Food Sensitivity?

[SarahJimMarcy]

Hi everyone!
 

Three years ago, my daughter and I were diagnosed with celiac, went gluten free, and felt significantly better. 

 

Now, I've got stomach issues again, and migraines.

 

The Mayo said it's anxiety and sleep problems. My chiropractor recommended the Whole 30 Elimination Diet. I'm on day 3.

 

Is this the best way to figure out why I started having stomach issues again? How did you figure out your food intolerances and sensitivities? Would love the group's help and wisdom. Thank you!

[StephanieL]

Slow reintroduction. One thing with a minimum of 3 days between new foods (while eating them every day for those 3 days).  There are no tests for food intolerances. 

[notme]

elimination diet and food journal  i would say that is your best bet.  stephanieL is right:  there are no tests for food sensitivities.  

[SarahJimMarcy]

Great information and thank you. 

[1desperateladysaved]

My food antibody tests worked great for me!   I lost my long term fogginess and fatigue (for good) after cutting out the foods they found antibodies too.  When I tried to add them back in, I didn't get the old symptoms of tiredness and foggy mind.  However, my body began to swell and I had lymph congestion problems.  I now went back to eating no foods that I had antibodies to and am losing inflammation.

 

A food rotational diet may also help.  I found it easier to catch culprit foods using this plan.  But also found that if I was eating many foods that I didn't tolerate, the symptoms could be obscured.

 

  My functional medicine nurse told me to wait 4 days before beginning a new food.  The antibodies take 4 days to die down. 

 

Another idea is to eat foods that you have never tried before.  You should not have intolerances to those or have any antibodies to them.  It is important, I believe, to keep as large of variety in your diet as possible.  I found there are more vegetables that I have not heard of then I have heard of.  One can look up a list of vegetables on Wikopedia.  Pick some new ones, or look at the grocery store.  I am going to go looking at foreign grocery shops to increase my variety.  More unusual meat products can often be found at grocery stores and natural food coops.

 

Dee

[MermaidPaz]

I found most of my food intolerances using an elimination diet.  I went on the Autoimmune Protocol, which is similar to the Whole 30.  I had quite a few intolerances for foods so it was impossible to figure out exactly which ones were bothering me most until the reintroductions after the elimination period.  Stick to it and you'll find out what's upsetting you.  Best of luck!

[crazyitch]

Hi, I have been dealing with a rash for almost a year now and ended up on this forum suspecting I had a gluten intolerance.  I have seen several doctors and 2 dermatologists with no real answers so as a last resort I went to see a naturopath.  She recommended I have blood testing done (ELISA=Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbant Assay) to check for food sensitivities.  It took 6 weeks to get my results and I had to pay 400$ but it was the best 400$ I have ever spent.  She identified foods that I have always had an allergy to and also new sensitivities.  I have been eating clean (well as clean as I can considering the multitude of things I have developed intolerances to) and my rash is clearing up.  My rash wasn't just a small patch, it covered most of my body in the most horrible itchy sores that took forever to heal, I was miserable and even went to the hospital emergency twice because it was so awful.  I would encourage anybody who is experiencing anything similar or other issues that the regular medical system isn't helping to try the naturopath route, it has been my salvation!

 

I hope this helps someone who is suffering.....

 

Good Luck to all

Elaine

[StephanieL]

Those tests have no valid scientific backing, are expensive and often severely limit a persons diet unnecessarily. An elimination diet with slow reintroduction is the only true way to get to the bottom of food issues, esp. suspected intolerances. 

[NatureChick]

Though you didn't say what your digestive issues were, my stomach pains were actually a symptoms of a B12 deficiency easily fixed with a supplement. If you've already had vitamin and mineral testing done, the "normal" range for B12 in the U.S. is too low with 200 being considered normal. According to the lab that did my tests, symptoms can arise with levels below 400, and lots of countries have a higher minimum for normal - Japan considering anything below 500 a deficiency.

Otherwise, if keeping a food diary alone didn't help track down culprits, you could google "rotation diets" and see if 3-4 day cycles of eliminating foods wouldn't be easier to follow than a full-on elimination of everything at once.

I suppose I'd familiarize myself with what some of the common intolerances are. Lactose, fructose, eggs, allium, artificial colors, night shades, corn, fructans and polyols, yeast, alcohol, salicylates. The good news is that some food intolerances don't mean you have to skip foods altogether, but simply need to limit quantity or to use other types of foods to balance them. 

[crazyitch]

In regards to the post from Stephanie,

 

"Those tests have no valid scientific backing, are expensive and often severely limit a persons diet unnecessarily. An elimination diet with slow reintroduction is the only true way to get to the bottom of food issues, esp. suspected intolerances"

 

I am not an expert on these issues, I am just saying what worked for me.  $400 may seem an excessive fee for blood testing but compared to the many prescriptions I have filled and the many creams I have purchased and probably would have continued to purchase had I not gone this route, not to mention the agony of the unrelenting itch, I consider it a bargain.  The naturopath has cut out many foods that I will be able to add back in after a 9 month abstinence which seems the same as an elimination diet minus the guesswork.  The testing may be unreliable but it seems to have worked for me and if it could help someone else with similar issues I think it shouldn't be discounted.  Just my opinion.

 

Elaine   
 

[StephanieL]

I know many people who do this and IF you have the money and it's not going to break your bank, go for it!  I just see people who are struggling and sick and think this is going to magically cure everything but that's most likely not the case.  I see 99% of these tests say to go off G, D, E and a few others and add them back. Well that is an elimination diet which could be done very easily with a legal pad and a pen and find out the same things.  

 

Even allergy testing for life threatening allergies is a 50/50 shot.  Intolerance testing, if it was scientifically valid, would have even worse results I fear. These tests seem to lighten the pockets of those doing them and line the ones who suggest them. It makes me nervous for people.  A lot of times these are people with things like Celiac but because a holistic practitioner told them to go off gluten they need to challenge to get an actual dx which is REALLY hard on a person.  These are reasons I would suggest a strict elimination diet over any intolerance testing PERSONALLY.  

 

I'm glad you are feeling better with what you found out and hope your trial go well when you reintroduce things.