Finding out what foods (and drinks) are medding with wellness is a key to being well or reversing illness. There are basically two methods. One takes less time and effort but costs money. The other costs nothing in money, but takes a lot of time and energy/effort. It will simply depend upon the diposition and funds YOU have, whether you do one or the other, some of both or throw your hands up and do nothing and continue doing what you're doing with your diet. Maybe you'll make some educated guesses and at least learn some basics about it and then go from there. Every bit helps. But to really get a lot of results, one does have to find all the dietary items causing significant reactions and deal with that. 

There's are topics at Lumigrate I will link to, below, where testing is discussed. Lumigrate actually launched with an investment on our part in the food allergies subject which included much about testing for IgG food allergies. That was provided by my personal naturopath of 2007-2009, Christopher Lepisto, ND, who had apparently helped a local MD learn about IgG food allergy testing back before I connected with either of them. I had IgG food allergy testing done in 1994 and knew one needed to re-do it periodically becasue your sensitivities change, so I'd called around trying to find, based on what was online Searching, a provider to do that testing. I went to the mainstream medicine allergiest, whose staff and website had indicted he did the kind of testing I wanted. Got there and no, they did not, they did IgE testing and AGAIN, nothing was found that reacted scratching or stabbing needles under the skin, foods nor inhalants.

I went away feeling abused and lied to, and the doctor didn't have a clue what to tell me aside from "you've had a lot of bad luck with your health." I saw him the next day at a training about TMJ and half my symptoms that baffled us in my evaluation were explained by TMJ, yet he didn't even seem to register it. I knew then that truly, patients TO have to take control of way more than we ideally should.

Don't blame the doctors, it's the system they've been steeping in, its made them non-thinkers in many cases, and often they DO see what's going on and then they work hard to help and sometimes even find a way to leave mainstream, organized medicine. These are the 'detective doctors' that get more into functional medicine and looking for the underlying reasons for conditions and symptoms and then solving at that level. Much as more traditional healers have always done, such as naturopaths and acupuncturists, who are featured in this topic. 

So I'd found one of these detective doctors, though he was new to it, and he suggested we start with this odd food allergy testing nobody hardly has heard of. GET OUT! I was looking for someone to do that here and couldn't find anyone. So tested, I was, by an MD but he'd learned about this subject from Dr Lepisto, and the two of us joined the MD and were part of the start-up group of the integrative center we all conspired about creating in meetings in 2007.  We helped make it happen and get off the ground in 2008-2010. He was the last of the original helper professionals to go back to being in their own location separately, but collaborating, and the MD had a whole different kind of providers and programs he had gotten into and was successfully helping those kinds of patients. So it was a win win for the patients, as they had tons of providers spread around town, but not the 'under one roof to solve chronic pain and fatigue and the etceteras' as had been our original intention in 2007.

Iin 2010 Dr Lepisto was with a new Facebook with his new 'shingle' home back downtown in Grand Junction. And I connected him with a bunch of good FB friends, one being a woman on the East Coast of the US who does a lovely job with a website about fibromyalgia. She conducted a wonderful interview with him in 2010, and then he provided the information at Lumigrate, I'll link to that topic.

They discuss food allergies and intollerances, and his opinion is that only a few people really have what it takes to do the elimination diet, and he is in preference of the testing. However, I've encountered people who really don't have the means to do the testing, or they would prefer the experience of doing the elimination / challenge diet. 

They discuss the testing; it turns out Cinda, the woman doing the interview on her website, had testing in the past from the laboratory that Dr Lepisto was suggesting. It was a different means of testing and different laboratory than what he had been working with in 2008 when we recorded the food allergy video. There simply are so many emerging improved tools these days.  So keep that in mind as you read information at Lumigrate or elsewhere on this subject. Things shift rapidly. 

