Enterolab Results

[onebigpill]

Well, shoot. Not great test results. A few questions, if you have time. I'm having a difficult time processing this..

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 74 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 38 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 34 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
Fecal Anti-soy IgA 16 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 31 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: Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+): Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+): Food to which there was significant and/or the most immunological reactivity (3+):

White potato (None)

Oat (2+)
Rice (2+)
Chicken (2+)
Beef (2+)
Pork (2+)
Almond (2+)
Walnut (2+)

Corn (3+)
Tuna (3+)
Cashew (3+)

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: 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: Almond
Nut toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Walnut

So, most gluten free foods have Rice that replaces the flour. That's out.
Most non dairy milk I see is almond milk and oat milk. That's out.
How will I ever eat outside my home?
Life is looking so complicated. (no suicidal thoughts, just having trouble envisioning the future)

This is ONEBIGPILL to swallow!

[tex]

Nice pun at the end of your post.

Yes, those are not great results, but they're somewhat common, for many of us. Despite the apparent obstacles, a safe recovery diet is certainly possible, and putting the disease into remission is doable. And it helps to listen to our body. There are plenty of safe proteins, including turkey, lamb, cabrito (kid goat), goose, duck, pheasant, rabbit, venison, etc. Shellfish are also a safe option, including clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp, prawns, lobsters, crabs, etc. Carbs are not essential parts of the diet, only protein and fat are essential for a healthy diet.

Fortunately, potatoes are safe for you, and if you choose to eat other carbs, you'll need to concentrate on vegetables and tubers, with all of the common grains off limits. There are grain substitutes, such as quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat, but it's usually more practical to get your carbs from sources such as carrots, cauliflower, turnips, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, and green beans.

If you haven't recently reviewed the information in the newsletter at the following link, you will probably find it beneficial to carefully reread that newsletter:

https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 479987.pdf

Please don't hesitate to ask, anytime you have a question. It's better to be safe, than to be sorry. This is a cruel disease, but we can keep it under control, with dedication, patience and perseverance.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Getting the results can be a shock at first and you are not the first.

Regarding eating out - as we talk about in the guidelines to recovery section avoiding processed foods is the best way to managed MC.
this applies at home and eating out.

Eat out at places where you can get meat and cooked vegetables type meals in a gluten free safe environment.
with recent focus on Keto and carnivore type eating plans, I have found it easy to get protein focused meals.

I have managed to juggle things so I can attend car shows / racing events for full days or weekends
1. Take my own safe snacks
2. check menu options / safe eating places before you go
3. if socialising at friends place, I will take my own meal to heat up at their place
4. I stay at Air BNB type locations that I can reheat my own pre made meals

my motto in these situations is progress not perfection - we can't avoid EVERY toxin,100%, all of the time
Life with MC is avoiding our major triggers, reduce inflammation in our bodies, heal and then in time most people can handle small amounts of low inflammation type ingredients in small amounts.


I recently had surgery and knowing that hospital system could not provide safe meals, I took my own safe meals in small cooler bag to get me through the first 24 hours. I had additional pre made meals in my fridge that my friend could bring to me should I have needed them
yes it is a bit painful - but having safe meals and having minimal symptoms / being well is worth the effort.

My room mate in hospital also had multiple dietary requirements and had major diabetic episode as the hospital could not provide the correct foods for her. From now on she is going to take her own safe meals like I did so she can eliminate risk of future issues

hope this helps

[onebigpill]

Thank you both. My results were really surprising to me. Especially that Oats, Rice, Tuna, Almonds, Walnuts and Pork. I rarely ate those things.

Can you help me with a few questions, based upon your experiences? First let me give you some background. I started WD in May. Completely out of control. In late June, I learned it was LC. I started budesonide in July to help me handle a trip overseas that I didn't want to miss (big family thing). Though I was on budesonide, I've mostly been eating Lamb, Sweet Potatoes, Zucchini, Squash, and Turkey. I did eat some gluten free ready made products off the shelf, because I hadn't received IGA results. I got those results recently, so now moving back to a much more restricted diet, that doesn't include gluten free processed foods, since most have rice (I can't have that), milk (can't have that), oats (can't have that), almonds (can't have that). I am tapering budesonide. Was on 9mg for 3 months. Currently, 2 weeks into taking 6 mg one day then 9 mg the next. May start to move to 6mg per day this week. The doctor hasn't helped me with this. They just say, sure you can try that. No real prescriptive guidance for slower than normal taper.

So back to basics for me. I know you can't know what I can eat safely, but I would like to pull on your vast experience with others in this group, in the event there are learnings about some choices I'd like to consider for elimination diet add ons.

For protein, I used to focus on chicken, eggs and yogurt. Now, given my sensitivity to Chicken, Eggs, and Casein, I'm wondering if I can try Salmon, Halibut, or other fish. Tests showed I cannot eat Tuna. I'm not big on shellfish, but maybe I have to revisit that.

What about pea protein? It's sometimes in protein drinks.

Concerning casein, many may change to almond milk or oat milk, but those are both bad for me. Has anyone tried Macadamia Nut milk? What other milk replacements are there that could work?

Given my sensitivity to almonds and walnuts, do I consider peanut butter a choice or no?

Is there a particular diet plan that is best for us to look into? Carnivore, low fodmap, mediterranean, anti-inflammatory? I'm not sure carnivore is a great choice for me, given the limitations on beef, chicken, tuna and pork.

In the test results from Enterolab, where it says some foods have most, intermediate, or least reactivity, does that mean that I might be able to eat some of the items with least reactivity? It might cause inflammation or it might cause diarrhea. If it doesn't cause diarrhea, do I consider it an item I might be able to have some of the time? Or none of the time??

