Well in just over 2 weeks I will getting the MRT testing done. One of my questions to Mary Beth was how will the Imuran affect the results. The answer was once stable on the Imuran that the results would be relavent to how my body reacts to various foods while I am taking that medication. I would imagine to some degree that would also be the same for Entocort.
I know that over the last 8 months of eating GF/SF that I have been seeing other intolerances creeping up to the surface. One of the recent ones was of all things my favorite food salmon. I am not sure if it is how I prepared it in that I do use salt pepper, garlic and olive oil or it is the salmon itself. I have heard that fish does tend to release more histamines than other meats. Hopefully the MRT testing will help out here and in other areas as well
Can anyone describe to me how the MRT testing works and how is it different that for instance the Enterolab testing
--Joe
Getting Ready for MRT
Moderators: Rosie, JFR, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh, mbeezie
Joe,
Enterolab is a stool test that measures secretory IgA and only tests a few foods (gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and yeast). Dr. Fine said he was going to add additional foods to the panel but to date hasn't done so.
MRT stands for Mediator Release Test and it is a blood test that measure 150 foods/foods chemicals. Your blood is exposed to a particular food antigen and response is measured by seeing the mediator response to the antigen. There are literally hundreds of types of mediators, like prostaglandins, TNF, histamine, IL etc. When your body has an inflammatory response, these mediators are called into action. The test does not tell you what ctyokine is reacting but lumps them all together and shows you, by bar graph in the report, lowest to highest response. This is not a "set in stone" response, like IgE allergies, but rather a snapshot of how your body is responding at that time. For example, when you are in remission you may tolerate certain foods better, but when you are flaring you may have more reactions.
Once your dietitian gets the report she will look at the results, consider your history and disease state and build a low inflammatory diet for you. Each food still needs to be tested orally. Most people tolerate most of their "green"/low reactive foods, but there can be some reactive foods that the test missed for one reason or another. Things like celiac disease, lectin intolerance, lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance will not be picked up by this test. There is also the matter of dose-response and also amount of naturally occuring food chemicals. Take tyramine for example (tyramine in foods is known to trigger headache). It is found in aged cheeses, meats, wines, fermented foods and can even develop in some overripe fruits like bananas and avocados. MRT tests for tyramine and you might get a moderately reactive score on that. MRT also test for banana and you not not get a reactive score to banana. But if you eat a rotten banana, you could have a reaction. This is because banana is not the problem, but tyramine is. And if you had that banana with a glass of wine, cheddar and salami, now your tyramine level is very high and you are more likely to react. This is why you need a dietitian to help you figure out what all the results mean. MRT cannot and should not be taken at face value.
You are right that you can lose tolerance to foods that were once well tolerated. You can also gain tolerance back. Some food sensitivites are permanent and some are not. Sometimes by calming the mediator response (low inflammatory diet that is specifically designed for you) you can gain tolerance back. Sometimes people re-test with MRT and once reactive foods have now moved into a safer category. But this is not a green light to go hog wild. These foods should be rotated and eaten in moderation.
Does this answer some of your questions or did I confuse you more?
Mary Beth
Enterolab is a stool test that measures secretory IgA and only tests a few foods (gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and yeast). Dr. Fine said he was going to add additional foods to the panel but to date hasn't done so.
MRT stands for Mediator Release Test and it is a blood test that measure 150 foods/foods chemicals. Your blood is exposed to a particular food antigen and response is measured by seeing the mediator response to the antigen. There are literally hundreds of types of mediators, like prostaglandins, TNF, histamine, IL etc. When your body has an inflammatory response, these mediators are called into action. The test does not tell you what ctyokine is reacting but lumps them all together and shows you, by bar graph in the report, lowest to highest response. This is not a "set in stone" response, like IgE allergies, but rather a snapshot of how your body is responding at that time. For example, when you are in remission you may tolerate certain foods better, but when you are flaring you may have more reactions.
