kathy2005

I just read this little blurb on the DFWceliac.org site but there was no story to go along with it...

Did you know that most Celiacs have a hormone imbalance that plays havoc with your body that must be treated to restore your health and well being? This usually includes an inadequate amount of Progesterone which must be supplemented with Natural Progesterone which is not synthetic and matches exactly the chemical formulation of the body

I have had my Keeper for TWELVE years! It has been a lifesaver and I have saved soooo much money. I was going to buy another one a couple of months ago but I decided not to because mine is still good. It only leaks if it gets too full or you do not put it in right. Just empty each time you use the restroom on heavy days and then overfilling should not be an issue. Make sure and turn it around a couple of times to make sure it openeds up correctly. Also, make sure it is pushed up a little. Do not confuse leaking with a little spotting from the extra fluid on the sides that happens every time you remove and reapply it (will still need a light day liner). It probably is a little bit messier than tampons but really is worth the trouble. Just plan on spending a few extra seconds cleaning your fingernails when you wash your hands. Dipping your fingernails in a small amount of peroxide can speed up the process on heavier days. I have never tried a glove. Emptying it in a public restroom is not bad, just use toilet paper to wipe it off or bring a paper towel in with you to wipe it, then clean it with soap later when you are home; it will only take a minute or so to empty after you learn how. I tried the instead cup and I found that I had big problems with it leaking all of a sudden with a big gush/mess.

i'm sorry - 1 more ? - is the dot as effective as the premarin is as far as the symptoms (hot flashes, etc) go?

I think that the Dot would be much better than Premarin because Vivelle Dots are made with estradiol which is human estrogen. Premarin is made with horse estrogen and has different properties than human estrogen.

I think it would be a good idea to also look at your other hormones as well. Women make a small amount of testosterone in their ovaries and after a hysterectomy their testosterone level can drop and make them feel bad (or not as good). A good book to read is

Hmm, maybe you can try poking the capsule a couple times with a clean needle just to make some holes in it.

I wanted to say thank you for this idea. Since I have been poking my capsules they seem to be digesting. Also, I am not getting indigestion from the vitamins like I did when I opened up the capsules and just took the powder inside.

Thanks again!

Kathy

Thanks everyone,

I am going to try several of the things you suggested. My EnteroLab fat test came back normal, so I am hoping it is more of a digestive enzyme thing rather than malabsorption.

Kathy

Hi,

Sometimes when I have loose stools I notice that my vitamin capsules do not digest. I have noticed this with my multivitamin and my calcium/magnesium capsules. They are both powder inside gelatin capsules. If I place the gelatin capsules in warm water they melt away but they can go through my gut intact. It really baffles me that I cannot seem to digest a simple gelatin capsule. I called the manufacturer and they said that they switched to gelatin capsules to make sure that they digest and she has never heard of my problem. I thought that I would just bypass the capsule and open the vitamins up and take them on a spoon. This works fine for the calcium/magnesium but my vitamin powder has a horrible taste and gives me a stomach ache if I take it without the capsule. I am thinking that I may need more digestive enzymes to help digest my gelatin capsules and I tried plain bromelain powder but it seems to irritate my stomach as well.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and do you have any suggestions for me?

Thanks

Kathy

I must be a coffee snob. The best caps and lattes are made with steamed milk which when made correctly is microfoam without froth. Froth is bubbles on top of milk, microfoam is milk that is steamed to changed it into thick, luxurious, creamy, silky, sweat, microfoam that does not separate and you can pour latte art with. I have a Gaggia espresso machine and it took me quite a wile to learn how to make microfoam but it was really worth learning. Espresso with properly steamed milk plus a little sweetener is soooo good that I would never want to change the taste by adding chocolate. IMHO.

