Enterolab Result Interpretation

[terin514]

Hi Everyone -

I got my results today - Am I sensitive to everything?? Do my Egg, Yeast and Milk values warrant an elimination diet for these items too? Your help is appreciated - I am seeing my diet choices get very small!

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: 122 Units

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA: 29 Units

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: 715 Units

Fecal Anti-casein (cow

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes I would eliminate all of them, it will be hard at first but you will still have plenty you can eat. There are yeast free breads that you will be able to eat and there are egg replacers that you can use in recipes. You'll be able to have 'quick breads and cakes' that use baking powder or soda. Your malabsorption levels are very high so I would imagine you have been feeling really sick. Start out with unprocessed stuff like fresh meats, veggies and fruits, nuts and rice, quinoa, buckwheat and wild rice.

There are a lot of folks here that have more intolerances than just gluten. You can get a lot of help here dealing with that as well as the gluten. I hope you are feeling better soon.

[burdee]

Didn't Enterolab include an interpretation of your results? I suspect they told you to abstain from gluten, dairy, egg, soy and yeast, according to those results. You can always email or call them for more information. They are very helpful, when you have questions.

I have gluten intolerance plus diagnosed allergies to dairy, egg, soy, cane sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Elab diagnosed gluten, dairy and soy. ELISA (blood) test diagnosed the other allergies. Even when I abstain from foods containing my food allergies, I still have PLENTY of food choices. (I also abstain from most artificial sweetners, caffeine and alcohol.) Unless you already limit your food choices, you still could have lots of foods to eat even with gluten, dairy, egg, soy and yeast restrictions. Focus on what you CAN eat and try new foods from different ethnic cuisines. If you stick to typical American food, you may indeed have limited choices. However, if you're willing to try new foods, you may learn to enjoy foods you never dreamed you would like.

SUE

Hi Everyone -

I got my results today - Am I sensitive to everything?? Do my Egg, Yeast and Milk values warrant an elimination diet for these items too? Your help is appreciated - I am seeing my diet choices get very small!

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: 122 Units

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA: 29 Units

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: 715 Units

Fecal Anti-casein (cow

[EJR]

Hi Everyone -

I got my results today - Am I sensitive to everything?? Do my Egg, Yeast and Milk values warrant an elimination diet for these items too? Your help is appreciated - I am seeing my diet choices get very small!

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: 122 Units

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA: 29 Units

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: 715 Units

Fecal Anti-casein (cow

[maile]

"There is a home blood test for celiac disease (it is called BioCard and is available through London Drugs)"

This is also available on the net, just google "biocard" and any number of sites come up (chances are the original poster doesn't have a London Drugs near him/her unless the poster lives in British Columbia or Alberta, Canada )

[terin514]

Hi everyone -

Thanks for the replies. I was gluten free for about 2 months before I took the tests - and I really did the other tests on a whim - I had no idea those foods were making me sensitive as well... it was quite shocking to see elevated levels to EVERYTHING I tested for.

A number of questions - hopefully someone will be able to answer some or any of them!

1. What does having an "immunologic sensitivity" to a food really mean? Is it an allergy? Is it an auto-immune reaction? (Is there a difference?) In my results, each of the casein, yeast, soy, egg tests indicate "immunologic sensitivity" to that food - plus, the gluten test said I have gluten sensitivity PLUS "an autoimmune reaction to the human enzyme tissue transglutaminase, secondary to dietary gluten sensitivity." What does that mean?

2. I read that if you OVEREAT a certain food, you can develop an intolerance to that food. Is it possible this is the case for some of my other sensitivities? I ate egg whites for breakfast almost every day for probably a few years... I thought I was eating a healthy breakfast. Oops

3. Along these lines, now I'm afraid I'm going to develop an intolerance to Chicken, Rice and Lettuces... it's been my diet staple for years!

4. Is the immunologic sensitivity to ovalbumin to the egg WHITE, or the whole egg? Can I still eat an egg yolk without reaction?

5. What about flu shots? People with allergies to chicken eggs are usually steered clear of getting a flu shot. I have had one without reaction every year for the last 4 or 5 years... what do you think about me getting a flu shot based on the results?

6. With a soy sensitivity, is Soy Lecithin off the list too? I've looked it up and seen conflicting results - this ingredient seems to be in EVERYTHING - even the chewing gum on my desk!

7. What about drinking wine? I've read the yeast is dead, I've also read to eliminate alcohol on a yeast-free diet (I already do not drink Beer or Ales b/c of the gluten). I might note that I am in the Wine Industry - and this would be very problematic!

8. What about Goat's Milk? Can I eat Goat Cheese? I don't eat very much of it, but I do love it... Does Anti-Casein - which specifically says Cow's Milk - mean anti EVERY type of cheese, or can I keep eating some feta and other goat's milk cheeses?

9. I am having symptoms where my fingers get stiff and feel hot. Is this connected? I did forget the other day and I had 1/4 of a hard boiled egg that came on a salad before I remembered that I shouldn't eat those anymore.

10. What do you think my next steps should be? Should I see a GI doctor? An allergist? I'm not sure what to do next (other than modify my diet) - I saw the recommendations for BioCard - I will look that up, given my levels I probably should get some sort of follow up, don't you think? Also, should I see if I have even more food intolerances? I'm getting to the point where I'm afraid to eat anything for fear of developing even MORE intolerances... and my diet is already limited. I went the Enterolab route because my GP was not really helpful other than telling me I have IBS and to "eat more whole grains" - Thanks Doc!

