food sensitivity testing reliability

[bomag]

I've been gluten dairy soy free for 10 years  and on AIP for two years now.  I was dramatically better at the beginning of AIP but have been getting worse lately (I have lupus, Sjogrens, and Hashimotos).  I've always criticized the unreliability of sensitivity lab testing over trial and error as the gold standard, but as I come to suspect regular stuff on AIP, I'm looking at the idea of lab testing again.

When I'm feeling bad, I wonder - is it vanilla, raisins, coconut oil, coconut milk (yes on that one), bananas, chard, rooibos (yes), cherries, pork, tiger nut flour (yes), tapioca (yes)?.  the list grows and grows.  It's too hard to keep everything constant for a few days and change only vanilla then omit it again. And some harmful foods take repeated doses to show up.  And do that testing for every little thing.  And then it could always be sun exposure (lupus) so one bout of elimination may not give the final answer.

I read that Sarah recently had food sensitivity testing done.  Is it reliable enough to be worth the cost?  (There seem to be so many costs of being ill that it matters.)  I anticipate eating full AIP as well as a few things that didn't seem to bother me before AIP (rice, tomatoes, corn chips, etc.) in the 2 weeks before doing the test so I have the antibodies to foods I react to.

[rheagan]

It is very possible, and I would argue even likely, to have sensitivities to some foods included as "safe" on AIP. AIP includes several common allergens, like citrus, seafood/shellfish, beef, pork, and strawberries. For myself, I did an elimination diet for food sensitivities before going AIP for exactly this reason. I'm glad I did because it turns out I am very sensitive to beef and lemons, both of which are very common AIP foods. I don't hold much faith in the standard lab testing either, but I have been looking into the MRT test from Oxford Biomedical Technologies, which sounds quite promising to me. This test actually measures how your body interacts with each food tested to see which your worst (and best) foods are. It's like getting a personalized anti-inflammatory diet created just for you! My mom and sister both have had it done and have had a lot of success with the results (Hashimoto's and severe asthma, respectively). I'm thinking of getting it done later on this spring. I think it is a little pricy (about $500 in Canada), but if I have as much success with it as my mom and sister have had, it will be worth it to me.

nowleap.com/mediator-release-testing/the-patented-mediator-release-test-mrt/

[bomag]

Thanks, rheagan. I'll look into it. Another reason I'm skeptical of antibody testing for food sensitivities is that while biopsies have confirmed my autoimmune conditions, my bloodwork remains negative. I think I might get a lot of false negatives by just looking for antibodies (although the thyroid antibodies showed up in bloodwork).  So this test might be better.

[bomag]

rheagan, how did you do an elimination diet before starting AIP? How did you know what foods to start with? It seems like any of the animal proteins could be in doubt as could any of the veggies! I know of people who individually are sensitive to chicken, fish, and lamb. Did you have a resource for the initial elimination part? TIA

[rheagan]

I work with a nutritional therapist and she had me do it. While you're right, any food theoretically could cause a sensitivity, this was based on eliminating foods that are the most commonly problematic in the general population from a food sensitivity perspective, rather than an inflammation perspective as the AIP does.

I have all the info from my NT on my home computer (I'm at work right now) and I can send it to you when I find it. It works pretty much the same way as the AIP does - you eliminate certain foods (those found to be most commonly problematic plus those you feel might be a problem even if they aren't on the list) for a period of not less than three weeks, then slowly reintroduce each individual food no more frequently than once every three days until you have tested all of them. "Positive" sensitivity symptoms and signs can range anywhere from increased heart rate/blood pressure/body temperature to lethargy to abdominal pain and migraines. It is a really interesting process to go through.

Between that test and the AIP, I've been able to come up with a diet that works really well for me. I can compare what foods I know I'm sensitive to, like beef and lemons, to foods not allowed on AIP and customize my AIP approach. I consider it similar to the idea of low FODMAP AIP, or low histamine AIP. I avoid what I know I'm sensitive to in addition to what's not AIP. I hope that makes sense, lol. I believe Sarah does address customizing AIP for food sensitivities if you aren't getting the results you want from the standard AIP diet. I guess I just did it the opposite way. I eliminated for food sensitivities and then added AIP. Knowing now how I react to beef, I would have hated to go through these last six months of AIP still eating beef because it's AIP and getting headaches and reactions.

The next step for me will be to have the MRT test done so I can see what foods are causing inflammation in my body on a cellular level and base my AIP reintroductions on that. I'm really hoping it will increase the chances of having successful reintroductions sooner and avoiding/postponing the potentially unsuccessful ones as much as possible because I will have a head start in knowing what causes inflammation before I even start.

Sorry for the ramble. I hope you can follow all of that!

[bomag]

Thanks for the info. I'm doing the customizing part now (starting from AIP minus plantains, beets, coconut, tapioca, arrowroot, carob, rooibos, so far). But I'm starting to wonder about the basics (meats, veggies, and fruits) so I'm thinking that having a plausible place to start and adding in might be a better approach right now. I'd be happy to hear what foods you started with originally. I understand the disclaimers, but you have to start somewhere! In the early days (I discovered my gluten sensitivity in the early 80s), the elimination diets started out with beef and pears, and some with lemon juice in water.

[rheagan]

When I did my elimination diet, I eliminated beef, pork, chicken, turkey, shellfish/seafood/farmed fish (not wild fish), eggs, all animal dairy, citrus, strawberries, legumes (including soy), nuts, corn, gluten-containing grains, nightshades, alcohol, sugar (small amounts of maple syrup/agave/honey were ok) and caffeine (including chocolate). I also eliminated a few extra things because I knew or suspected I might have a sensitvity to them - rice, winter squash, honey. I hope that helps!

[bomag]

Wow. So wild fish, sweet potatoes, greens and other non-nightshade, non-squash veggies, and some fruits to start. Sounds like a plan! Thanks.