I am dairy free right now so no lattes for me for a wile

Kathy

I looked at the jayrobb site and the ingredient lists did not seem complete. The chocolate egg white protein does not even list chocolate flavor or coco as an ingredient. It seems like they are leaving things out. Also, I compared the egg white protein powders to the whey protein powders and the chocolate whey protein powder listed "natural flavors including stevia" under the ingredient list. I tried the chocolate whey protein powder in the past and it was defiantly sweetened with something. It is hard to believe that they would make a chocolate flavor without any sweetener. Why would they sweeten the chocolate whey protein but not the chocolate egg protein? Does the chocolate egg white protein powder taste sweet? If it is sweet then they neglected to include stevia on the ingredient list. Did you buy the protein powder in a can or was it in a bin at the health food sore? My health food sore offered Jay Robb protein powders in bulk bins as well as the regular cans. I am afraid of bin products due to possible contamination so I did not try it. Open Original Shared Link

Maybe it is not the stevia that you are reacting to. (I suspect that both of your protein powders have stevia in them. It might be worth calling the company to find out.)

You can buy the NOW brand of egg white protein power at www.Lame Advertisement.com. The price is better at Lame Advertisement than at my health food store. Lame Advertisement offers free ground shipping on all order over $60 which is new.

Good luck finding a good protein powder!

Kathy

I'm looking for a gluten free curl enhancer for my hair. Does anyone know of a product like this? Thanks!

You could make your own. I found this recipe on one of the Delphi forums. Boil/simmer about one tablespoon of whole flax seeds in about 1/2 cup of water for about three minutes, strain the mixture. Combine equal parts of flax seed gel with aloe vera gel, store in the refrigerator. Use in place of regular hair gel. I bought the dark flax seeds. I store my gel in a Sally's bottle made for applying hair dye. This recipe does not work with ground flax seeds. You can change the proportions of the flax and aloe vera gel to change the holding power. I think more flax gel gives more hold. The flax gel also helps with shine.

Kathy

I had a doctor tell me that a high percentage of Americans are showing up pretty allergic to sesame seeds (tahini). As a matter of fact I am allergic to them according to an actual ELISA blood test. Just a thought. I realize that legumes are more likely, but it could be sesame seeds.

That is interesting about the tahini. Are you allergic to other nuts and seeds as well? If not you could try making your hummus with a different nut butter. I have used peanut butter in the past as a substitute for tahini. I used to make Felafel balls and I often substituted peanut butter for tahini in the lemon tahini sauce used to top the Felafel balls.

Kathy

I just wanted to mention that I have never been able to eat prepared hummus, it always gives me gut problems no matter what new brand I try. However, I have been able to eat home made hummus in the past without a problem. I always used canned garbanzo beans in my home made hummus; they seem to be really well cooked. I think that it is possible that the prepared hummus uses a different cooking method that may not fully cook the beans like the canning process does which could lead to digestion problems. Once I tried to cook dried garbanzo beans and even though I soaked them and cooked them for hours they never got really soft like the canned garbanzos. I think the only way to really get dried beans cooked thoroughly enough for me is with a pressure cooker.

If you think that garbanzos might be harder for you to digest than other beans and you really want humus, you could try making hummus with canned small white beans instead of garbanzos as a possible alternative. I have not tried the white beans in hummus but I believe they would be good.

An idea on something to to eat with fat and nutrients. Have you tried canned coconut milk/cream in a smoothie with fruit you can tolerate? Coconut milk has lots of fat and tastes nice. Most of the fat is saturated fat and some doctors will say to limit saturated fat but I do not fall for the anti-saturated fat hype. You could also add some protein powder to the smoothie. If dairy is OK for you you could add plain whey protein to the smoothie. If eggs are OK but dairy is not, you could add NOW Eggwhite Protein powder to your smoothie for extra protein. The NOW brand does not have any extra ingredients like artificial sweeteners that could add to your problems. I really love fruit smoothies and just recently discovered the NOW eggwhite protein powder.

Good luck!

Kathy

Hi,

I just received good news this morning. My lab just called me with my total IgA results and they were normal. My result was 203 with a normal range of 81-463.

