Just Got Back My Enterolab Results -- Need Guidance

[hathor]

That will teach me to throw in some extra tests for the heck of it.

I've gone gluten-free for a month now and was getting used to that. Now I hear I'm sensitive to egg, milk, soy, and yeast. I follow a vegan diet so the egg and milk prohibition doesn't bother me. (I don't know why I'm still showing antibodies to the stuff since I've been basically avoiding them for over 6 years, with only a few exceptions). But soy and yeast?

Does anyone have good web sites or other resources to help me learn what precisely I need to avoid with soy and yeast sensitivities?

I feel like having a good stiff drink, but I can't, right, because that's yeast

[burdee]

That will teach me to throw in some extra tests for the heck of it.

I've gone gluten-free for a month now and was getting used to that. Now I hear I'm sensitive to egg, milk, soy, and yeast. I follow a vegan diet so the egg and milk prohibition doesn't bother me. (I don't know why I'm still showing antibodies to the stuff since I've been basically avoiding them for over 6 years, with only a few exceptions). But soy and yeast?

Does anyone have good web sites or other resources to help me learn what precisely I need to avoid with soy and yeast sensitivities?

I feel like having a good stiff drink, but I can't, right, because that's yeast

I've been gluten, dairy, soy, egg and cane sugar free since August 2006 (gluten-free and casein free since 4/2004). 5 food sensitivies seem like a LOT, but avoiding those is doable. After I eliminate my five reaction sources, I STILL have loads of choices. I can tell you about everything except yeast. I know Ener-G makes yeast free breads. Write or call Enterolab. They are very helpful with answering questions about almost ANYTHING related to food sensitivities. They may even give you a list of what foods contain yeast. I'd also recommend a good food allergies book and/or cookbook. I used several to learn which foods are free of my allergens and what I can cook to avoid those allergies. Do a search on amazon .com for food allergy cookbooks. You may even find some at your local library. Good luck!

BURDEE

[AndreaB]

My family is intolerant to everything but yeast. Not all of us, but we avoid everything anyway. DF, EF, gluten-free, SF.

I do have a thread I've started with some recipes. Need to get the children to bed. If you go into my profile you will see it.

How do you feel? I'll be really curious in a couple weeks. Do you have any unresolved issues with going gluten-free? How long have you been gluten-free?

[AndreaB]

I forgot to say that I used to be on a vegan diet before all this. For me I'm healthier eating meat again. If you can tolerate legumes you may be ok though. Can you eat all kinds of fruits/veggies?

[hathor]

I just found a gluten-free bread I liked and now I need one that doesn't have yeast. I'm sure I'll find something eventually.

I will take your advice and write to Enterolab. Particularly with the yeast sensitivity, I'm not quite sure what I have to avoid. Lists I've found on the internet deal with diets to follow when you have yeast infections and throw in other things to avoid. Plus, my level is only just above the mimimum; maybe yeast isn't that big a deal for me. I think the yeast thing may be the hardest for me.

Five sensitivities seem like a LOT, you're right, and those are the only five they tested. I wonder if I'm sensitive to anything else. I hesitate to find out! My theory is that my gluten intolerance caused a leaky gut, allowing different proteins out into my blood which caused antibodies to be formed against those things as well.

Thing is, I don't feel that bad, certainly not in comparison to a number of people on this board. The symptoms I noticed seemed minor and improved quite a bit after I cut out gluten (only returning a couple times when I messed up).

Do you find you have to limit even the tiniest bit of soy, like one has to do with gluten? Looking at labels at home I find all these things with a little soy way down the ingredients list. It isn't like I have an immediate allergic reaction. Indeed, it is wheat (or gluten) that causes a somewhat delayed histimine-type response from me.

Thanks for your advice. I'll try to find a good allergy cookbook that also has lists of ingredients to avoid. It is the hidden stuff that is going to keep me busy, I think.

[hathor]

My family is intolerant to everything but yeast. Not all of us, but we avoid everything anyway. DF, EF, gluten-free, SF.

I do have a thread I've started with some recipes. Need to get the children to bed. If you go into my profile you will see it.

How do you feel? I'll be really curious in a couple weeks. Do you have any unresolved issues with going gluten-free? How long have you been gluten-free?

It is the yeast thing that has me puzzled, because I'm not quite sure what all I have to avoid. As I mentioned to burdee, lists I've seen throw in all sorts of things that don't really contain yeast, but they are for dealing with yeast infections. I don't think I've ever had one of those. I'm going to ask Enterolab. Heck, they are the ones that told me I have to avoid it!

I will look up your recipe thread.

I don't know that I have any unresolved issues with going gluten-free. I had found gluten-free substitutes for bread, pasta, etc. that I liked and I thought everything was hunky dory. I was feeling pretty good (I went gluten-free in early January) -- except a couple times I got lazy and accidentally glutened myself (or I assume it was that). But now I see that the things I'd found all have yeast and/or soy; the bagels have dairy and egg in them, but I was willing to have the little bit to enjoy a bagel again.

Oh, I sound like such a whiner. I think I was just thrown for a loop by the results and not knowing precisely what I have to give up made it worse. I'm sure once I get a firm grasp of what I can and can't eat -- and get used to it -- I'll be fine. It isn't as if I ever had really bad symptoms to begin with. Maybe I'll surprise myself and feel better than I can ever recall feeling.

The only persistent problem I have now is night sweats. But I'm menopausal. I don't know if cutting any of this other stuff out is going to have an impact on that.

[hathor]

I forgot to say that I used to be on a vegan diet before all this. For me I'm healthier eating meat again. If you can tolerate legumes you may be ok though. Can you eat all kinds of fruits/veggies?

I had some health problems clear up when I switched to a vegan diet and I've really lost my taste for meat. I also have a strong family history of heart disease (and so paid attention to the work of Ornish and Esselstyn, to name two). Occasionally, I've gotten hungry for a little cheese or some shellfish and I've just gone with that, because I'm not on that diet for ethical reasons.

I seem to tolerate all plant foods (far better than I did with animal products). I'm surprised by the soy result. When I've had a lot of soy (I used to eat a lot of those fake meats and cheeses, but eliminated them after reading about problems with isolated soy proteins; then there is always tofu, which restaurants are SO generous with), I don't recall ever feeling bad. I've even eaten quantities of soy beans and felt OK. I'm thinking that the gluten reaction has brought about my body reacting to other things as well.

Thanks for giving me your thoughts. It helps to know I'm not alone

[AndreaB]

I had some health problems clear up when I switched to a vegan diet and I've really lost my taste for meat. I also have a strong family history of heart disease (and so paid attention to the work of Ornish and Esselstyn, to name two). Occasionally, I've gotten hungry for a little cheese or some shellfish and I've just gone with that, because I'm not on that diet for ethical reasons.

I seem to tolerate all plant foods (far better than I did with animal products). I'm surprised by the soy result. When I've had a lot of soy (I used to eat a lot of those fake meats and cheeses, but eliminated them after reading about problems with isolated soy proteins; then there is always tofu, which restaurants are SO generous with), I don't recall ever feeling bad. I've even eaten quantities of soy beans and felt OK. I'm thinking that the gluten reaction has brought about my body reacting to other things as well.

Thanks for giving me your thoughts. It helps to know I'm not alone

I ate alot of fake meats as well. My scores were low too. I'm thinking you may be able to eat some things after you heal. Enterolab does say that when you test positive on their test that it's for life. Others have questioned that.

Another thing you can have done is ELISA tests. You want to make sure you test for IgG allergies (delayed), which are considered intolerances. I had the IgE/IgG done. That should line up somewhat with enterolab testing, meaning you should register an intolerance. That's my thinking anyway. On the other hand just because you show an intolerance by ELISA doesn't mean it's lifelong and whether you eat it depends on how it makes you feel. You'll find you can maybe eat something once a week or month but not constantly. We've run the gamut on intolerances and are still trying to figure some things out, even with testing.

I'd suggest getting off the foods (aside from gluten ) for 6-12 months. When you add something back in don't do more than one food a week. Take good notes on how you feel so you can pinpoint whether that food is a problem. The thing I've learned is that dairy and soy can still cause intestinal problems. The soy especially if you are prone to it and by your numbers that may be the case.

I don't know if you've ever heard of dogtorj and an article he has written. It's on www.dogtorj.com . It's called The Answer I think. The article I'm talking about is within that, called Why is the Plane of this Nations Health in a Death Spiral (or something like that).

I'm glad you can eat vegetable protein and have felt better. I've discovered there are problems on both sides of the fence and have decided that it all comes down to genetics or something (right or wrong). For me, vegetable protein doesn't like me. I've had people tell me I look healthier now.

[CarlaB]

My theory is that my gluten intolerance caused a leaky gut, allowing different proteins out into my blood which caused antibodies to be formed against those things as well.

I agree with this.

I tested positive for casein intolerance with Enterolab (I scored a 30). I eliminated casein for 6 months and noticed no difference in my health. I challenged it by adding it back in for a time, and it ends up that I am not sensitive to it.

I'm not suggesting that you ignore the test results, but as your leaky gut heals, you may want to rotate in some of the offending foods to see if they really bother you. No testing method is perfect, and maybe some of these intolerances won't be permanent.

The only thing I'm still sensitive to is gluten.