So by presenting these two providers, with a different preference about testing, apparently, YOU can see how much the provider's opinions and perhaps THEIR personalities reflect on what they recommend and gravitate to. If I were inclined to have the wherewithall to do the elimination / challenge route, I'd likely talk that up differently than if I were one that was not going to be that inclined to the weeks of changing your eating and then being organized enough to thoughtfully reintroduce the foods the ideas way, in the most sensible order. And then monitor symptoms.  I PERSONALLY think that this self monitoring aspect is an important key to wellness overall and it's a great exercise to get it through the elimination diet process. 

Dr Lepisto says in the interview (that you can see or read as I transcribed all the critical information) that a problem today is that we have the 'fix me' behavioral mentality in America. Well, if you can figure out your foods on your own, and a lab test can do it for multiple hundreds of dollars, aren't you basically doing a 'you do the work, I'm not', and the patient would ultimately LEARN and find out where their addictions and issues are if they were to undertake the elimination / challenge route?

Here's the link on Lumigrate to the topic about his interview (which is transcribed as I said, and I've added additional links for things he discussed and we had resources about for further study, or a couple of places I had additional thoughts. When I'd be in person for his presentations I would interject and he always seemed to appreciate my input. Teamwork!  

I set this portion up first because, as you'll see at the written overview I provide of the interview, he gives a lot of tips and how to help facilitate the detoxification process and how important it is that the various organs of elimination are working well, and give a fabulous overview about fibromyalgia (which can be thought of as simply a term that is given to symptoms of chronic illness and pain, and all people who have had that occur basically need this information, so don't worry if you don't have that diagnosis and don't want to think of yourself as having 'the big F'. Just think of it as a Search word and common word to bring people together for learning what they need for wellness education. 

www.lumigrate.com/forum/my-interview-naturopathic-medicine-cfs-and-fms-cinda-crawfords-website

Elimination / Challenge and Reintroduction 

So for the elimination / challenge and reintrocution aspect, I found an exceptionally good website from a licensed acupuncturist whose history looking and foods and diet tracks back to when she was a teen. I sense she was a 'natural born researcher and thinker', and has done a brilliant job with the content at her website. So add natural writer and teacher to the credits I will presume come along with her in life.

Her name is Theresa Vernon, and here's the topic link. I suggest you look around her very simplified and organized website for other information that pertains to chronic illness recovery / reversal and wellness.  Here's the link:

www.tvernonlac.com/food-allergy-diet.html

Here's an excerpt of the most pertinent starter information about her for our purposes here, the About me:

My name is Theresa Vernon, L.Ac. and I am a licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbal therapist, and nutritionist in Northern California. I assist people all over the United States and in other countries. When working outside of California, we communicate by telephone and e-mail. If you are in the area or come here at times, we can arrange a face-to-face consultation if you wish.

I spent over ten years fully resolving my own issues with chronic fatigue and adrenal fatigue. It was through this process and through working with thousands of patients over the past 27 years, that I learned how complex this condition is. The methods I emphasize have stood the test of time and have proven to be the most cost effective.

The initial discussion we will have is to allow me to understand your concerns and goals to determine whether nutritional and/or herbal therapy is suitable to meet them. This will be by telephone.  If you decide working with me is a good fit for you, the next step is to arrange for a hair tissue mineral analysis. 

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

All nutritional and herbal programs are based on the hair mineral test results.  The hair testing process gives me a strong basis for understanding what the best therapies will be for your needs.  The re-tests help us see how well the therapies are working and how best to adjust them.  I will arrange to send you a test kit through the mail.  You will return the test kit to me when you have completed it.

I will submit the hair sample and test form to the lab and the test results are usually received by me within ten days. The test results are prepared in the form of a very comprehensive report that explains in detail what is being tested, the actual results, extensive background information related to the findings and detailed recommendations for the patient based on the test results.

The recommendations are both dietary and for a specific Nutritional Balancing protocol that is appropriate for your current state of balance.  In certain cases, I may need to adjust the recommended program to better suit your needs.  Regular re-testing about every 3 to 4 months assures that the nutritional program is always current and addressing your specific needs. It is this re-testing and updating process that gives Nutritional Balancing its unusual effectiveness.