With my normal total IgA result in I believe that it is OK to trust my EnteroLab results now. My assumptions now are that I am OK with casein, eggs, soy, and yeast and that my Antigliadian IgA result of 9 indicated that I was doing well on my Atkins type diet, My severe gut episode with lasting pain after eating a large portion of wheat containing foods was my "challenge test" to remind me that I should never eat gluten again (along with my gene results). I am hoping that the elimination of my fatigue since starting my strict elimination diet is solely because I eliminated trace to small amounts of gluten from my everyday diet and not because I eliminated casein and gluten. I suppose I will not know unless my fatigue returns as I introduce more foods like casein back into my diet.

An interesting thing that I have discovered as I have tried to reintroduce more foods is that I believe that I am sensitive to Splenda. I never would have thought that I had a problem with Splenda but I am considering the possibly that the possible Splenda sensitivity contributed to my fatigue problem. I am not certain at this point about the Splenda but I have concerns and have totally eliminated it from my diet.

My plans are to stay off diary products for several more weeks before I try to reintroduce them again.

If anyone has any thoughts or ideas about my IgA results and diet plan I am very interested in what you have to say.

I just received my call back from Costco about the Kirkland brand paper towels and the representative informed me that the manufacturer confirmed that the Kirkland paper towels are gluten free. This makes two good telephone calls for me this morning!

Kathy

Hi Elizabeth,

Thanks for the information on the Jay Robb protein powders. I bought the NOW Eggwhite Protein powder yesterday. I tasted a small amount of the powder plain and it had a salty taste to me. I thought that was interesting since there is no added salt. I blended the power with coconut milk, pineapple with juice, and some ice and my smoothie was very good. The salty flavor that I noticed with the plain powder did not come through with my smoothie. My smoothie did have a foamy head. I wonder if the powder was mixed with a small amount of water if we could make meringue out of it since it seems to foam? I defiantly could not drink the NOW powder plain with water but that is OK because I am just happy to find a way to make protein smoothies again. Once I bought whey protein isolate from All The Whey on the internet; I bought mint chocolate and it was so good that I could drink it plain just mixed with water. It is too bad that they use sucralose to sweeten it.

Thanks again for the recommendation!

Kathy

Hi Elizabeth,

I would recommend the ON Chocolate egg white protein powder if you are sure that Splenda is OK for you. I tried it this morning for breakfast with coconut milk, strawberries and a little ice in the blender. The taste was good but next time I think I would leave out the strawberries. Plain with just water it is much thinner than whey protein powder but the taste is not too bad; not quite as good as the ON chocolate whey protein powder though. It may have more of an aftertaste than the whey protein powder does as well. I tried it plain once yesterday.

Unfortunately for me I think that I must be sensitive to Splenda. Yesterday after drinking the plain protein powder I got a head ache several hours later. After drinking my breakfast drink this morning I am not feeling right and I feel like I am on the edge of getting another head ache. I have had several head aches this week and each time it was after consuming something with Splenda in it. (I have been trying to expand my diet after being on my strict elimination diet for the past month--with no headaches until this week with the Splenda.) This is really a surprise to me because I used to eat Splenda all the time before I went on my elimination diet and I thought it did not bother me. I did have fatigue though so maybe the Splenda contributed to the fatigue.

I called around to several stores this morning and I found the plain Now egg white protein powder at one of the health food stores; I am going to pick some up this weekend. The lady on the phone also recommend Jay Robb plain egg white protein powder; it does have some digestive enzymes and "natural flavors" in it though and is a little more expensive than the Now brand. Some Jay Robb protein powders have stevia for the sweetener. My favorite doctor actually recommended Jay Robb whey protein powder to me several months ago; I tried a sample from his office and liked it very much but I thought the cost was too high and wound up using the Optimum Nutrition whey brand that contains artificial sweeteners instead of stevia. I am going to buy the NOW brand because at this point I do not want to risk finding out that the "natural flavors" in the Jay Robb brand bother me. The thing that I do not understand is that ON uses acesulfame potassium for the whey protein powders that I have purchased but sucralose (Splenda) for their egg white protein powder. It may be that I never got a head ache after drinking the whey protein powder because I am not sensitive to acesulfame potassium like I think I am to Splenda. All of this is so confusing and hard to figure out so I think that I am just going to eliminate all artificial sweeteners rather than risking another head ache that ruins my day.

