Help with Enterolab Results--Kris (arizwldcat)

[arizwldcat]

Okay, got my test results back ( wow, were they ever fast! They received my sample on Thursday and it's Monday morning.) Lots of surprises here. Most of my reactions appear to be mild. They seem to recommend just eliminating foods that had the strongest reaction first, correct? Any help/advice is appreciated--Kris


Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score Less than 300 Units (Normal Range is less than 300 Units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 33 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 19 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 13 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 14 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value # Antigenic Foods 15 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 15 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:




Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score Less than 300 Units (Normal Range is less than 300 Units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 33 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 19 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 13 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 14 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value # Antigenic Foods 15 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 15 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:
Almond
Cashew

Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+):
Corn
Oat
Rice
Tuna
Chicken
Pork
Beef
Walnut
White potato

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

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: Pork
Meat toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Beef

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

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.




TEST INTERPRETATION(S):


Interpretation of Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: Provided that dietary fat is being ingested, a fecal fat score less than 300 indicates there is no excessive malabsorbed dietary fat in stool, indicating that digestion and absorption of fat and other nutrients is currently normal.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: Intestinal IgA antigliadin antibody was elevated, indicating that you have some residual dietary gluten sensitivity, although the value is greater than your previous result. Although antigliadin antibody can be produced in measurable quantities in the intestine for months, even a few years after going on a gluten free diet, gluten may be in your diet unknowingly (in food not preprared by you including by restaurants and relatives, who may not realize even a little bit goes a long way; in medications; in foods labeled gluten-free by a manufacturer that actually contain trace amounts of gluten; in non-food items like toothpaste or cosmetics, etc.). Increased levels of antigliadin antibody following a strict gluten-free diet may also reflect a more healthy immune system, which in the past, because of gluten sensitivity, was not able to make as much antibody as it should have when exposed to gluten; so the higher value now may in fact be a sign of improvement. Regardless of the reason, it is recommended that you maintain a strict gluten free diet.

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.

Interpretation of Mean Value # Antigenic Foods: Not yet categorized

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.”

For more information about result interpretation, please see http://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/FaqResult.aspx
To order a paid consultation with an EnteroLab professional call 972-686-6869
Stool analysis performed and/or supervised by: Frederick Ogunji, Ph.D., EnteroLab
Interpretation of all results by: Kenneth D. Fine, M.D., EnteroLab
Thank You For Allowing EnteroLab to Help You Attain Optimum Intestinal And Overall Health.

[karen757]

Wow! I am new to this and just ordered my test kit last week. I am looking forward to my results. Did you pay for extra analysis or is this the amount of information I should expect too? Thanks.

[arizwldcat]

I just got the A-1 and C-1 panels that they recommend (it was on a Christmas sale :))

[tex]

Kris,

It appears that you definitely need to avoid all traces of gluten, dairy, soy, and chicken egg, but your other results are indeed mild. If it were me I keep a journal and take notes on my responses to corn, oat, tuna, walnut. You may or may not need to avoid them, but your journal data should help you decide whether any or all of them are OK, or they need to be minimized, or they should be avoided completely. The reason why I included oats is because the avenin in oats is very similar to the gluten in wheat and most of us here react to it. It usually takes longer to react to it because it's a weaker antigen than gluten.

Would you like for me to add your results to the permanent list here for future reference, or would you rather I didn't?

Tex

[arizwldcat]

Replying to my own message... I feel a little confused at where to start, or whether to just keep on keeping on. The diet is working (no gluten, dairy, soy, or eggs, no fresh fruit or veggies, no fiber). Had an appointment with my GI, who was impressed that the diet alone was working (despite a couple of setbacks probably brought on my reintroducing supplements before I had healed). When I told him about the Enterolab test, however, he was not at all supportive, and actually got angry...calling Dr Fine a quack. But he didn’t really listen to what the test entailed, wouldn’t even listen to thename of the doctor or the lab...but since he made his opinion on it so clear, I cannot even discuss this with him. He wants me to comeback in a couple of months and start budesonide if the diet isn’t working for some reason.

[arizwldcat]

Thanks for replying, Tex, yes, go ahead and publish. The more info for people, I think, the better...
Also, what about white potato?

[tex]

OK thanks, I'll add it to the list. You might add potatoes to the list of foods you are keeping notes on, but I doubt it will turnout to be a problem. It can contribute to arthritis symptoms if you have any, otherwise it should be OK. If you have any trouble digesting Russet potatoes, switch to red or yellow potatoes or just about any variety other than Russets. Russet potatoes are harder to digest than most others because of the type of starch they contain.

Tex

[brandy]

Once you get going on the diet I think you will be able to cancel your future doctor appointment.

[arizwldcat]

I hope so, Brandy!