Once the results are in, we arrange to go over them in detail and decide what therapies will best meet your needs and abilities. In addition, any need or desire for Chinese Herbal Therapy will be discussed and implemented if appropriate. Regular communication is essential to succeed in implementing the therapies, to adjust for any special needs, and in coaching any dietary changes involved. This is done through telephone and e-mail contact as often as needed to resolve the issue or concern.

Every Healing Program Is Unique

Each person is unique and there is no single therapy that can address everyone's needs. For some, Nutritional Balancing or Chinese Herbal Therapy is all they need and they feel better very quickly. For others, it will take every tool we have, along with some special adjustments and experiments to get it just right. In some cases, these methods may not be appropriate. Every therapy is specific to you based on your condition, needs and abilities.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of working with me to improve your health issues, please fill in the contact form. If you would like me to call you directly, include the best telephone number to reach you. Or we can correspond via e-mail to answer any questions you may have.

To provide an idea of what it is she has that's so outstanding at her website that I'm highly suggesting YOUsers of Lumigrate GO and see for YOUrself, here's a portion of what is at the tab about foods and challenge testing:

Food Allergy Diet
Elimination/Challenge Diet

This particular approach to the food allergy diet (also called the elimination and challenge diet) is much simpler than four day rotation diets or other more involved regimes. Nearly everyone who wishes to identify food allergies will be able do so with this method.

Using an elimination or food allergy diet to identify food sensitivities has certain advantages over using various other testing methods. The most important advantage is that experiencing the reduction or elimination of symptoms during the food allergy diet elimination phase is very convincing and motivating. In addition, there is no cost for this test and once you know how to do it, you can test yourself anytime you need to.

Getting a list of things you are not supposed to eat from the lab usually does not motivate you to give up favorite foods. Often the list is so large, that you will give up before even beginning. In my experience, no one has to give up every single food they may be reactive to on a laboratory test report.  Most lab reports will say that the clinical effect of the identified food will have to be verified by using an elimination diet.  So you can save money and confusion by simply doing the elimination diet instead.

This food allergy diet is based on eliminating the most common food allergens and observing the effect. If symptoms worsen within three to four days, this is a clear sign that those symptoms have been related to eating certain regularly consumed foods.

Once the symptoms subside or disappear (usually within two weeks or so), the eliminated foods are reintroduced and tested carefully and systematically. The response or lack of one, both mental and physical, gives the test result.

Eliminating all sugars is an excellent test for candida overgrowth. If typical flu-like die off symptoms occur within a few days of eliminating sugar, there is a candida problem. Sugar includes honey, fructose, sucanat, fruit, agave syrup and maple syrup. Anything with a sweet taste and a high carbohydrate count on the label has sugar of some kind in it. Excessive sugar intake is a major cause of all types of intestinal dysbiosis.

The Elimination Phase

The most common food allergens are:

• Wheat - bread, pasta, cereal, bagels, cookies, soy sauce, spelt, kumut, as well as the gluten containing grains rye, barley and oats.
• Corn - chips, tortillas, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, corn cereals, fresh corn.
• Milk - liquid milk, yogurt, dry milk, cheese, cottage cheese both cow’s and goat’s, butter is usually tolerated as it is nearly pure fat but clarified butter can be used to be absolutely sure.
• Eggs - fresh eggs, foods made with eggs.
• Soy - tofu, miso, tempeh, soy powder, soy sauce, protein extracts, hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
• For some, any legume or bean including alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts can be a problem but this is more rare than a soy allergy.
• Yeast - yeasted bread, crackers, vinegar, wine, beer and all pickled foods. For those who are sensitive to molds, dried foods such as nuts or herbs can be a problem.
• Citrus fruits - this mainly applies to those with arthritis symptoms.
• Coffee and black tea, sodas, fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, chocolate.
• Nightshade vegetables - tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant. This is also usually only a problem for those with arthritis but some find them overly stimulating.
• Vegetable oils, vegetable shortening and margarine from oils such as soy, canola, corn, safflower or other polyunsaturated fats. These can be very irritating to the intestinal tract for some. No hydrogenated fats.