Thanks again for recommending the Now brand!

Kathy

Andrea,

Thanks so much for posting the article; it is very interesting. I think that I defiantly need to start a food journal. It is interesting that for the challenge test that the amount of food can be a little as one tablespoon. One thing that is really interesting to me is that before I started the Atkins diet I used to always wake up with stiff fingers. I tried not to think about it but I was concerned that I was getting arthritis. After going on Atkins my morning stiffness went away completely and has not come back. I always wondered why I had improvement but never really figured it out. Also I used to have nasal allergies. I was on a steroid nasal spray and antihistamine and even took allergy shots for a short time. Sometime after starting Atkins I was able to discontinue my allergy medication. I always thought it was because I moved to Arizona and bought a leather couch but after reading your article maybe my stiffness and nasal allergies improved because I stopped eating grains. (I used to always get a headache if I sat on our couch, cleaning helped but never lasted very long, once we switched to leather I could finally sit on the couch without fear of a headache.)

The head ache thing is very interesting. I have had some headaches this week. I have introduced some extra foods to my elimination diet and I think that I need to pay more attention. One difficulty is that because of all the rain that we have had everything is blooming plus there is mold in the air according to the news; I do not know how to differentiate between a headache caused by allergens in the air or something new I added to my diet. I think that keeping a log as suggested in the article may help.

Thanks again for the valuable information!

Kathy

Elizabeth,

Thank you for the review of the NOW egg protein powder. I found it on the Lame Advertisement.com site for $10.79 for one pound which seems like a good price. The nice thing about the NOW powder seems to be that it does not contain any flavoring or sweeteners. I should have ordered from them. I used to order most of my supplements from Lame Advertisement until they changed their shipping policy (they used to give free shipping for orders over $40). I switched my supplier to Vitacost because of the good shipping prices and their NSI supplement brand that I have come to really like. Earlier in the week I placed an order with Vitacost and ordered Chocolate Optium Nutrition Egg Protein Powder. It was $28.49 for two pounds. I am supposed to receive my order today so I have not tried it yet. Unfortunately I could only find chocolate from Vitacost and it also contains cocoa, artificial flavor and sucralose. This probably was not a good purchase decision at the time because of the extra ingredients! I may wind up yet again with another can of protein powder in my cupboard that does not get used!

Kathy

Hi,

I received a reply from EnteroLab about the paper products this morning:

Response: Dear Kathy, This is Phyllis. Not all paper products will have wheat fibers in them, but some do. If you wish to take the time to call the manufacturers of the products you use, they should be able to inform you as to whether or not their products contain gluten. Even product boxes can contain gluten, as you will see from the following update I received from the Clan Thompson group who researches these things constantly. General Mills has reformulated their Cocoa Puffs cereal and new boxes contain wheat. Read the label. If wheat is listed as an ingredient, it is NOT GLUTEN FREE. If there is no wheat listed in the ingredient label, it's part of the old formulation which may be on the shelves for the next half year or so and it is gluten free. Best wishes, Lani K. Thompson www.clanthompson.com You may wish to check out their web site for further information. Sincerely, Phyllis Zermeno, RN, BSN Clinical Manager

Thank you for allowing EnteroLab to help you attain and maintain optimum intestinal and overall health!

I buy all of my paper products from Costco (Kirkland brand). I think I need to call them now. I use paper towels for soaking up oil on my food and for covering food in the microwave all the time.

Andria--Thank you for the advice on doing a diary challenge after 2 months. I have gone almost a month already, so an extra month should be OK. I just hope that I do not need to reset the clock because of my dairy intake the other day. I think your paper sounds interesting, but I do not want to ask you to retype it. Some scanner have character recognition; your scanner may have it and make things very easy.