If someone achieves remission, though I don't know how to measure or identify that if I get there, can I possibly eat some of these food items without diarrhea?

Really appreciate your guidance and advice.

Onebigpill (aka, someone who doesn't like putting my name on internet postings)

P.S. Would love to talk on the phone who is also learning to navigate this mess. I'm in the U.S.

[jbrohlr]

Hello onebigpill,

I find that keeping it simple is the best route. My diet consists of lamb, turkey (without preservatives), sweet potatoes and water. I also made a mantra of Tex's quote "Eat to live, don't live to eat".

The low variety route also makes it easier to track down the culprit when symptoms flare up.

John R.

[tex]

For protein, I used to focus on chicken, eggs and yogurt. Now, given my sensitivity to Chicken, Eggs, and Casein, I'm wondering if I can try Salmon, Halibut, or other fish. Tests showed I cannot eat Tuna. I'm not big on shellfish, but maybe I have to revisit that.

As your gastroenterologist would say, "Sure, you can try that", but most of us who are sensitive to tuna, are also sensitive to salmon. That's an individual issue, so there are no specific guidelines.

What about pea protein? It's sometimes in protein drinks.

Most of us who are sensitive to soy are also sensitive to most legumes, and that includes pea protein.

Concerning casein, many may change to almond milk or oat milk, but those are both bad for me. Has anyone tried Macadamia Nut milk? What other milk replacements are there that could work?

It appears that many (probably most) of us who are sensitive to almonds, can drink almond milk, or cashew milk, without reacting, but of course there are no guarantees that this would work for everyone. I've tried hemp milk, but it causes bloating for me. The trouble with rice milk, is that it contains a very small percentage of the barley malt that's used to start the fermentation process used by the manufacturer, so it might work for some of us, but not for others.

Given my sensitivity to almonds and walnuts, do I consider peanut butter a choice or no?

You're looking at the wrong category. Peanuts are a legume, making them off limits for those of us who are sensitive to soy. Back when I first discovered my sensitivity to soy, I had eaten a batch of peanuts, and they caused by digestive system to stop (ileus, in medical terms). So I ordered an EnteroLab test, and sure enough, I had developed a soy sensitivity, despite the fact that a soy test made about six or seven years earlier was negative.

Is there a particular diet plan that is best for us to look into? Carnivore, low fodmap, mediterranean, anti-inflammatory? I'm not sure carnivore is a great choice for me, given the limitations on beef, chicken, tuna and pork.

Diets have to be individually customized for MC patients. That said, An original carnivore diet would probably work, because when we evolved, carnivores ate wild game. Modern carnivore diets allow modern (domesticated) meats, and those are a problem for many MC patients.

In the test results from Enterolab, where it says some foods have most, intermediate, or least reactivity, does that mean that I might be able to eat some of the items with least reactivity? It might cause inflammation or it might cause diarrhea. If it doesn't cause diarrhea, do I consider it an item I might be able to have some of the time? Or none of the time??

That would be more likely to be true if you had a low score for the 11 other antigenic foods, but your score was 31, which is relatively high. That suggests that you might be able to tolerate category 1 foods on a rotational basis, but you had no category 1 foods. It's not impossible that you might be able to tolerate some of the category 2 foods on a rotational basis, but that certainly isn't chiseled in stone. The inflammation will subside, and your intestines will heal faster if you avoid those category 2 foods, and you certainly need to avoid the category 3 foods.

Why does almost everyone keeps searching for variety in their diet when they are trying to recover? John is right on the money with his advice. Our food is our medicine. We don't need variety. If you're hungry, eat more of the foods that you know are absolutely safe, rather than searching for additional options that may put you back on square one. When recovering from MC, the old saying that, "It's Better to Be Safe Than Sorry", is the most valuable guideline we can possibly follow.

If someone achieves remission, though I don't know how to measure or identify that if I get there, can I possibly eat some of these food items without diarrhea?

While the definition of remission seems to vary by the individual, because we'll end up with a new diet, and bowel habits depend on our diet, ideally, our bowel pattern should be very similar to what it was before we developed MC. In other words, if we ate safe foods, that are not highly spiced, we'll have normal bowel movements. If we eat a big plate of Mexican food, or some other highly spiced dish, well probably have diarrhea after the meal, just as we did before we developed MC.

I hope this helps,

Tax

[onebigpill]

Thank you all.

Tex, this is exacty the type of information I was hoping to learn (tuna sensitivity may show up as salmon sensitivity, pea protein is a legume, etc).

John, my diet has been essentially your diet, lamb, turkey, sweet potatoes. I eat ground lamb a lot and it's high in fat. While traveling overseas, I was able to buy lamb loins with very little added fat. I'm curious what kind of lamb your buy and fix. I also have zucchini and yellow squash, which is a nice change from sweet potatoes sometimes.

Gabes, your ability to navigate being out gives me some hope. I'm trying to take frozen food from home and heat it up in a microwave when traveling. It works most of the time.

Thanks,
Onebigpill

[jbrohlr]

I eat whole cuts of lamb (loin chops and shoulders). I used to eat ground lamb, but I think I got a cross-contaminated batch a little over a year ago, so I avoid ground meats now.

Right now I cut the fat strips off of the lamb because my ability to digest fat is compromised. I inhaled some spackle three months ago and it's possible that spackle has gluten as an ingredient (according to a Celiac site). I have not been able to verify that claim but being glutened (slightly) would certainly explain my mild symptoms.

John R.

[onebigpill]

Thanks John. Wish I could send you a pic of the lamb loins I got overseas, here, they chop them. There, they sold them as pristine cuts with no fat. It was a wonderful find, but haven’t found that here.