IGg, IGE allergy testing

[Tori Groat]

We recently had IGg and IGe allergy testing for my 6 year old daughter through Great Plains Laboratory and her IGe came back negative for all the foods listed but her IGg revealed that she was Highly reactive to Eggs, cashews and honey and yogurt (her marker was off the charts) and moderately reactive to casein, hazelnuts and lemons and on the low end for Gliadin,Sorghum, wheat gluten,Hazelnuts Peanuts, pistachio, green bean, kidney beans, peas soybeans cranberry, broccoli and beets. I'm waiting to get in for a followup w/the naturopath but in the meantime I'm wondering what these readings mean? Does it mean I should avoid all these foods or just the one's that are high and then maybe rotate the moderate/low reaction foods?!

I've been doing some research on this and it seems that IGg is conterversial in food allergy testing (hence why my insurance did not cover it--Argh!) and that a lot of these tests can be inaccurate readings. I'm wondering if anyone on here has any experience w/this or advise. I really do believe that something(s) she is eating is bothering her and I'm wondering if I should exclude all of these items or what? As you can see from her foods listed she would not be able to eat a lot of things out (which is fine because I do most cooking from scratch anyway but it will be hard in the beginning to reinvent new recipes of her old favorites).

Thanks!

Tori

[Pat]

Wow! That is a lot to adjust to. I kinda know a lot about food intolerances, lol. And to heal the gut from exposures to IgG foods is very doable.

I'm shocked about the yogurt and honey. Eggs and casein and gluten are probably the hardest to avoid. But, there are plenty of alternatives. I'd recommend posting on Mothering.com's Allergy forum for hints and ideas for substitutions. There are many. http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=307

I'd avoid the most reactive things totally, and substitute the moderately reactive for alternatives. And consider rotating the least reactive, rather than total avoidance. Making a list of foods TO EAT is much easier than thinking about things to avoid though, ime. And then make favorite recipes including those foods, rather than trying to find ways to avoid everything.

I'd work at adding the top 10 'gut healing' supplements to maximize health. CLO, CO, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B, C, D, E, selenium, bone broths, whole food probiotics: (non-dairy) yogurt, kefir, kombucha, fermented vegetables. (These are easy, although "foreign" at first.)

Also, high doses of vit C, and Epsom salt baths for detox.

Start here, the yeast overgrowth stuff is covered there: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=941070 It talks about C-sections initially. But, the point is antibiotics leading to allergies leading to asthma. All due to yeast overgrowth.

And here, regarding preventing chronic immune system issues: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...c#post12948063

Food intolerances is an external manifestation of an impaired immune system. Our gut is 70% of our immune system. I'd focus on healing her gut. The "Healing the Gut-cheat sheet" is packed with info: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=434071 I'd start there.

Nutrient dense foods and gut health are the keys to strengthening the immune system. Here is a list of the "World's Healthiest Foods". This is a non-profit site which lists the most nutrient dense foods. http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Start with little steps. Do one new thing that benefits your health each week. Master that. Understand WHY it is important and work it into your lifestyle. If I go headlong into a bunch of new stuff, the novelty and maintenance wear off. Start with reading one thread a week. Take notes.

Once you have created new habits by ADDing more food alternatives, it is easier to just skip other foods which have allergens.


Pat

[Joy Kennedy]

Hi Pat, I wanted to check out the link you posted about "Healing the Gut-cheat sheet" but the link didn't work.
Could you repost it.

Good luck Tori, sorry I don't have any helpful advice but am interested in the information.

Thanks!
Joy

[Pat]

Yeast link: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=941070
Immune system link: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=12948063&...
Healing the Gut-cheat sheet: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=434071

Sorry about that.

Pat

[Tori Groat]

Hi, Pat-

Thanks for the info. Luckily, being a personal chef I've had a lot of clients who were celiacs or had some food allergies or on very strict diets so I'm used to cooking different ways. It's still nonetheless a lot to swallow at first especially since my little one had a Birthday party this weekend and I totally forgot until the last minute that cake with egg and dairy would most likely be served!! Luckily, I was near a EarthFare and was able to get her a egg/dairy free cupcake even though it was not ideal because it still had wheat in it. I had to pay for that mistake by paying $3.00 for 1 cupcake!! Won't make that mistake again. I plan to have "back up" cupcakes in the freezer from now on.

I'm so with you on the "gut healing" regimen and we already have been doing all of things for some time except the vitamins you listed. Would you rec those vitamins in addition to the multivitamin she is taking? I was giving her homemade kefir in addition to kombucha and cultured veggies but now I guess we will have to switch to coconut kefir instead of dairy. I used to make coconut kefir for myself w/body ecology starter packets but my dd would never drink it. Maybe I can give it another try again and see if she will drink it with stevia or something?

These are very good resources and I'm glad to know that I was on the right path. I'm so with you on the "gut health" being the root of all that is ailing her. I really believe that most health problems that affect people are all from poor gut health so I'm glad to know that I'm not crazy! :) The thing is, I was group B positive when I was preggo w/both of my babies and I let the Dr's talk me into iv antibiotics and I had such an awful time getting rid of Thrush!! I don't think that we ever really recovered from that and now it is manifesting itself in the from of asthma and food allergies for my dd. When I get more money saved up I plan to get myself tested for IGg because I feel like I'm dealing with candida (sp?). Thanks again for the many helpful links there is a ton of good info there!