[hathor]

I'm not suggesting that you ignore the test results, but as your leaky gut heals, you may want to rotate in some of the offending foods to see if they really bother you. No testing method is perfect, and maybe some of these intolerances won't be permanent.

What's strange is that I don't really notice a problem with soy and yeast right now. The yeast result in particular is such a low number I'm wondering if it could be within some margin of error. I asked Enterolab about it anyway ...

I don't like the idea of giving up wine. Beer was bad enough (and I was looking forward to trying out Redbridge )

They are going to have to clarify the yeast avoidance for me. Doing internet research seems to yield different lists ...

[CarlaB]

Yeah, alcohol is a hard hit ... I am on so many meds for my Lyme that I can't have any alcohol (no yeast, alcohol or sugar to avoid candida) ... not to mention, Lyme gives you a wicked hangover from just a drink or two. As if giving up gluten isn't enough! LOL

Maybe you should go yeast free for a time, then have it be the first one you add back in to see if it has an effect.

[hathor]

As I said in response to someone else, I'm inclined to retry things after healing (except for gluten).

I've thought about the ELISA tests, but I haven't seen agreement on their accuracy. The best test seems to be how you feel when you eat, or don't eat, some particular food. I also have this thing about giving blood. Doctors and nurses have a heck of a time getting it out of me and have ended up hurting me. I was once given the whole skin prick set, and I didn't have any IgE reactions. I didn't even know about delayed onset allergies or IgG then. I may have a delayed onset thing with wheat, since going off it cleared up my usually runny nose and tendency to have these intense, but random, sneezing fits.

I will look at that article you mentioned. Thanks

[gfp]

The egg intolerance isn't necassarily eggs... albumin is the simplest/tiniest protein anyway.. and its exceptionally easy for your body to recreate when you're following a diet with unbalanced amino acids... yuor liver naturally makes a slightly different albumin protein anyway which makes up a large part of the protein of blood plasma.

I would still recommend you get a amino acid balance test ... its another test but you've already been subjected to loads ?

As suggested you might cycle soy in again but IMHO you are risking it developing into a further intolerance.

If this happens your going to truly find it hard to eat... if you provoke a stronger intolerance you will have to treat it every bit as seriously as gluten and its going to cut out a whole load of other foods (and medicines) which might contain soy or be contaminated...

[ArtGirl]

Hathor,

I have multiple food sensitivities, too. Soy is one of them, although not very high. I avoid soy flours and tofu, and other major soy foods, but not soy lecithin (sp?), which is in so many commercial products. I avoid it in supplements because I would be taking them every day, which probably isn't wise.

I would think the yeast-free breads would be more like quick breads... you know, nut breads, banana bread, etc. - maybe less sweet, though. Do you already have some vegan recipes for this kind of bread?

I think your plan to reintroduce some of these foods after your system has had time to heal is reasonable. I've done the same. Found that the egg sensitivity isn't going away, nor is casein. But some of the other foods like potato, soy, etc. - the reaction is so neglible that I don't notice anything, so I will have them occasionally.

I'm interested in what Enterolab has to say to your questions.

[hathor]

I'm interested in what Enterolab has to say to your questions.

This is the answer I just received. My question about what the margin of error is on the tests was not really answered, a concern since my yeast score was only an 11.

"We do not have lists of foods to avoid, but you will want to watch ingredient labels containing baker's or brewer's yeast and anything with the word "soy" in it. The only ingredient with "soy" in it that seems to be ok as far as we can tell is soy lecithin. Though the severity of your sensitivities can change depending upon the health of your immune system and other factors, the reaction will never really go away. The only way to control it is through elimination of the offending foods from the diet. The severity of each of your sensitivities can be different, so it is difficult to say how much a little would affect you. Less is good, but none is best in this situation. If the result is 10 or above, the sensitivity exists, though again the severity can vary among differing reactions. Your reaction can change as your health and body changes, but it never really goes away. Even if you are able to bring the IgA antibody counts down into the normal range at some point, once you reintroduced the foods into the diet, the antibody production would soon start up again. Sincerely, Phyllis Zermeno, RN, BSN Clinical Manager"

Someone on another board pointed out this study to me: Open Original Shared Link

It indicates that many celiacs have antibodies to yeast, too, but that they sometimes clear up with a gluten-free diet.

Avoiding things with "yeast" on the label doesn't really say a great deal, since wine doesn't say this (they do their best to take it all out, from what I've read -- some sites say allergic reactions to the tiny bit left are rare). Nor do vinegar, mushrooms, nor all those other nice things I see on some "yeast-free" lists.

Oh well, I'll continue to research the matter the best I can. I figure that when I retest in a year to see how I'm healing, I can repeat the soy & yeast tests to see where the antibodies are.