ALCAT completion! 6 months on my food allergy diet Summary and Review

*** Updated 1/2014***

Today I have completed 6 months of one of the hardest diets I have ever done. There were many days I wanted to throw in the towel but I did not even cheat ONE day. I was determined. I hate calling it a diet because it was not to loose weight; I did it to try to get rid of my food allergies and the symptoms that came along with that.

The science behind ALCAT is that our white blood cells renew every 90 days. That means that we have new white blood cells floating around in our bodies every 90 days. When a new white blood cell is formed it does not have a memory of what it was sensitive too before. Therefore ALCAT says if you stay off of these foods for 3-9 months your body has a chance of not being sensitive to it anymore.

Summary
ALCAT tested me for 200 foods, 50 functional foods and medicinal herbs, 20 food additives and food colorings, 10 environmental chemicals, 20 molds & 20 antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents. Out of those 320 things my results came back that I had sensitivity to 178 items! That is more than half of the items tested most of which were food.

After six months of eliminating these foods I can now rotate in one of these every five days:

• Baker’s Yeast (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Banana (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Basil 
• Black Pepper (very hard to stay away from for 6 months) 
• Broccoli 
• Butternut squash 
• Cantaloupe (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Carob (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why)
• Endive 
• Garlic (this was also very hard to stay away from) 
• Goat’s Milk 
• Grape (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Kelp (I have Hasimotos Thyroiditis and until it goes into remission Iodine is not something my body should have. Kelp is full of it. It will only make my Hashi’s worse.) 
• Mackerel 
• Mahi Mahi 
• Mustard 
• Pear (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Pecan
• Pinto Bean (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why)
• Plum (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why)
• Pork
• Rice (hard to stay away from being Gluten Free) (I won’t be rotating in – read “verdict” section to find out why) 
• Sardine 
• Snapper 
• Turmeric
There were a total of 99 foods that I had to eliminate for six months. Positives and NegativesNow that you have a bigger picture of the point of ALCAT testing and elimination diet let’s move on to my outcome after 6 months and the positives and negatives of this testing. ALCAT tagline is “Optimized Wellness through Customized Nutrition.” Did I get customized nutrition? Yes, but I did have to pay extra money for them to develop a meal, menu plan with recipes since I had so many sensitivities. Was the menu customized to my likings and needs? Yes, however, not customized enough. I will get into that in a moment. Do I feel that I have optimized my wellness through this dedicated 6 months? No I don’t. I will also get into that in a moment. The positive side of this testing for me was that it was a piece to my health puzzle. I also got to see how my white blood cells reacted to all of these foods and learn that my body actually recognizes abundance of foods, chemicals and such as foreign. Because my white blood cells do this, they cause inflammation. Another positive element is that they did give me several new recipes that I liked and I learned to cook with way more vegetables and fruits than I was previously used to.The negative side of this testing is it is expensive and when you are done with the 6 -9 months elimination they suggest getting another test to ensure your allergies went away. Mine would have tested worse than the first because my intestines were badly damaged after doing my recommend ALCAT regimen. Another negative is that ALCAT does not know your health history. They do advise that you do not eat anything you have been tested for and found to be allergic (not sensitive – there is a difference) to but they don’t know if you suffer from parasites, pathogenic yeasts, IBS, MS, or any autoimmune condition for that matter. In order to give you a “customized” (as they put it) nutrition plan they NEED to know your health history so that they are not exacerbating your symptoms. For instance, when my test results came back ALCAT said because I have so many food allergies that it looks like I may have “leaky gut.” I hate that term but have to use it. I didn't know this at the time but leaky gut is very serious. If let go it can lead to major malnourishment, more auto-immune conditions and at the worst death. With leaky gut the worst thing I could be eating were any grains, starches and legumes yet I was eating them EVERY SINGLE MEAL! They did give me a protocol (mostly supplements) to follow but nothing in my menu plan worked with the fact that I had leaky gut. At the time it didn’t really matter to me because I didn’t even know what leaky gut really was anyway and I just knew I would start feeling better within a week on the diet. I never did feel better. I just got worse. Boy do I wish I knew then what I know now (a year later with these updated comments I know have learned so much more about how my body functions and what it needs and doesn't need.) I will tell you more in the “Verdict” section of this post. The last negative I found is how they tell you to reintroduce food items. They suggest that on the day you are reintroducing a food item that you eat as much of it as you want. So on the day I get to introduce coconut I can have coconut flour, flakes, syrup, etc, etc, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. As much as I want all day long. I believe there is a flaw in this kind of introduction. Sometimes our bodies can be mildly sensitive to something and if we overrun it with that food item then we will most certainly have a reaction. Instead, if we simply had a handful of organic unsweetened coconut during the introduction day then we most likely would not have a reaction to that food. If we did it wouldn't be awful becuase we didn't overdo it on a food that we might not tolerate. Our bodies would not be overloaded. Basically the idea should be a SLOW introduction. ALCAT doesn’t suggest this.VerdictAm I glad I did this test? Yes because as I said earlier it is a piece to my health puzzle and helped me to learn some things that I may otherwise not have learned.If I went back 6 months and knew what I know now would I do this test over again? No. I would not because when a person has SO many sensitivities to foods, it truly does suggest that that person has a leaky gut. This is when your intestines do not absorb foods or almost any nutrients because of microscopic holes in your intestine walls essentially. The food remains undigested and the undigested foods and nutrients actually seep into the blood steam via the small intestine. It is kind of creepy! When the foods or nutrients pass through the normal barrier (our intestinal wall), don’t get digested properly and seep into the blood stream is causes a highly inflammatory reaction - skin lesions, achiness, psoriasis, headaches, flu like symptoms and more. Leaky Gut cannot be healed by just eliminated one food at a time here and there. Leaky gut also means that the person has an imbalance of bad bacteria that needs to be taken care of. It can be killed (or taken care of) by abstaining from sugars and starches as well as abstaining from antibiotics and NSAIDS. Sometimes natural antifungals and antiparasitic treaments must be used too. The person with gut dysbiosis must also be taking a therapeutic dose of probiotics to counteract the bad bacteria and make the good bacteria grow. My ALCAT menu had me eating a significant amount of sugar from fruit (which I slowly stopped because it didn’t make me feel good and I didn’t know why, now I do.) My menu also had me eating starch at EVERY meal. These foods are touted as good in our modern society today but these grains and starches are not health promoting foods. Sorghum, millet, buckwheat, white rice, brown rice and many other gluten free grains can be detrimental to our health - especially those who eat them every meal and have gut problems or autoimmune conditions. The menu also had me eating potatoes quite often with are full of starch and almost void of essential vitamins. These are the foods that feed parasites and yeasts and make them get out of hand. They thrive on them. They sustain their life on them. Basically I just spent six months of my life helping the bad pathogens in my gut grow as well as degrading my intestines more with the overdose of phytic acids and anti-nutrients in grains, nuts and legumes. If I only knew. ***At the end of this six months I stopped ALCAT entirely and started the GAPS diet which I did for 7 months.*** Click the link or go to my sidebars for GAPS labels to search as well as blog/website links. Am I feeling better now than when I first started the test? Absolutely not. Actually I feel worse than I have in my entire life. I have been at home consistently now for about a month and a half, too sick to go out because of my gut dysbiosis. My itchiness (which was the main reason I did ALCAT) is out of control, eczema is going crazy, burning skin is horrible and I feel like I am going insane. I am heavy with depression as well. It will be a long journey to recovery. I don’t solely blame ALCAT for how extreme these symptoms are because there were some other factors that contributed but ALCAT for me definitely made things way worse and played a major rols in my decline in health. **Turns out shortly after this post was written I would be diagnosed with Mono as well. Another autoimmune conditions - Yay - EBV.**

