Enterolab

Discussions can be posted here about stool testing for food sensitivities, as offered by Enterolab.

Moderators: Rosie, JFR, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh

Post Reply
User avatar
nancyl
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 780
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:42 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Enterolab

Post by nancyl »

I have a question about Enterolab. Has anyone ever gotten negative results? I am just curious. I'm sure my MC is being triggered by something and am thinking of going the way of Enterolab. I eat bread and lots of foods with gluten and don't seem to be bothered. I've been fine for about 45 days and ate a couple of bites of fresh pineapple and had a slight flare for half a day. I waited a couple of days and tried it again and the same thing happened. My GI doctor calls it a mild case and does not want to prescribe meds, which is OK with me. I only eat veggies that are well cooked, eat a lot of chicken, potatoes, pastas. I am dying for a good salad, but don't dare eat anything not cooked well. I also have to stay away from deserts.

Nancy
Celie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 191
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Mississippi

Post by Celie »

Hi Nancy,
Many of us have permitted Tex to post our results. You can see them on the board at the link below.

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10089

Celie
User avatar
nancyl
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 780
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:42 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Post by nancyl »

Thanks so much for posting that. Now my next question; if one has been diagnosed with MC and all tests come back within normal range, and this is not caused by meds., where do you go from there to try to figure out what is causing the D or lose stools? Could an inflammation be caused by fresh fruits or fiber? My doc. seems to think it can go away on it's own. I'm not so sure about that after reading this forum.

Nancy
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35066
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Nancy,

As you can see by the results, at least a couple of members have come up with all negative results. Shonda and no-more muffins, come to mind, for example. As Dr. Fine explains with the literature that comes with the test results, it is possible to occasionally get a false negative result, because of the nature of the tests. For one thing, determining the cut-off point for the line between positive and negative results requires statistical analysis that introduces the possibility of a statistical error, and in addition to that, the individual tests are so specific, that they test for only one protein, (allergen), the one most likely to cause a reaction for that particular food. For example, gluten contains almost a hundred different peptides that are known to cause a reaction for some celiacs. Some are major problems, and some cause minor issues for most celiacs. The worst offender is the alpha gliadin peptide, so that is the one that the Enterolab tests measure.

It is theoretically possible that someone might not be sensitive to the alpha gliadin peptide, but still be very sensitive to the beta, gamma, or delta peptide, or one or more of the many glutenin peptides. That would cause a false negative test result, of course. In defense of the testing protocol, if all of the minor peptides were tested for, very, very few of us would be able to afford the test, because it would be extremely expensive. FWIW, the celiac blood tests also test only for antibodies to the alpha gliadin peptide. In fact, there are no tests available to test for the other peptides, and there are no tests available to test for any hordein, (barley), peptides, or secalin, (rye), peptides, or avenin, (oat), peptides, for that matter. It is simply assumed that if someone is sensitive to the alpha gliadin peptide, then they will also be sensitive to many/most of those other reactive peptides, (but they cannot be tested for, using currently available tests).

IOW, in order to make these tests practical and affordable, a tradeoff between versatility, and cost has to be made. Dr. Fine's advice is that when someone receives a negative test result, but they seem to react to the food, anyway, then it was probably a false negative result, and the food should be avoided.

Of course, another cause of false negative results is selective IgA deficiency. If one's immune system is not capable of producing normal amounts of immunoglobulin A, then all tests that rely on IgA testing would show artificially low test results. About one person in 300 in this country has selective IgA deficiency. (It can be tested for, of course.)

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
User avatar
nancyl
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 780
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:42 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Post by nancyl »

Thank you Tex, I now understand it a bit more. There is so much to this disease. Interesting about the IgA deficiency. My granddaughter is w/out IgA, not just deficient and has to have a blood tranfusion once a month. They told her it was genetic.

I will most likely look into the testing as soon as I get back from my vacation.

Nancy
Post Reply

Return to “Discussions About Enterolab Testing”