Food Intolerance Tests - Got my results this morning. (Half my 'safe' diet wiped out...)
#255502 - 03/31/06 02:34 AM
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Blondie13
Reged: 02/28/06
Posts: 641
Loc: Sheffield, England
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Well, got my results this morning. This company (YorkTest) divides foods into 3 categories -
- Red: Remove these foods from your diet, you are intolerant of them. Intolerance graded from +1 to +4, with +4 being the most severe
- Amber: Eat with caution, definitely no more than every 4 or 5 days
- Green: No reaction.
My RED foods are:
Cows Milk and related products +2 (already cut that out, except still searching for a dairy-free cheese in the UK so still nibble a bit of cheese occasionally)
Wheat +1
Gluten +1
Yeast +1
Bucketwheat +1
Corn (Maize) +1
Millet +1
Lamb +1
My YELLOW foods are:
Barley
Egg White
Pork (don't eat it anyway)
Beef (don't eat it anyway)
Lentils (bummer)
Hazelnut (don't eat it)
Garlic (Doh)
Ginger (Doh)
Everything else green - it tested 113 foods altogether.
So... Mllk and related dairy products I can live with, once I find a dairy-free cheese. Ooh, only just realised that includes chocolate!!  Noooooo!!
The bit that's gutted me is the wheat/gluten/yeast - that wipes out about 75% of my diet now I've moved to Eating for IBS diet! Bagels, white bread, sourdough, etc etc... I guess I have to start looking for gluten-free replacement products (which I remember hearing somewhere taste rubbish). But I was thinking, won't gluten-free bread still have yeast in it?
Can't believe there's a slight reaction to egg whites too, whereas egg yolks have no reaction - I've cut out yolks and being having plenty of whites for protein. Doh!
Sorry, I'm rambling, but it's all only just sinking in...
Help!! 
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http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
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First of all well done on taking the test to get tested. I know it's going to be hard to get used to another new way of eating- You'll find a way to eat and the motivation is that it will make you well.
Dairy free cheese is quite yucky but you can get it in Health Food shops. The dairy free parmesan is fine but the slice cheese I found terrible, you're better off cheeseless!
You can get dairy free chocolate, but remember that chocolate has caffeine and is high in fat anyway so even the dairy free one can trigger IBS (you're possibly better having a very small amount of a very high cocoa percentage chocolate, like Green & Blacks)
The wheat/gluten/yeast bit is more difficult. Kandee who is on this form eats gluten free so search for some posts by her on with the words gluten etc.
Before I had IBS I always said that I could never give up cheese or chocolate. I have eaten cheese about six times in the last 18 months and it was literally a sliver on toast, not on pizza etc. Chocolate and I broke up more tempestuously. Let's just say that I have been back on the chocolate free wagon since the weekend! I did go three whole months without ANY chocolate when I was diagnosed first (marshmallows were my friend). I got over my chocolate cravings a few ways: one was chocolate soy milk- in most coffeeshops you can order a soy hot chocolate and they will float marshmallows on the top. Also I used to eat Coco Krispies with regular or vanilla soy milk or regular rice Krispies with chocolate soy milk..yummy and not on any of your banned lists 
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S.
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where do you get the Food intolerance tests done? what is the procedure they do?
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married to the most amazing man!
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There are 2 companies in the UK who do it, YorkTest and Cambridge Labs. You have to pay via credit card, it's £250 - but if you have private health insurance they usually covered it. (Mine did, I'm with BUPA, and I know someone with AXA and they got it too)
They send you a kit in a box that enables you to take your own blood sample from your finger - you prick it with this little contraption, and you have to fill a little container. It's supposed to take just one prick but it took 5 on 4 fingers for me to fill it, but I have low blood pressure which might explain it.
Anyways, then you just send it back to them, they test it and send you the results by post. You can be tested for 113 or 42 foods, that's the cheaper test. You also get a 30 min and a 15 min telephone consultation with a nutritionist afterwards to discuss your results.
Links:
YorkTest: http://www.homeinonhealth.com/categories.php?cPath=3_21
Cambridge Labs: http://www.cambridge-nutritional.com/Scripts/whatIs.asp
I'm sure there's a US equivalent too?
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http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
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Thank you for the information. Id be interested to find a company that does the same in the US. 
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married to the most amazing man!
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I looked into this in the past and had all the info sent to me. They are located in Florida, if I remember correctly. But they just send you the testing things, you prick your finger, mail in your blood sample, and they get back to you. Try googling them....or else I can try to find my info if I haven't thrown it out yet.
I decided not to do it because 1) I don't know how valid it is 2)it's expensive 3) I was afraid I would become afraid to eat even more foods that I already am! And if this really isn't valid, I would put myself through fear of more foods for no reason. I am really torn about these tests. If I could just be sure they were valid, I would pay to have it done and follow it for sure! But, I'm not.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I had a blood test for food allergy/sensitivity done by Meridian Valley Laboratory. I got a blood sample taken at a local clinic and had it shipped off to Meridian in Renton, WA (tel 425 271 8689 - I'm just looking at the forms right now). I think I have blocked out what it cost but I imagine it was a couple of hundred bucks or something. Ugh.
Anyway, like the test you describe, it tests for around 50 different foods, and then divides your immune response results into 3 categories - insignificant (eat freely), moderate (eat only every 4 days) and significant (avoid).
Nothing showed up for me as "avoid" - and the only things that showed up as "moderate" were egg whites, green beans and kidney beans. Don't think I've ever eaten a kidney bean!
I guess I'm glad I took the test since it kind of confirmed what I already suspected, that my problems aren't about an allergic response to any particular food I'm eating.
Hope this helps!
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IBS-C, lots of spasm and trapped gas.
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I was eating gluten free for a while, and still do for the most part, even though I supposedly don't have to. Here are a few GF foods to look for that I think are great:
Van's GF waffles ( I LOVE the blueberry)
Food for Life GF tortillas
Also, I found rice cakes to be a great snack. I put peanut butter and jelly on them. Definitely takes away the blandness of the rice cakes.
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Kim
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How do they go about detemining your food intolerances? Is it an expensive test?
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Maia Nartoomid
IBS-C, spastic gas
Kaua'i, Hawai'i
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Maia - see my post below, on this same thread, contains all the details (though I am in the UK)
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http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
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