Would I recommend ALCAT testing to a friend? It depends. It depends on the friend’s symptoms and reactions. I do think this is a valuable test if your results don’t come back as having a leaky gut and if you only have sensitivities to a few foods. Then and only then can this test be worth it and effective. If you have a moderate amount of sensitivities then I do believe that the science behind ALCAT works. I would not recommend this testing or diet to someone with an autoimmune condition. Autoimmune conditions ALL start (and continue) with gut dysbiosis so the person getting tested with an autoimmune condition is wasting their time because their results will come back with a lot of sensitivities. You can get rid of or put into remission (lack of symptoms), any autoimmune condition by bringing your gut back to health.I know this was a long post but I pray that it serves to educate some people out there not only about ALCAT testing but about leaky gut and food allergies and sensitivities. I will do some more posts at a later date on our intestinal and digestive health and I will continue posting about my health journey. I have learned SO much in the past month. My lifestyle is going to change yet again but this time hopefully for the best! Lord willing.Please comment if you have any questions and I would love to help you out or answer your questions.PS Don’t worry this blog isn’t turning into a health blog only. I still plan to post on homeschool, life happenings, inspiring songs, recipes and more. Health is just where it is at for me right now and I know that other people suffer with many health problems so hopefully this serves a good purpose in helping others too.