Thanks for listening and helping wherever you can - I do really appreciate it!

Best,

Terin

[linda7276]

Hi everyone -

Thanks for the replies. I was gluten free for about 2 months before I took the tests - and I really did the other tests on a whim - I had no idea those foods were making me sensitive as well... it was quite shocking to see elevated levels to EVERYTHING I tested for.

A number of questions - hopefully someone will be able to answer some or any of them!

1. What does having an "immunologic sensitivity" to a food really mean? Is it an allergy? Is it an auto-immune reaction? (Is there a difference?) In my results, each of the casein, yeast, soy, egg tests indicate "immunologic sensitivity" to that food - plus, the gluten test said I have gluten sensitivity PLUS "an autoimmune reaction to the human enzyme tissue transglutaminase, secondary to dietary gluten sensitivity." What does that mean?

2. I read that if you OVEREAT a certain food, you can develop an intolerance to that food. Is it possible this is the case for some of my other sensitivities? I ate egg whites for breakfast almost every day for probably a few years... I thought I was eating a healthy breakfast. Oops

3. Along these lines, now I'm afraid I'm going to develop an intolerance to Chicken, Rice and Lettuces... it's been my diet staple for years!

4. Is the immunologic sensitivity to ovalbumin to the egg WHITE, or the whole egg? Can I still eat an egg yolk without reaction?

5. What about flu shots? People with allergies to chicken eggs are usually steered clear of getting a flu shot. I have had one without reaction every year for the last 4 or 5 years... what do you think about me getting a flu shot based on the results?

6. With a soy sensitivity, is Soy Lecithin off the list too? I've looked it up and seen conflicting results - this ingredient seems to be in EVERYTHING - even the chewing gum on my desk!

7. What about drinking wine? I've read the yeast is dead, I've also read to eliminate alcohol on a yeast-free diet (I already do not drink Beer or Ales b/c of the gluten). I might note that I am in the Wine Industry - and this would be very problematic!

8. What about Goat's Milk? Can I eat Goat Cheese? I don't eat very much of it, but I do love it... Does Anti-Casein - which specifically says Cow's Milk - mean anti EVERY type of cheese, or can I keep eating some feta and other goat's milk cheeses?

9. I am having symptoms where my fingers get stiff and feel hot. Is this connected? I did forget the other day and I had 1/4 of a hard boiled egg that came on a salad before I remembered that I shouldn't eat those anymore.

10. What do you think my next steps should be? Should I see a GI doctor? An allergist? I'm not sure what to do next (other than modify my diet) - I saw the recommendations for BioCard - I will look that up, given my levels I probably should get some sort of follow up, don't you think? Also, should I see if I have even more food intolerances? I'm getting to the point where I'm afraid to eat anything for fear of developing even MORE intolerances... and my diet is already limited. I went the Enterolab route because my GP was not really helpful other than telling me I have IBS and to "eat more whole grains" - Thanks Doc!

Thanks for listening and helping wherever you can - I do really appreciate it!

Best,

Terin

Hi Terin, I'm not an expert....but an allergic reaction involves histamine. Usually there are outward symptoms...runny nose, hives, anaphylaxis, itching, redness, etc. An immunologic sensitivity does not involve a histamine reaction, and is doing damage internally that you are unaware of. Like the damage that occurs to the villi in Celiac disease. Most of us who are gluten sensitive suffer a myriad of symptoms, fatigue, joint pain, osteoporosis, anemia, etc...and most have been unaware of the cause, before finding out about gluten, anyway these are the signs and symptoms of the internal damage caused by an immune response to an offending agent, like gluten. Everyone is different, different genetics and susceptibilities, and that explains why so many different symptoms. You will notice as you eliminate these things from your diet that you will have improvements in your health and if you keep a food diary, a pain I know...and a list of your symptoms, over time you will learn which foods cause which symptoms. I'm very tired today so this is the best I can do here...haha.

Casein is not in goat's milk/cheese. The casein in cow's milk is what causes the immune response. So you can try the goat cheese and see what happens if anything. I seem to tolerate it ok. Though I didn't react to casein in my lab report, I definitely have a problem with it....found that out by accident and because of keeping a food diary, I was able to pinpoint what happens when I eat dairy. Once you remove the food, you reintroduce it again later, [EXCEPT FOR GLUTEN] you do not want to do that.....and see if you have the same symptoms. You might want to eliminate everything first and give your body a chance to heal. It took 5-6 weeks for me to recover from a gluten incident, I am *extremely sensitive* to the slightest amount.

I don't know about Yeast in wine....didn't know there was yeast in wine. I Hope this helps, I felt bad for you when I saw your results, but ravenwoodglass gave you some very positive advice, and it even helped me to read that again, the diet isn't always easy but it's worth it, I don't have a choice, and she's right there are a lot of good foods that we can have, take care, Linda

ps...I never get flu shots but that's a personal choice/decision.

[lisa25]

My enterolab results were around 14 for cow's milk (casein) and 17 for soy. I tried goats cheese last year and still had the same reaction I get from cow's milk (stuffy nose and fluid in my ears which sometimes turns into an ear infection...I had chronic ear infections as a kid). I read somewhere that goats milk still contains casein, it is just a very small amount compared to cow's milk. I can't look up the link right now because my computer is acting really slow.