Taking one to three weeks to work on to the food allergy diet works best for most people. This gives the body time to adjust and minimizes detox and die off symptoms. In addition, you can finish off the food you have and begin experimenting with foods you may not be in the habit of eating.  Changing one meal at a time is a good strategy when beginning the elimination diet.  Develop a new breakfast, then lunch and then dinner.

As you shift your diet toward the food allergy diet, you may experience some cleansing and detoxification symptoms at first. The most common symptoms include headaches, fatigue, joint pain, a flu-like aching or nausea. They tend to come and go during the day. Chronic conditions may flare up temporarily or old symptoms may re-occur for a while. These are all signs that you have a food allergy. The challenge tests will reveal which foods are the problem.

What can I eat during the elimination diet?

• Chicken, fish, beef, lamb, turkey, and all poultry and meats. Allergies to these foods are very rare but if you know you cannot eat certain meats, eliminate them too.
• Rice and anything made from rice. A rice allergy is also very rare so most can eat it freely.
• Quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and other grain alternatives.
• Nuts, seeds, and nut butters that you tolerate well unless you have a strong mold sensitivity.
• Vegetables of all kinds unless you are testing nightshades and legumes.
• Yams and winter squash are good sources of starch that very few if any are sensitive to.
• Herb teas unless sensitive to mold, then use fresh herbs.
• Butter or ghee and olive oil.
• Filtered or spring water, no tap water.

Go to my Cookbook for many recipes which can be used during the elimination phase of the food allergy diet. But in general eating very simply is the best approach. Go to the The Healing Process section for information on handling die-off and detox symptoms.

Clearing Phase

Usually within two weeks, three at most, you will get a clearing of the symptoms you have been struggling with and you may lose up to ten pounds. Food allergies often cause weight gain and water retention. If this does not occur, either you do not have food allergies, or you have too many of them to experience relief with this elimination diet.

A four-day rotation diet is the most powerful tool for severely allergic people or ones who react to nearly everything they eat. The Yeast Connection and The Yeast Connection Cookbook by Dr. William Crook has an excellent section on rotation diet for those who need it. 

The Challenge Phase

For nearly everyone though, many symptoms do clear. Then the challenge and testing part of the food alllergy diet begins. It is tempting to stay on the elimination phase of the diet for many people. They feel so much better with it that they do not want to test any foods.

However, it is best to broaden the diet as soon as possible for better nutrition. One aspect of food allergies or allergies in general is called the allergy/addiction cycle. The foods we react to the most, become addicting just as a drug can. The result of this phenomenon is that the foods and substances we are most allergic to, we are also the most attached to.

This gives us a clue as to which foods to test first. The less it bothers you to think of giving up a certain food, the less likely it is that you are allergic to it. Testing these foods first allows you to broaden your diet more quickly.

Food Testing Procedure

Choose a day when you are not having much in the way of symptoms (at least compared to what you are used to). This makes a reaction more apparent. Eat the food you are testing at breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you react strongly right away, then discontinue the test and continue to eliminate that food.

Eat the food in a pure form. Make sure you are only testing one food allergen at a time. Bread for instance has both wheat and yeast in it so a reaction would be hard to interpret. It would be better to test wheat with plain wheat pasta or hot cereal.

If you feel fine all day and wake up the next day with no particular symptoms, then you may add that food back into your diet.  The next day you can test another one. The most common reaction to a food allergen is a return of a chronic symptom in a more acute form. 

For example, a chronic neck and upper back pain becomes an intense headache when the offending food is eaten.  This is because the immune system is recovering its ability to react acutely to the toxic nature of that food.

Food Reactions

Headaches are a very common food allergy reaction. Elevated heart rate, joint pain, fatigue, depression, negative thinking, and anxiety may occur. A sudden weight gain of three to five pounds, various digestive discomforts, skin rashes or waking up the next day feeling hung over are all signs of a food allergy.