~Blessings~Please note - I am not a medical doctor.  What I say on this blog is based on my own research along with my own personal experiences.  I assume no liability and my advice, ideas or suggestions should not replace those of your own practitioner.

Today.... is THE day! ALCAT phase 2 begins

Yep.  Today is the day.  I have done it.  I have made it to my three month mark - that is 91 LONG days of eating according to my ALCAT food sensitivities.  This is a big milestone a day to celebrate!

Now my long list of foods that I can't eat got a bit shorter. I still have three more months to complete the rest of this elimination diet but I think this was the hardest phase.

Now I get to start by picking any food on my moderately sensitive list to add back into my diet.  I can introduce one every five days and see if my body has a reaction.  If it does then I should probably back off of that food for another three months or so but if not then I am good to go and can eat that food moderately every 5 days until my gut (sounds weird but that is a term for stomach, large intestine, small intestine, and colon) continues healing. Once my gut heals then my body will stop attacking good foods as if they were foreigners and in turn causing inflammation in my body. 

First up for re-introduction is .....

Organic Corn (yes, it has to be organic because did you know that Corn is one of THE most genetically modified food out there? Yep, it's true.  Buy organic to ensure you are not ingesting GMO's.)

Sweet Potato (Organic)

Tomato (Organic)

Coffee (Organic)

Turkey (Organic)

Apple (Organic)

Coconut (Organic)

I have 37 foods that are available for me to put into my rotation diet now.  It will take time because again, I can only introduce a new one every five days.  I have 62 foods that are on my mildly sensitive list too that I can rotate.  The severely sensitive list I have to wait to reintroduce until next year (March to be exact.)  Then I can finally have garlic again and black pepper (that's a hard one to stay away from) as well as pears, pecans and pinto beans.  There are a bunch more but those are some of the ones I really miss.

It has been a tough journey and I still am not symptom free with my health but have made drastic improvements through many, many things that I have done. One thing is for sure - sugar (even getting too much from fruits) causes terrible aching in my bones and joints.  Staying away from that has taken all my achiness away.  Praise the Lord!

So you can rest easy today knowing that I am getting to eat corn!  Yay!  I know you were very concerned. :-)

~Blessings~

Ten on Tuesday

1 ** I was making Gluten Free Banana Bread for my family last night, not me I can't have bananas until next year as they are on my severe intolerance list for ALCAT, and I got an egg with two yolks!  We have a neighbor with chickens who has been graciously sharing and the two yolker was one of them! Cool huh? The recipe I was using was from my Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free cookbook that I got at one of my favorite stores - Anthropologie.

2 ** Speaking of ALCAT, by the end of the week I will be on my 75th day of this wonderful (insert sarcastic roll of the eyes) elimination diet. I am more than half way through the first phase.  I have 20 days to go until I can start reintroducing my moderate intolerance foods!  That is a big milestone for me because this has been one of the toughest things I have ever done. I have until next March until I can start reintroducing my severe intolerance foods.

3 ** I purchased a new Bone China Tea set with inlaid real gold at Teavana.  I had some gifts cards and I love that store.  Their teas taste SO good and are all made from REAL fruit with no natural or artificial flavors.  They also tell you what teas are good for certain ailments like allergies, digestion, colds, etc.  There are even several teas that my kids love there.

4 **  I have been teaching preschool in our homeschool co-op since September.  It has been such a blessing.  To be able to see the Lord answer my prayers each and every Monday in giving me enough energy to serve and to get to know each of my 11 preschoolers.  They say the funniest things.  Cody even calls me "teacher."  I love to see their little personalities shine through in the projects that they do each week.  I can tell who the rule followers are, the rebels are, the detail oriented students and the free flowing. I just love them.

5 ** Organizing makes me feel so good.  In fact, I have to be careful not to make it an idol in my life.  It is easy for me to want everything to be just perfect when in reality it never will be.  That being said though I spent a whole day the other weekend going through Cody's room and some of Corbin's. When we first moved in I just kind of put stuff in places.  No rhyme or reason (well there was a system - sort of.)  Now though, everything has it's place, it mostly stays neat and tidy and Cody is able to find all of his things.  I also made a few bucks selling some stuff at the local consignment store.  SHHHH! Don't tell the boys.

6 ** Have you ever refilled inks for your printer?  Well I did recently. I was so excited because I was saving about $70-80 not having to buy new ink cartridges.  Bummer thing is that my printer gets errors now all the time because the code on the old cartridge is read by my printer saying it is low.  It keeps saying it is installed incorrectly and all kinds of stuff.  I am not sure my saving the money was worth all the hassle it has created.  The verdict is still out.

7 ** I have lost about 22 pounds in the last two months thanks to my wonderful (insert sarcastic roll of the eyes) ALCAT diet. I never thought I would complain about something like this because I could have always lost maybe a few pounds (about 10.)  Well now most of my wardrobe doesn't fit me and I am nearing the 100 lb mark.  NOT good!  I refuse to buy more clothes.  Maybe I will just have to be the saggy baggy elephant for a while until (hopefully) I gain my weight back or at least some of it. If I start feeling better maybe I can gain some muscle too with some exercise.

8 ** We have been doing our usual fall traditions around here: corn maze, pumpkin patch, hay rides, and apple picking (since we only ended up with ONE apple on our tree this year thanks to coddling moths.) It has been lots of fun.  Of course, I really enjoy the REAL fall weather where we can actually bundle up too.

Poor Cody had to be the "girl" in the photo op above.  Good thing he didn't know. Steve caught a frog while were apple picking.  I may be weird but I have always loved frogs.  I think they are so cool.

9 ** I got to do some canning over the weekend.  I made Apple Wedges with Cinnamon Red Hot syrup.  I can't have apples until next year but Corbin said they were yummy.  I can't wait to taste them.  Next up for canning this week: Curried Apple Chutney and Crock Pot apple butter.

10 ** I have been going through a fiery trial on patience lately.  Patience with my kids, my health, test results, solutions to test results, healing for my body, preparing food.  You name it - usually patience is written all over it. It is tough and I fail miserably most times.  I know I will continue to be tested until I pass and that is the hard part.  I can not do it on my own.  I can only do it through Christ who strengthens me.  His Strength is made perfect in my weakness.

11 *Bonus ** The thing I hear most often lately is "You look tired."  It is true I do look tired. My body is a mess but on the road to healing and recovery.  I really don't mind hearing it because it is true but I look forward to the day that I have that healthy glow again and look refreshed.  Lord willing.

~Blessings~



Food, Chemical and Herbal Sensitivities (ALCAT Testing)

This is for all my health friends/family out there and anyone searching on the Internet to find some answers to healing symptoms of chronic inflammation.  I haven't done a health post in a while and I figure it would be quite timely if I did one now.  My health has been consuming me for months now.  Not by choice but by force.  Unfortunately my Hashimoto's symptoms have been getting a lot worse (at least that is what I finally narrowed it down to.)  The doctors ruled out Lupus (thankfully) and Psoriasis as well as Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am grateful the doctor I have was willing to help me rule these things out.  Boy when Hashimotos Thyroiditis gets out of hand it can be a beast to tame!  It can lead to breast cancer, ovarian cancer and even more autoimmune diseases none of which I want.  What it all comes down to is chronic inflammation.

I have been researching like crazy lately (again not by choice but by force as I would way rather be scrapbooking) about various foods and things to help inflammation and supplements to take to help my symptoms.  I have found out some really good information that I thought I would share with you.  Blog posts and websites on health can really be helpful for those people out there with chronic problems with their bodies. They have helped me big time!

One test I came across (miraculously because I had never heard about it before but God put our landscaper in my life to tell me about it) was the ALCAT testing. I know I am sensitive to certain foods and chemicals as well as certain herbal remedies so I wanted to figure out exactly what to avoid.  Afterall anything you put in your system that you are sensitive to will cause inflammation.  I want to minimize this.

Steve and I decided to have an ALCAT test done on me in order to get some answers.  I had 200 foods tested, various chemicals and molds found in the environment and household products and many female herbs tested for sensitivities in my body.

Much to my disappointment I had A LOT of sensitivities. :-(  The good news is that I wont have to avoid these things for life though!  Let me tell you a little of the science behind the ALCAT testing.  It was so interesting so I have to share it with you!