Once your dietitian gets the report she will look at the results, consider your history and disease state and build a low inflammatory diet for you. Each food still needs to be tested orally. Most people tolerate most of their "green"/low reactive foods, but there can be some reactive foods that the test missed for one reason or another. Things like celiac disease, lectin intolerance, lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance will not be picked up by this test. There is also the matter of dose-response and also amount of naturally occuring food chemicals. Take tyramine for example (tyramine in foods is known to trigger headache). It is found in aged cheeses, meats, wines, fermented foods and can even develop in some overripe fruits like bananas and avocados. MRT tests for tyramine and you might get a moderately reactive score on that. MRT also test for banana and you not not get a reactive score to banana. But if you eat a rotten banana, you could have a reaction. This is because banana is not the problem, but tyramine is. And if you had that banana with a glass of wine, cheddar and salami, now your tyramine level is very high and you are more likely to react. This is why you need a dietitian to help you figure out what all the results mean. MRT cannot and should not be taken at face value.
You are right that you can lose tolerance to foods that were once well tolerated. You can also gain tolerance back. Some food sensitivites are permanent and some are not. Sometimes by calming the mediator response (low inflammatory diet that is specifically designed for you) you can gain tolerance back. Sometimes people re-test with MRT and once reactive foods have now moved into a safer category. But this is not a green light to go hog wild. These foods should be rotated and eaten in moderation.
Does this answer some of your questions or did I confuse you more?
Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Mary Beth,
Are you a dietician? You seem to have a very in-depth knowledge of that field and nutrition in general. Excellent post, by the way. It seems like lately there has been information overload on this board, but ina good way.
Rich
Are you a dietician? You seem to have a very in-depth knowledge of that field and nutrition in general. Excellent post, by the way. It seems like lately there has been information overload on this board, but ina good way.
Rich
"It's not what I believe. It's what I can prove." - A Few Good Men
Rich,
Yes, I am a dietitian and also a counsleor, so I wear 2 hats in my practice. Before I got sick I all but gave up my dietitian practice because I prefer counseling. I was very frustrated with the field. Talk about info overload - there is so much nutrition information floating around and it is ever-changing, literally impossible to keep up. Now I limit my dietetics practice to dealing with food sensitivities and a few eating disordered clients.
Mary Beth
Yes, I am a dietitian and also a counsleor, so I wear 2 hats in my practice. Before I got sick I all but gave up my dietitian practice because I prefer counseling. I was very frustrated with the field. Talk about info overload - there is so much nutrition information floating around and it is ever-changing, literally impossible to keep up. Now I limit my dietetics practice to dealing with food sensitivities and a few eating disordered clients.
Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Hi Joe,
Glad you're doing the test as I think you will find it helpful. The more tools we have in our tool chest, the better. I found it interesting that you seem to be reacting to salmon, as it came up as one of my most reactive foods. Fortunately, I don't feel it to be a big loss. The only time I've really enjoyed salmon (smoked), is on a fresh bagel w/cream cheese and onion. However, the bagels here in Colorado cannot compare to the ones in NYC, so I have very rarely eaten it since I moved here going on 5 years now. Of course, I can no longer have dairy or gluten, so that meal would have been out anyway:(.
On the other hand, tilapia came in at a very low reactive reading, so it has actually become one of my favorite foods, as my system seems to do really well with it. I make it crispy fried w/boiled white potatos and well boiled cauliflower. Since I can't use butter, I drizzle olive oil on it, and it is delicious. This is a meal I would never have thought to eat before I did the MRT testing. As the saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention"
. Incidentally, I have bought a couple of cast iron skillets, and really enjoy putting them to use.
Good luck to you - look forward to hearing about your results.
Love,
Kari
Glad you're doing the test as I think you will find it helpful. The more tools we have in our tool chest, the better. I found it interesting that you seem to be reacting to salmon, as it came up as one of my most reactive foods. Fortunately, I don't feel it to be a big loss. The only time I've really enjoyed salmon (smoked), is on a fresh bagel w/cream cheese and onion. However, the bagels here in Colorado cannot compare to the ones in NYC, so I have very rarely eaten it since I moved here going on 5 years now. Of course, I can no longer have dairy or gluten, so that meal would have been out anyway:(.
On the other hand, tilapia came in at a very low reactive reading, so it has actually become one of my favorite foods, as my system seems to do really well with it. I make it crispy fried w/boiled white potatos and well boiled cauliflower. Since I can't use butter, I drizzle olive oil on it, and it is delicious. This is a meal I would never have thought to eat before I did the MRT testing. As the saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention"
. Incidentally, I have bought a couple of cast iron skillets, and really enjoy putting them to use.Good luck to you - look forward to hearing about your results.
Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein