Cross Reactivity And Rotation Diets

[knf]

Hi,

I am struggling to make sense of new information coming at me rapidly. I am loving feeling good for the first time in years so absolutely certain that I am onto something. But, I could use some quality resources and advice if anyone has similar experiences.

I've been gluten-free for almost 10 years - great success until about 2 years ago when it was clear that wasn't enough anymore. I finally broke down and have been paying out of pocket for a naturopath and a lot of testing. Fascinating! I got the new Cyrex panel #4 of 24 foods that commonly show cross reactivity with gluten, and also the leaky gut Cyrex test. As expected, my gut is like a sieve. Somewhat to my surprise, I tested out of measurable range (high) to every single food on the 24 food panel. This includes dairy, most grains (corn, rice, amaranth, spelt, oats, millet, quinoa, and a few others), several seeds (sesame, hemp, flax maybe) and some other interesting foods (potato, cocoa, coffee). I then went and had a full food panel from another lab which showed high response to a bunch of other foods (beans, almonds, eggs, dairy, beef, avocado).

So, now I am trying to figure out what to do with all of this information. I am very motivated to give up everything I tested with high reactivity to. But, the more I learn about food rotating and leaky gut, the more I worry about developing new reactions. I suspect some of these foods are problems I gave myself by eliminating gluten (and soy).

I tend to get into food ruts. Most of my rut foods I seem to react to now. Furthermore, my options are pretty limited - I feel quite good about sweet potatoes, chicken, fish, coconut, most veggies and fruits. It seems I am currently ok with all nuts except almonds and also with soy (huge surprise). But I am afraid that if I stick to my safe foods, I will begin reacting to those as well. I thought quinoa was pretty safe, but began to worry a few weeks ago when I made a huge batch and ate a bit every day for probably 4-5 days. Sure enough, I am way off the top end of measurable for quinoa reactivity.

What experiences can anyone share with gut healing, and also with rotation diets. How do you blend this with cooking for a family, and using up leftovers. I'd love to hear advice or get pointed towards reliable information on the web. A lot of it seems pointed towards autism or children's allergies. It's useful info but not directly relevant.

Thanks.

[T.H.]

The rotation diet was one I was put on, but I had so few foods I could eat that it was difficult to do. However, when I started?

I found it easiest to come up with some similar recipes, that I could substitute foods for and still have it work. That way, I could not have to 'think' to much about the food, but not eat the same thing over and over, you know?

An example (know you can't use this) was quinoa and amaranth, one of the only two I could have. I would have porridge from one on day 1, then the next on day 2, then back to the first on day 3, and so on.

Stir fries are a definite thing you could do. organic gluten-free soy sauce one day, coconut aminos (in a bottle like soy sauce, in the same section, but only coconut sap and water), and then just garlic and onion the next day. Just get a veggie, cut it up, stir fry it in water for a couple minutes, and then finish it with the sauce or garlic and onion. You've got three separate rotations for the soy sauce/coconut. And then more for the veggies, yes?

Nut milks would work well if you have different nuts - surprisingly easy to make from scratch, if you have a blender. Lots of recipes on the web.

Stuffed veggies, roasted veggies, veggie fries - those can work.

Roasted chickpeas or beans are possible, maybe? Um...how did they do the beans testing? Since soy is a legume, I'm assuming you didn't test positive for all legumes. Are they any other than soy that you can have, though?

[knf]

Thanks. It's great to hear from someone else who has successfully incorporated these ideas.

I think I am struggling because I am not really convinced! I know how much better I feel when I avoid my huge list of problem foods, but I don't immediately see the difference in rotating. And it is SO different from how I usually eat (ruts and leftovers!).

It is fascinating to me that so many of my trigger foods are things I overeat - so the rotating makes sense.

The bean/legume thing has me stumped. I don't eat a lot of beans and have avoided soy because it is such a big problem for so many people. I was surprised to be off the charts with so many beans, but have no indication that soy, lentils, or peanuts are problems. Soy grosses me out! But, I've been experimenting with it for the past few weeks and have no ill effects.

In your experience, has strict rotating been more successful than doing it a bit sloppily?

[Evangeline]

Have you tried taking the soy test at www.EnteroLab.com ? I felt fine on soy too, but according to their test, I was HIGHLY reactive to soy but not feeling it (yet!). After I gave it up, my family also did the same and some of their MAJOR health issues went away -- so THEY were very reactive to it, but I wasn't having any symptoms. EnteroLab's soy test is $99.

I started a gluten-free diet 1 year ago and my health improved by 10%. Since then, I discovered I am cross-reactive with corn and all nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc). Although I thought I felt fine on corn and potatoes/tomatoes before removing them from my diet, I had a HUGEEEEE REACTION once I re-introduced them to my diet 1 month later. So I have permanently removed those foods.

I am wondering if I should also remove rice? I don't have any 'noticible' reaction (as usual) but when i do have a little, my skin becomes inflamed. I have been told I need to also start a rotation diet just like you. :(

[knf]

Thanks. I'll definitely keep the soy test in mind. I am just adding a little bit this week so will watch for any noticeable reactions. Soy was on the panel of 250 foods that I did and came back almost undetectably low. I should have had some exposure since I haven't really avoided soy - just didn't intentionally eat it. I know there has been some in bars and smoothies and soy sauce over the years.

I was stunned at the high levels I had for almost all grains and seeds - even rice. Since cutting those out, I feel like a new person. That's why I want to be careful to not overdo the things I am hopefully ok with and am trying to learn about rotating.

[T.H.]

In your experience, has strict rotating been more successful than doing it a bit sloppily?

Yes and no. When I got the test results of foods I was reacting to, my doctor said something that has seemed to bear up after a little over a year of this: the tests aren't all that accurate. Some things may test positive that absolutely aren't. Some test negative that you'll find you have trouble with, and some become problems, and some stop being problems.

In other words: oy, what a headache!

So what I did was this: I kept a food journal for a long time, with foods I ate and reactions I had - I included physical AND mental AND sleep patterns. So if, say, I was getting lots of sleep, but I'm feeling more tired, I'd know that's a potential issue, you know? Also, it's really important to record the brands/farms of what you're eating. If you have a leaky gut, you can start having issues with, say, a pesticide, coating, or contaminant that is common to a particular brand or farm.

I ran into this with oil. All my oils were the same brand, and I thought I was reacting to every meal - turned out that the company processes wheat germ oil on their line with all the other oils (spectrum brand). So even though I was rotating, I was getting the same contaminant every time.

Even salt needs to be considered, brand-wise - iodized salt has corn in it to stabilize the iodine, and most salt has anti-caking agents added that you could develop issues with. But if you decide to cut iodized salt for sea salt? You'll want to make sure to find a supplement, as it's hard to get enough iodine otherwise. (Don't trust the sites that tell you all the veggies and such that have lots of iodine. These are foods that WOULD be high in iodine in years past, because they absorb it from the soil. But with modern farming, there is little to no iodine left in the soil, typically, so they can't absorb much now.)

In the beginning, I stayed away from all the foods on my bad list and rotated. But I had such limited food that some things I didn't have anything to rotate with, or not much. I had 2 pseudo grains - the quinoa and amaranth. They worked fine for a while. I added millet. It worked fine, I was very strict on the rotation, and then I started reacting after a few weeks and had to drop it. With some of my 'bad' foods, there were only certain ones within a family I had to avoid. I had the others in the family on a rotation - only once a week - and it still started to get me with that, too and I had to drop MORE of that food that hadn't ever been on the list.

However, I've had other foods I was really sloppy with, had nearly every day, and no trouble with whatsoever even after a year now. And I've tried a couple of the things on my allergy list that have given me no symptoms, no problems, and really don't seem to be something I need to avoid. My doc is of the opinion that if I'm very careful, and I'm paying attention, what I'm noticing is as valid as the test.

However, one other issue I've run into that I don't know if it is a leaky gut issue or just a personal one? I'm VERY sensitive to gluten. Issues I had at first thought were allergies turned out to actually be gluten. Many of the gluten free foods have gluten levels that are still far too much for me, so I have to go with whole foods instead, and be really, really careful.

That might be something to look at in your food, too, when you are looking at reactions - if all the reactions are the same, or if they are different, you know?

In the end, I'd say - be very, very strict in your recordkeeping. :-) See how it goes. When you find a diet that seems safe, you can add in more foods, you know? And I imagine a little cheating with a food in the wrong day in the rotation wouldn't hurt - at least it didn't for myself. It seemed like the foods that might be hurt by an off day here and there were the ones I was going to develop problems to no matter what, anyway.

[mushroom]

For thrift purposes, instead of eating the leftover the next day, try freezing it and having it a couple of days later?

[knf]

Shauna, I think I learned more from your post than in several hours of searching the web.

Sometimes careful notes just confuse me more! With 50 year old hormones and varying exercise schedules, it can sure get confusing. That's great that you have found a middle ground that works for you. I hope I can do the same.