Results from Enterolab...

[csitt]

These results are surprising to me because they seem so mild. My symptoms are relatively mild, I think, and I do not take medication. But still, I was hoping for more clarity. Thoughts?


Comprehensive Gluten/Antigenic Food Sensitivity Stool Panel

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 58 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 19 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 9 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 10 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:
Pork
Tuna
Walnut
Cashew
White potato


Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+):
Oat
Corn
Rice
Chicken
Beef
Almond

Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+):
None

Food to which there was significant and/or the most immunological reactivity (3+):
None


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

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

Nuts:
Nut toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Almond




TEST INTERPRETATION(S):


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: A value less than 10 Units indicates that there currently is minimal or no immunologic reaction to soy, and hence no direct evidence of food sensitivity to this specific food. However, some immunocompetent people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, such as chronic headaches, abdominal symptoms (pain, cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea and/or constipation), chronic sinus congestion, arthritis, chronic skin problems/rashes, fibromyalgia, and/or chronic fatigue, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test. If you have been on a diet reduced or devoid of the suspect food for many months or years (usually but not always requires two or more years), this can also (but will not always) reduce your fecal antibody level to that food into the normal range despite underlying ongoing sensitivity to that food.

Interpretation of Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods: With respect to the mean value of the 11 foods tested, overall, there was only a modest amount of immunological reactivity detected to these antigenic foods in terms of fecal IgA production.

Many foods besides gluten, milk, egg, and soy are antigenic in their own right; the main classes of which include other grains, meats, nuts, and nightshades (potatoes being the primary food eaten from this latter class). Minimizing exposure to antigenic foods is an important component of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle to optimize immune system health. This is especially important for those with chronic abdominal symptoms and/or chronic immune/autoimmune syndromes, or for those who want to prevent them.

For immunologic food sensitivity testing, the actual numeric value (in Units) for any given food or for the overall average of a group of foods is important mainly for determining: 1) if the immune reaction is present or absent, and 2) the immune reaction in relative terms to different foods tested in a given individual at a given point in time. It is not a score, per se, to be interpreted as a measure of clinical or immunological severity for that individual or between individuals. This is because the amount of IgA antibody made by a given person is particular for the immune function of that person. Furthermore, sometimes a person can display what can be viewed as immunological and nutritional “exhaustion,” whereby a more significant and symptomatic immunologic food sensitivity is accompanied by a lower positive measured anti-food antibody value (rather than a higher positive). In such an instance, following clinical improvement and improved nutritional status (while the suspect antigenic foods are withdrawn), values can actually be higher for a time before finally falling into the negative range after several years.

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 clinically insignificant (negative); if greater than or equal to 10 Units, they can be considered clinically significant (positive). 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 semi-quantitative terms between the foods tested (1+, 2+, or 3+). 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.

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 should guide you in avoiding the foods to which the highest or most immunologic reaction was detected (and hence, 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.

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.

If you have an autoimmune or chronic inflammatory syndrome, or just want to pursue an optimally healthy diet and lifestyle, avoiding all grains, meats, and nightshades can optimize an anti-inflammatory diet (despite a negative result on food testing). As nuts and seeds are a very healthful source of vegetarian protein and heart-protective oils and minerals, rather than avoiding all nuts and seeds, you can render nuts and seeds less antigenic, more digestible, and more easily tolerated by choosing the few that you seem to best tolerate overall, soaking a one-day supply in a glass jar filled with clean water for 4-8 hours (or for ease, overnight), and pouring off the water and rinsing before eating. The resultant soaked nuts or seeds can be eaten as is (alone or with fresh or dried fruit), blended into nut butters (by adding some water), or added to “smoothies.”

[tex]

Looking at your results, there's no question that you are sensitive to gluten, dairy, and eggs, so that's bad enough. But I agree that the other results are "moderate". I would definitely avoid oats (especially since most of us here are sensitive to oats), and possibly chicken, but I doubt that the other 9 foods in that test will cause any problems for you.

I agree that it could definitely be a lot worse.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

csitt
the mildness of the results depends if you were eating any of the trigger foods

have you been totally avoiding gluten, dairy, and eggs?

the results provide good data as to how to structure your eating plan and avoid MC issues in the future

Everyone is different, and there are many factors that influence inflammation levels.