice to try. Lamb is an easily digested form of animal protein. You can order venison, elk etc. from the internet, too, and jerky.
I live in PA and am lucky that my family hunts and I get a supply of wild game to consume. I never ate venison or elk before my Enterolab results!
Since your egg result was 10, maybe you could try eating just the yolk a few times a week?
Good luck!!!!
Linda :)
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
I have to agree that the information is confusing, because we have no way of knowing which genes have been modified. It's certainly possible that the changes are irrelevant to our food sensitivities. Obviously the safest policy would be to avoid bison, but since beef is only a 2+ bison might work, especially on a rotation basis, where you eat it 1 day, and then skip it for a couple of days before eating it again. But of course there's a possibility that it might be perfectly safe.Beverly wrote:The information about bison is confusing--does that mean that it should be avoided completely if you're reactive to beef, at least in this elimination diet?
The main problem with quinoa is not cross-reativity. It's actual contamination with glutenous grains during the drying process. Quinoa does not dry naturally on the stalk, so farmers have to spread it to dry in the sun after harvest, and some have traditionally mixed it with dry barley or oats, for example, in order to speed up the drying process. Here's a past discussion about the issue:
If You've Ever Reacted To Quinoa, This May Be Why
Unfortunately, the original article that I quoted from is no longer available on the Internet, so the link that I listed in my original post no longer works (but you can still read the quote from the article). Anyway, that's why I recommended buying a Kosher brand.
Some of us can tolerate ghee, but I agree with Leah. The problem is that making ghee is not a fail-proof process. It's made by filtering out (or settling out) coagulated casein. So the purity depends on the quality of the separation process, which can vary tremendously from one to another. Therefore whether or not we react to ghee depends to some extent on our degree of sensitivity to casein, and to some extent on our luck of the draw.
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.