Kathy

Carla,

Thanks for the information about Dr. Fine and dairy. I had not picked up on that information on the Enterolab site. It makes me feel better that there may still be a chance for me to eat dairy again. I hope you are right about the paper. I think I am going to email Enterolab and ask them to clarify the paper issue.

Kathy

Hi,

I called Enterolab and spoke with the nurse there. She said that either I was doing really well on my Atkins diet and was not eating gluten for long enough to get a IgA reaction or that I am IgA deficient. She recommend that I get a total IgA test to make sure that I am not IgA deficient. She said that without knowing for sure if I am IgA deficient or not I cannot trust my results. Either way she does not want me to eat dairy or gluten for the rest of my life! She said that I really already know my answer because of my positive results with my gluten/casein free diet and that my headache after eating the yogurt yesterday confirms that I should be dairy free. She recommended rotating eggs, yeast, and soy and watching for a reaction. She said that Dr. Fine recommends that everyone with a gluten problem be gluten AND casein free! I know some people on the forum are eating dairy. I wonder if they know that Dr. Fine thinks that they should all be dairy free?

It was an interesting conversation. I really hate the idea of having to be dairy free. I think I have to do another dairy challenge sometime otherwise I think it will be really hard to comply (I do not know how long to wait though). If my IgA test comes back within normal limits I think it will be even harder to comply; unless I continue to feel bad after eating dairy.

I called my local lab about the total IgA test and I am going to try to go in tomorrow and have it drawn. The cost is only $25 and I will not need a doctor's order.

One thing that the nurse recommended was interesting. She said that I should not use any paper products for cooking or eating because paper products can contain gluten. Have any of you heard of that? She said not to use paper plates, paper napkins, and paper towels. She said that I should no longer cover my food in the microwave with a paper towel.

Kathy

Hi,

Thanks for all the information! The comments made me look at my calendar. I was mistaken about doing Atkins for four years, it has actually been five and 1/2 years (started Feb. 2001). It is hard for me to believe that it has been that long. I tried some of the low carb items including baking with gluten and using items with sugar alcohols and nothing I tried ever agreed with me so I gave up on the low carb items. I used to try to eat LaTortilla Factory low carb tortillas and I always got a stomach ache. I used to think the stomach ache was from the soy in the tortillas but now it seems more likely that it was the wheat. For a long time the only starchy carbs that I allowed into my diet were corn tortillas, potatoes, and pinto beans which never seemed to cause any problems. I tried to use Dr. Schwarzbein's recommendations on how to do maintenance for carb control. I think that Dr. Schwarzbein was my downfall though because her book said that it was OK to eat things like thin crust pizza (Atkins said to stick to beans and potatoes). Once I started eating just one item like that it was way to easy to incorporate other things like small amounts of pasta, ravioli, and sprouted grain bread.

My "ulcer" treatment was around 1985-86. The doctor never did any testing, he just gave me Tagamet and told me to use antacids any time I felt irritation in my gut. Looking back I know that I took an insane amount of antacids for a long time. I used to have a horrible diet back then; I was a vegetarian and ate mostly starchy foods. I think I had a fat phobia back then probably cause by my "nutrition" classes. I used to have wide blood sugar swings with that really bad diet. I remember that my breakfast used to be dry toast with orange juice--no wonder I always had a stomach ache. I had to switch my entire way of thinking about food when I started Atkins--it was a good thing for me, one of my better decisions.

Yesterday after I got my results I thought it would be OK to try dairy again. I had a small serving of plain whole milk yogurt (with some Splenda and imitation vanilla--probably not a good idea to add these items) and a baked potatoes with butter and sour cream (plus one Lactaid). A few minutes after eating the yogurt I developed a mild nagging headache that lasted the entire evening. My gut felt OK but not as good as it has been feeling with my strict elimination diet. I am hoping that the headache was just a coincidence. I used to always be able to tolerate yogurt and butter/sour cream in the past but maybe my gut is just not healed well enough yet to tolerate dairy even though I am feeling better. I wish I knew the answer.

Does anyone have any suggestions for trying to reincorporate dairy back into my diet? It has been almost a month since I started my gluten/casein free diet. I have read on the forum that people recommend waiting up to six months to try dairy again. I am considering trying it again in another week. Do you think that is too soon?

I will do some research on IGa deficiency and look for skbird's posts.

Thanks for all the great help!

Kathy

Hi,

I just received my Enterolab results and I am hoping that someone can help me interpret the results. I have had gut issues for at least twenty years. My primary gut symptoms have been intermittent painful abdominal bloating and gas. At one point a doctor told me that I had an ulcer and I was on Tagamet for over a year. I also have had fatigue, iron deficiency anemia, low iron, and very low normal results on my DEXA scan (hips). I know I am lactose intolerant; taking a Lactaid tablet helps me with diary. For the past four years I have been on a modified Atkins type diet and my stomach problems went away (no flour products or sugar). For the past several months I had become progressively more lax with my diet and had been incorporating more and more wheat flour products into my diet. Several weeks ago I had a severe gut episode like I had before Atkins after eating a large croissant and chocolate chip cookies. After my episode I had continued abdominal discomfort that lasted at least two weeks. After the painful episode I decided to do a gluten and casein elimination diet and do the Enterolab tests. Since starting my elimination diet I am feeling so much better. My abdominal discomfort is finally gone and so is my fatigue. It is like I woke up; I am no longer tired in the afternoons. I cannot remember going so long without being tired and overly fatigued.

I really expected my Enterolab results to be more extreme since I am having such a positive reaction to my elimination diet. Should I assume that I should stay on my gluten free diet because I have a celiac gene and a gluten sensitivity gene plus symptom improvement with the diet? Should I consider myself gluten sensitive and or celiac because of my gene test results even though my antigliadian IgA was only 9? If my antigliadian IgA was only one point higher I know that Enterolab would have given me completely different advice than what is written below. Will someone help me interpret my results? Thanks :-)

Kathy

A) Gluten Sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete *Best test/best value

Fecal Antigliadin IgA 9 (Normal Range <10 Units)

Fecal Antitissue Transglutaminase IgA 6 Units (Normal Range <10 Units)

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score 83 Units (Normal Range <300 Units)

Fecal anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA antibody 6 Units (Normal Range <10 Units)

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0201

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0301

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 2,3 (Subtype 2,7)

C) Egg, Yeast, and Soy Food Sensitivity Stool Panel

Fecal anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA antibody 5 Units (Normal Range <10 Units)

Fecal Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae (dietary yeast) IgA 5 Units (Normal Range <10 Units)

Fecal Anti-Soy IgA 7 Units (Normal Range <10 Units)

Interpretation of Fecal Antigliadin IgA: Intestinal antigliadin IgA antibody was below the upper limit of normal, and hence there is no direct evidence of active gluten sensitivity from this test. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, and some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have a syndrome or symptoms known to be associated with gluten sensitivity, a gluten-free diet may help you despite a negative test. If you have no syndrome or symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity, you can follow a gluten-containing healthy diet and retest in 3-5 years; or you may opt to go gluten-free as a purely preventive measure.

Interpretation of Fecal Antitissue Transglutaminase IgA: The level of intestinal IgA antibodies to the human enzyme tissue transglutaminase was below the upper limit of normal, and hence, there is no evidence of a gluten-induced autoimmune reaction.

Interpretation of Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: A fecal fat score less than 300 indicates there is no malabsorbed dietary fat in stool indicating that digestion and absorption of nutrients is currently normal.

Interpretation of Fecal anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA antibody: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation Of HLA-DQ Testing: HLA gene analysis reveals that you have one of the main genes that predisposes to gluten sensitivity and celiac sprue, HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8. Each of your offspring has a 50% chance of receiving this gene from you, and at least one of your parents passed it to you. You also have a non-celiac gene predisposing to gluten sensitivity (DQ1 or DQ3 not subtype 8). Having one celiac gene and one gluten sensitive gene, means that each of your parents, and all of your children (if you have them) will possess at least one copy of a gluten sensitive gene. Having two copies also means there is an even stronger predisposition to gluten sensitivity than having one gene and the resultant immunologic gluten sensitivity or celiac disease may be more severe.