ALCAT takes your blood (the lab came to my house) and then tests the various items (food, chemicals, etc) against your white blood cells.  If your white blood cells react in a certain way to what they have tested (they have a formula) then you are marked for a sensitivity.  These sensitivities come from consuming too much of the same thing too often and your bodies ability to digest or dispose of the item properly.  Anyway, they give you back a results packet with Severe Intolerance, Moderate Intolerance, Mild Intolerance and and OK columns as well as details on how their "diet" works.  I hate the word diet because it is NOT a diet really.  Our white blood cells reproduce every ninety days.  This means that in our bodies every ninety days we have new white blood cells floating around.  ALCAT suggests avoiding "Severe" items for 6 months, "Moderate" items for 4 months and Mild items I can have once in a while.  You cannot eat the same food two days in a row either. Here is more of the science part: Our white blood cells do not have a memory.  This means that after 4 months or 6 months of avoidance I should be able to reintroduce (one at a time) the foods (or herbs, etc.) that I was most sensitive too and not have a reaction.  The "build up" will have gone away due to the renewal of my WB cells and their lack of memory.

I was always the type that said "I could never - avoid dairy or sugar!" Well, as usual I am learning never say never.  I should have said "I don't want to ..." instead. 

Let me show you the foods I can have (it is a smaller list to type than the foods I can't.)

Veggies: Beet, eggplant (can't really have because it is a nightshade and that can also cause inflammation), lentils, romaine lettuce, black beans, fava beans, lima beans (yuck), yellow squash, black eye peas, Green pea, Mung beans (which are bean sprouts), watercress (yuck), carrot, kidney bean, portobello mushroom

Fruits (I have to stay away from these often because even natural sugars can cause inflammation) Apricot, Kiwi, Peach (my favorite), Strawberry, Avocado, Lime, Black Currant (cant find these anywhere), Nectarine, Pumpkin, Honeydew Melon, Orange, Raspberry

Meat: Beef, Chicken (thank goodness)

Dairy: egg yolk.  Yea, like I am going to just eat egg yolk!  I have a reaction to Whey as well which is in almost all dairy - so there you go, no dairy. :-(

Seafood: we can really leave this one off because I really can't stand most seafood.  Clam (yuck), Halibut (yuck), Sea Bass (yuck), Sole (yuck)

Grains: Amaranth, Buckwheat (has no gluten), Gluten Free Oats, Tapioca

Herbs/Spices: Bay Leaf, Clove, Paprika, Thyme, Cardamom, Coriander, Parsely (yuck), Cayenne Pepper, Cumin, Saffron, Cinnamon, Dill, Sage

Nuts/Oils & Misc. Foods: Green Tea, Chamomile, Hazelnut, Pistachio, Brewers Yeast, Cocoa (yay!), Hops, Caraway, Cottonseed, Peanut, Cashew, Flaxseed, Pine Nut (this is the expensive group BUT has been saving me for snacking!)

So there you have it.  That is what I can eat.  Not much.  I also have to avoid certain dyes (in all products like prescriptions, shampoo, makeup, etc.) that I am sensitive too.  That has been an adventure. Just realized my thyroid medication I take everyday has the dye I am sensitive to in it! Now I get my medicine compounded from a custom pharmacy.

After I got this list back I chose to pay ALCAT to create a menu for me.  There was no way I could figure out what to feed my family and me based on this list.  They gave me 32 different recipes and 8 days worth of a menu that I can repeat.  It has been a lifesaver.  There are quite a few things I actually like on there.

ALCAT services has helped me to learn how to make different recipes using a lot more vegetables that I am used to and helped me to manage not being able to eat the same thing for two days in a row and avoiding certain things for 4 days at a time.

I have been on this for 16 days now.  No dairy and no sugar!  Only 5.5 more months to go! I never thought I could do this. 

The first week and a half was rough with symptoms of withdrawl and my body clearing itself of toxins and allergens.  It is getting a bit better now and I don't feel as tired, etc.  All of my symptoms are not nearly gone but we will see what 6 months does.

If you have read all the way to the end then obviously this is something that interests you or an area you need help with (or maybe you just want to know what I am personally going through.)  I have more health information I want to post in further "health" posts but can't here because this one is already too long. If you are on a journey to feel better then ALCAT testing might be a place to start (or end for that matter.) It is pretty costly but worth it if you are at the end of your rope and need some answers.

I personally have noticed some positive changes so far in my health since starting to avoid certain prod and I pray that there will be more to come.  On a side note.  This is not ALL I am doing for my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  The other things I will save for a future post specifically on Hashimotos's and Hypothyroidism.  There are some AMAZING things I have discovered that I can't wait to share.

~Blessings (and health) to you~