Enterolab Results - Interesting - Now What?

[megamoxie]

I received my results late this afternoon, with great excitement:

Strong reactivity to gluten, oats, and beef. Moderate reactivity to sesame seeds, tuna and pork. Absorption of fat and other nutrients normal. No demonstrated reactivity to dairy, but I have been DF for a long time, so that could be in the normal range even if there is underlying sensitivity.

I am on a GF/DF diet already, and I have been staying within a limited zone of what I thought were safe foods. I knew I had trouble with beef and pork. I was somewhat surprised at the reactivity to oats, tuna and sesame seeds. I will now eliminate the foods that came up as reactive on my test, and continue avoiding others not mentioned that have always given me trouble. As far as everything else... does this mean that I can now just start gradually adding more variety to my diet? Is there a recommended approach for this? One thing at a time? any particular order?

Thank you for all the help and advice.

[tex]

Meg,

Many of us are sensitive to oats. That's a very common problem associated with gluten sensitivity. It can take years for gluten antibody levels to return to normal (below the threshold at which a positive test result will occur), because anti-gliadin antibodies have a half-life of 120 days. Therefore the level decays rather slowly. Most other food antibodies have a half-life of roughly 6 days, so those antibody levels decay much, much faster. So you are correct — that's why you still show a significant antibody level for gluten, but a negative result for casein.

The most important result for the 11 additional food sensitivities is the overall score. That score determines the importance to your diet of the various ranked foods. For example, if the overall score is below 10, than it's possible that none of them may be a problem.

Assuming that you are in remission (if you're not, then how would you tell if you react to a food?), the "safe" way to add foods to one's diet is to eat a small amount of a food one day, and if there's no reaction, eat more of it the next day (say, roughly half a normal serving). If there is still no reaction, eat a normal serving on the third day, and if you don't react, you can probably safely add that food to your list of safe foods. Always test foods one at a time, so that if you react, you can pinpoint the cause of the reaction.

The reason for starting with a relatively small quantity for the first meal is that if you are very sensitive to a food, then eating a small amount can help to minimize your reaction and shorten your recovery time. And if you react to a trial food, give your body some time to stabilize again, before trying another "new" food.

You're very welcome, and good luck with your new diet,
Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Meg
to expand on Tex's post above about trying foods. After period of chronic inflammation and then healing, our guts are sensitive, a bit like a baby when you take them from milk to 'solids' - solids being mushed up ingredients.
like a baby, new ingredients will cause a mild reaction in the gut, so dont be surprised if there is some symptoms when you have the first small amount of the ingredient, smelly poop, softer consistency etc. That is why we say to have small amount each day for three days. by third day if there are next to no symptoms, it is a keeper.
if the reaction to a small amount is really really bad, ditch it.

Also keep in mind that for many of us, there are always foods, the ones we can have every day and sometimes foods, I can only have small serve every 2nd or 3rd day. Having too many sometimes foods at the same time will also cause increase in symptoms.

Knowing what are your every day foods are, and which ones are sometimes foods, is worth all the effort! knowing this is what gives you your social life back! that you can safely chose meals at restaurants etc.

Have fun and Happy Healing!!

[Zizzle]

I tested reactive to sesame seeds on a gluten cross-reactivity test, so I strictly avoid them. That means no hummus (made with sesame tahini), and you have to read GF labels carefully, especially for nut bars and bread. Ask for no seeds on sushi rolls too (if you eat them). Sesame seeds are quickly becoming a serious food allergen, and may someday be labeled with the top 8 (they are labeled in Canada).

[Leah]

Meg, you've gotten good advise. The only thing I would add is to be very careful with fiber at first. When we have inflammation, we can "react" to fiber ( raw fruits and veggies, beans, legumes , etc.) without it being a food that you are making antibodies to. I have been able to add many things back in over time. The more healed my gut got, the more likely that I could handle these foods.

leah

[megamoxie]

Tex, my overall score on the additional food sensitivities was a 7. The only one that I showed no reaction to that I will still continue to avoid is dairy - since I've had a (mostly) DF diet for several years, that could have affected the score, and I know that my system does (did) react to dairy. In the pre-MC diagnosis past, I could usually take a lactaid and have a small amount of dairy, but now I won't push it. When things settle down, perhaps I can try that again, if I'm feeling especially brave.