Interpretation of Fecal anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA antibody: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae (dietary yeast) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-Soy IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic “sensitivity” to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Ursula,

That is too bad that it too so long for your palpitations to go away. When I had my first set of palpations they were happening frequently for about three months. I did not go to the doctor because I was afraid that he would put me on a cardiac med! The amazing thing was that within 45 minutes of taking my first dose of the calcium/magnesium supplement my palpations went away completely. It seemed unbelievable at the time--I was having them constantly for three months and all of a sudden they were gone! As long as I continued taking the supplement I did not have any palpations. As soon as I would forget just one dose they would come back. I used to carry my calcium/magnesium and potassium salt in my purse just in case.

The other interesting thing is that about a year ago when I had the palpations and was faithfully taking my calcium/magnesium, I was also having a shoulder ache with muscle spasms. My palpations and muscle spasms/shoulder ache were bothering me for about three days. I was sitting on the couch and a light bulb went off in my head that I had not taken any potassium in weeks. I went into the kitchen and took probably about 1/8 tsp. of NoSalt salt alternative with some water. After a few minutes I noticed that my shoulder was feeling better and after 45 minutes my shoulder ache/muscle spasms & palpitations were completely gone. It was quite amazing and almost unbelievable. I told this story to one of my doctors and he just looked at me and did not say a thing. (I really hate when they do that--it seems like I always have to figure out every thing on my own.)

None of this ever made sense to me. I could never figure out why I needed to take extra potassium and magnesium. Now that I believe that I am gluten intolerant things seem more clear. I have another week and a half to go before I get my Enterolab tests back and then maybe I will know for sure why I have difficulty absorbing minerals.

Kathy

Sometimes palpations can be caused by low magnesium. Do you take a calcium/magnesium supplement? There is a helpful book by Carolyn Dean--"The Miracle of Magnesium" that I have found helpful. If people with gluten problems are susceptible to osteoporosis because they are not absorbing enough calcium it makes sense that they may also have problems absorbing magnesium as well.

I used to have horrible problems with heart palpitations several years ago. I read somewhere on the internet that low magnesium can cause heart palpitations; I was not taking a calcium/magnesium supplement at the time. I started a calcium/magnesium supplement and my heart palpations went away. Now I only get heart palpitations if I forget my calcium/magnesium supplement for several days. One time I got my palpations back wile taking my calcium/magnesium supplement and I realized that I had not been taking my usual potassium salt. I took a small amount of No Salt potassium salt and my palpations went away. I have not found a book to back up my theory that low potassium can cause palpations as well as low magnesium. I use "lite" salt with 1/2 sodium and 1/2 potassium to help make sure that I get a little extra potassium.

If you try a calcium/magnesium supplement try to find one that does not contain magnesium oxide because that form of magnesium is more likely to cause diarrhea than other forms of magnesium. It is also important to find a calcium/magnesium supplement with a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium (if the supplement only has a tiny bit of magnesium it will not help much). My current calcium/magnesium supplement is NSI "Calcium & Magnesium" available at Vitacost. Here is a link: Open Original Shared Link. Even though this supplement contains magnesium citrate and is less likely to cause diarrhea than magnesium oxide, I still have to be careful with it and take a smaller dose than recommended. I have also found that if I take pysllium along with my calcium/magnesium that it is less likely that I will get loose stools from the magnesium.

Kathy

Thanks for all the replies and information. I now have the willpower to wait until my Enterolab results come in!

Kathy

Hi,

For those of you who have a casein intolerance I am wondering if you are able to eat whey protein or if you react to it as well? I am wondering specifically about whey protein isolate/concentrate protein powders.

I have been on a gluten & casein free diet wile awaiting my Enterolab results and I am feeling better. I have also discontinued my whey protein drinks as well. I am not sure if it was necessary to eliminate my whey protein shakes to be casein free. Any opinions?

Thanks for any help.

Kathy