Got my lab report from EnteroLab

[dolson]

I have been feeling better. I don't live in the bathroom. I feel happier and brain fog and depression/anger is subsiding. Plus I've met great people on this forum. Yea!!!!!

I, like everyone else gets confused when they get their EnteroLab report. Here it is:

Quant. MC Fecal Fat Score Less than 300 units (normal Range is less than 300 units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 17 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA 14 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 6 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-soy IgA 8 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)
Mean Value # Antigenic Foods 6 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 6 units (Normal Range is less than 10 units)

Food to which no significant immunological reactivity: Corn, Rice, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Tuna, Almond, Walnut, Cashew, White potato

Some immunological reactivity (1+) Oat

I am pleasantly surprised with this report. I expected to be immune to everything. Milk and bread (Oat) has made me sick but no diarrhea when I was a kid. All those years I was damaging my gut.

Could y'all tell me what is Anti-gliadin IgA? Could anyone help with this report. The Anti-gladin report (17 units) units is something I don't understand. It mentioned neuropsychiatric and other stuff??????

Overall, I am healing. Dorothy

[tex]

Hi Dorthy,

Yes, that report's not bad at all. Most of us don't come out so well. It appears that you only have to avoid gluten and dairy. The individual scores (17 and 14) aren't associated with severity of clinical symptoms. Rather, they are a relative indication of how long you've been reacting to them. I'd recommend that you avoid oats also, even though your score was very low, simply because virtually all of us appear to be sensitive to oats.

Here's an explanation of wheat gluten. To save writing, I'll just quote from the book (pages 90–91).

Gluten is the name given to certain storage proteins found in all grains. While “gluten” is the generic term used to describe those storage proteins in any grain, it actually refers to certain protein fractions with specific agglutinating properties. Gluten is a Latin word, meaning “glue”, and “to agglutinate” means to adhere together.

Gluten is the component in wheat flour that allows the dough to stick together, gives the dough its elasticity, and allows it to “rise”, so that it can be used for baking bread and various pastries. Gluten is comprised of two protein fractions, prolamins and glutelins.

For wheat gluten, for example, the prolamins are called gliadins and the glutelins are known as glutenins. Both of these protein fractions can cause reactions in people who are sensitive to them. Most people who are sensitive to the gluten in wheat are also sensitive to the prolamins found in rye (known as secalin) and barley (known as hordein), and many of those individuals are also sensitive to the prolamin (avenin) found in oats. Other than the glutenins in wheat and the hordenin in barley, the only other grain for which a glutelin is commonly mentioned, is rice. That glutelin is known as orycenin.

Note that wheat contains a number of different gliadin and glutenin peptides to which celiacs are known to react, while rye, barley and oats typically each contain fewer reactive peptides. Altogether though, hundreds of different peptides from this group of grains have been identified to cause immune system responses for people who are sensitive to them (Tye-Din et al., 2010).6 And it’s very likely that others exist that have not yet been investigated and described. Not everyone reacts to the same peptides, of course, but most people who are gluten-sensitive react to the alpha gliadin peptide and a couple of others that are known to be the most problematic.

Here's reference number 6 from that quote:

6. Tye-Din, J. A., Stewart, J. A., Dromey, J. A., Beissbarth, T., van Heel, D. A., Tatham, A., . . . Anderson, R. P. (2010). Comprehensive, quantitative mapping of T cell epitopes in gluten in celiac disease. Science Translational Medicine, 2(41), 41–51. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20650871

Anti-gliadin IgA refers specifically to the antibodies that our immune system produces to the immunoglobulin apha (A) fraction of gliadin. There's also a beta, gamma, and delta fraction, but the alpha fraction is the primary antigen in wheat that causes celiacs to react, so it's the one that's tested for. This is the only antigen that is commonly tested for determining gluten sensitivity, even though there are hundreds of them, and some of the glutenin peptides are just as reactive for most celiacs. I hope I haven't just confused the issue.