Gabes, I like the concept of the always and sometimes foods. Besides being a sensible approach, it gives me comfort to think that the "sometimes" category foods are not things I must give up completely. It isn't total deprivation (though my thinking on these lines is changing, my feelings are still catching up). The mindfulness training/practice is also really helping. I found a standing body scan guided meditation by Pema Chodron, and I find that when I do that first and follow with meditation, my mind is not as prone to wander during my meditation and it's easier to come back to the breathing. It is hugely helpful with stress management.

Zizzle, I am somewhat sad about saying goodbye to the sesame seeds - I do so love the flavor, and so many things that included them (like the best GF crackers). Pre-MC, my favorite bagel was sesame... I love falafel and hummus... I guess I either have to find a brand of hummus that does not include tahini, or make my own.

While the test mentioned tuna, it did not mention other fish, but I recently had a slight reaction to cod. Along these lines, do I need to worry about other types of seeds? For example, sunflower seeds? I know that nuts and seeds are difficult to digest, and can perhaps be better tolerated ground up, in butters, and in small quantities. Since soy and garbanzos seem to be ok for me, does that mean that other legumes including peanuts should be also?

And yet... despite my slight sadness about the oats and sesame seeds, now that I know about all these things, I feel so much more empowered. It confirmed some of what I already knew through trial and error, and it helps to explain why I continued to have pain, discomfort and flares when I thought I was eating safe foods (things including oats or sesame seeds). There was plenty of good news, too - no reactivity issues with the tree nuts or soy, thank heavens! And no issues with fat or nutrient absorption, either. I am submitting the invoice to my insurance (nothing to lose but a stamp), but even if they deny payment, I feel it was worth every penny and I'm very glad that I did the tests.

Thank you all for your advice and support. I am so glad that I found this forum, and your book, Tex!


Meg

[megamoxie]

Leah, That is an excellent point also. I am very careful about how I eat insoluble fiber. In my trial and error process, I have found that it is usually ok if I have it in small quantities, and either along with or immediately following soluble fiber foods. Perhaps it is psychological or the propaganda has worked on me, but I generally feel best if my diet includes a variety of fruits and veggies, although lately I have found that well-cooked are best tolerated. It is autumn here, so it is a good time for soups! The crock pot is calling.

I am also happy to say that even before getting the results of the tests, my energy level has gradually been improving. It has been slow to come back, but I am miles ahead of where I was just a few months ago.

Progress, and patience.

[tex]

Meg,

With a score of only seven (well below 10), once your gut heals you should have no problems with any of the 11 foods covered by the C1 test. At least that's true in theory — sometimes real world events don't match theory, but the odds are very high that you will be able to tolerate all (or at least most) of those (11) foods again in the future. I don't have complete confidence in oats, because so many of us here react to them (and the avenin protein in oats contains peptides that are very similar to some of the peptides in gluten that cause us to react), but with any luck at all you should be able to tolerate the other foods.

Since soy and garbanzos seem to be ok for me, does that mean that other legumes including peanuts should be also?

Probably. That's usually the case, provided that the soy test result was valid (IOW, provided that you had been eating some soy prior to the test).

You're most welcome.

Tex

[lisaw]

Meg:

You're lucky to not have to avoid soy, as it is in so many things. Good that you have this info now, and can move forward with the foods that work best for you. And like Tex said, can probably add some back moderately after some healing.

Lisa

[megamoxie]

Soy has been a regular part of my diet for some time, so the test for that should be valid. Since I went DF, I use vanilla soy milk instead of milk in things like cereal. I love almonds, but I don't care for the flavor of almond milk as a substitute for cow's milk. I actually love tofu, too.

Unfortunately, I had reactivity to oats anyway... and sadly, I have yet to find a reasonably good store bought GF cookie that doesn't contain oats. I do like cookies as a treat... I might have to start some baking experimentation, or visit our local GF bakery. Or settle for GF toast and jam.

All in all, I do consider myself very lucky with these results.