If you react to a food, you must {...MARDY's removed this information so you GO to the WEBSITE to see what she says, as other things at her website are going to be informative and helpful to you... Now, to go on with her content overview info:}

The most severe food allergies can take up to two months of elimination to give a clear response on a challenge test. The immune system has been so weakened by the constant exposure to the food, that it takes longer for it to recover enough to elicit the more acute symptoms in response to the food.

Know The Cause

Often testing a food will bring on a very old and chronic symptom that has not responded to any form of therapy. Now you know exactly what has been causing the problem all those years.

This is very important. To really feel what one of your favorite foods has been doing to you (for who knows how long) is essential to being able to give it up. It is the only thing that can help you to break the addiction to that food. And even then, you may go back to it periodically until you tire of becoming ill over and over again.

This is where creating good substitutes for favorite foods is essential. In order to stay on a diet that keeps you well, you must make it satisfying and enjoyable. As you recover from the allergy/addiction, you will be surprised at how your tastes change and at how good other foods begin to taste once you are not dominated by the constant desire for only those foods you are allergic to.

When Can I Re-introduce A Food?

Some food allergies are temporary. Especially if candida overgrowth in the intestinal tract is a problem, as the candida is cleared and the intestinal tract and immune system recover, you may be able to tolerate a food you could not at first. Other food allergies never change and you will have to avoid that food for the rest of your life to enjoy the best  health.

If the allergy is mild, you may be able to eat the food occasionally. If it is more severe, you may not be able to eat the food without awakening powerful cravings for it. This will make moderation very difficult, if not impossible.  Any food you really crave, should not be eaten. It is a sign that you are reacting to it and it will cause problems eventually.

Free At Last

Living with unidentified food allergies for many years is a crazy-making experience. The chaos in the body and mind and the unpredictable shifts in energy and mood make you a slave to the food. It is the ultimate love/hate relationship.

Food allergy/addiction is the true gateway drug for other substance addictions. The addictive cycle often begins very early in life. Alcoholics are the most severely affected by the addiction side of food allergy/addiction.  The initial effect of their drink of choice is strongly related to the food the alcohol is made from.  After the addiction is well established, the alcohol itself becomes the main addiction.

Eating lots of sugar keeps the alcohol coming by promoting candida overgrowth in the intestinal tract.  Candida produces many alcohol breakdown products as it grows.

Food addiction, tobacco addiction, and drug addiction are always preceded by food allergy/addictions or the drug-like effect of refined sugar and starches. The constant toxicity and stimulation leads to adrenal burnout. All addicts have adrenal fatigue and dysfunction.

Identifying and eliminating food allergy/addictions is extremely helpful in drug and alcohol recovery work. Continuing to eat addicting foods makes it very hard to overcome the cravings for other addictions.

Chronic Fatigue and Food Allergies

If you have chronic fatigue of any type, it is important to be sure you have identified all of your food allergies and sensitivities.  It is just about impossible to fully recover from chronic fatigue while constantly eating foods you are reacting to. 

Those foods are a source of constant adrenal stress day in and day out.  The many years of constant stress damage will cause every kind of illness and misery.  Nothing tastes that good.

I have removed very little from this information in hopes that it will REALLY inspire YOUsers of Lumigrate to go to her website, look at the information and consider taking her up on the information she offers -- cookbook. Consultations she will do remotely.  I REALLY liked what she dovetailed in with this basic information about the addictions aspect, and then went on to elaborate about alcohol addiction. Remember up top where I said (AND drink) when reminding people it's not just the foods. Ms. Vernon appears to me to have a firm grasp on the subject matter she is offering expert advise about. And this is only one topic at her website, I will leave the rest for YOU to explore.  I hope this is a very helpful topic on this subject for the Lumigrate YOUsers. And I will thank, in advance, Dr Lepisto (of central, western Colorado) and Theresa Vernon, L.Ac (of northern California).

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! ~ Mardy