Tex

[dolson]

Now that's a lot of information. Should I be careful with rice? I was sick and sick with everything I consumed. This was a gift lab report from Dr. Fine. Why did I wait so long for his lab report? Thanks for the information Tex!!!!!!!!! Dorothy

[tommyboywalker]

Hi Dorothy,

My Enterolab report was similar to yours and you are right, it is VERY encouraging for you! (I can sense an optimism in this post of yours)

With MC, it's nice to get some data to help you along with your diet that will help your gut heal. I know you have been miserable.

I have taken my Enterolab report to heart, changed my diet and am doing very well. No gluten, no dairy, small meals, low fat, low sugar, low fiber is best for me. A bump in the road here and there, but I am very pleased. And I owe this along with my GI doctor, (who is one of the good guys), and Tex and the others on this forum.

I hope the same for you! All the best, please keep us posted!

[dolson]

Are eating smaller meals better than eating a large meal? If you eat a large meal, does the problem lie in our gut that's not healed? How does smaller meals help? I don't like to eat, period. I still experience occasional "D" when I eat nothing but meat, mushy veggies, and applesauce. It could all be size related. Dorothy

[tommyboywalker]

Are eating smaller meals better than eating a large meal? If you eat a large meal, does the problem lie in our gut that's not healed? How does smaller meals help? I don't like to eat, period. I still experience occasional "D" when I eat nothing but meat, mushy veggies, and applesauce. It could all be size related. Dorothy

I have a friend with Ulcerative Colitis and he does better with smaller more frequent meals as well. It is also recommended for Crohn's disease. All are inflammatory conditions of the GI tract.

My belief is that it is just tougher for the gut to handle a high volume of food when there is inflammation or healing occurring. Even though I know my stomach can contain a large amount of food, my GI just runs much smoother with less food to process. I get less stomach noises and feel more comfortable. On the days when I'm home, I try to eat 5 small meals. Other days when I'm out and about, it might be back to 3 meals and those meals are a bit larger than the 5 meal per day plan, but I still try to limit the amount of food at any meal. Anybody else want to chime in on their take on smaller meals?

[dolson]

Appreciate your advice, tommyboy. I know several people on this forum have stated smaller meals are the way to go. We are in the healing stage and gotta give our gut a break. Dorothy

[brandy]

Yes to smaller meals. I also don't do well with late night snacks.

[Erica P-G]

Yes, I don't try to eat meals that stuff me....i eat til i feel ok then i quit, whether there is food left on my plate or not.

I agree with Brandy...late night snacks are out for me too....not saying once in a great while i wont be up late and eat a tiny thing but not a practice.

[tex]

Dorothy,

Rice should be fine. It's rather rare to be sensitive to rice. Rice is possibly the easiest-to-digest grain we have available to us, and it contains a lot of calories. 50 gazillion Chinese (or however many there are) couldn't be wrong. The easiest-to-digest rice is waxy rice, or glutinous rice, which is grown in Southeast and East Asia. Avoid brown rice while you're recovering — it contains too much fiber. The next issue of the MC Foundation Newsletter (due out soon) should contain an article discussing the digestion of starches, and which ones to select during recovery.

Here's one reason why smaller meals are easier for us to digest: When our small intestine is inflamed, it can't produce normal amounts of the enzymes needed to digest certain foods, especially lactose, and most carbohydrates, so with smaller meals we're not as likely to run out of critical enzymes (if we run out, then the digestion of the rest of that meal will be incomplete, resulting in gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc).

Tex

[dolson]

I've never heard of waxy rice or glutinous rice. I may try it.

I take CREON- enzymes for digestion, but still have watery "D." I keep in my mind that I'm healing but my digestive system is wounded. I see blood in the toilet, so it's like a wound trying to heal. I've started eating smaller meals and more protein per
Gabes advice.

I forgot about your MC Foundation Newsletter. I have to get it. I always learn something new from you Tex! Dorothy