Interpreting E95 Food Panel results

[poppy88]

Hello! I went to a natropathic doctor recently because I have all sorts of autoimmune problems and am on some heavy duty meds, and I wanted to see if there was a more natural way to deal with things.  I have type 1 diabetes (which isn't going to go away and not really why I sought this doctor) and psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.  I also have a few random autoimmune conditions that aren't that bothersome, so my immune system is just screwed up.  The psoriatic arthritis is what I went to this doctor for, I am on two immunosuppressants and an NSAID for it, which are helping a lot (before I was unable to walk in the mornings and I am 25 years old), but I don't like the idea of taking these strong medications.

Anyway, she ordered an e95 food panel from Meridian Valley Lab, and it came back saying to avoid dairy, eggs, and garlic.  The eggs are garlic numbers are quite high (both categories are almost at 2,000) and the milk products are high (500-900 range) but not as high as the garlic and eggs.

I am wondering how to interpret this.  I have read that the test can be inaccurate, and I am just kind of wondering how I should interpret these results.  I have been thinking that maybe I would stop eating garlic and eggs (which are both in everything) and maybe eventually dairy since it is also a recommended avoid for me, but I'm not sure if the test is even telling me anything important.  The garlic thing really shocked me, I eat it all the time.

Any advice would be much appreciated!  Thank you

*edit: also, my nautropath has recommended I do an elimination diet and stop eating wheat, dairy, beef, and peanuts for 6 weeks.  Wheat was in the moderate category for me and peanuts were fine on the e95 test, so I don't understand why she would order the test and not be following the results.  Also, I have been tested for celiac disease and that was negative, and I never have stomach issues with any kind of food.  So should I follow this advice?  Thank you!

[jschwab]

I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.

[SilverLining]

See a real doctor and get real allergy testing done.

[CMdeux]

E95 basic food panel

This has come up before. 

That said, trying different dietary changes certainly might impact your health otherwise, and I can't see any reason why it would hurt to try a few things and see what works for you-- just know that your E95 panel, unfortunately, was probably a waste of time/money.

Glad that you aren't trying to manage your T1D with a naturopath!!  However, that brings up a good point-- they are just as dangerous for the management of food allergy.    It doesn't sound as though you have reason to suspect that you have any IgE-mediated (true) food allergies.  That's good news.  The bad news is that you're hooked up with a naturopath that thinks that s/he can diagnose/manage/treat food allergies. 

Let's put it this way-- what would you recommend someone do if they encountered a naturopath that wanted to diagnose/treat T1D?  Run, right?  Well, that's pretty much how most people with life-threatening food allergies feel about naturopaths or other alternative medicine practitioners diagnosing or treating food allergies.

A careful food journal is probably a much more useful tool for finding patterns that might help you with any symptoms that are dietary in origin.   There are a lot of things to explore there-- histamines, tannins, etc.    I truly do wish you luck in finding something that works to make your life better-- but I am skeptical that your naturopath is going to be very helpful.  Sorry.   

[poppy88]

I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.

She actually recommended a lot of nightshades for a diet plan she made me, so I was kind of surprised.  I think she kind of just told me what she would tell any other patient and didn't give me advice for my specific medical conditions.

[poppy88]

See a real doctor and get real allergy testing done.

I am seeing a team of real doctors for various things.  I haven't seen an allergist yet because I never really thought that my problems were the result of an allergy, it's just the natropath that has me thinking otherwise now.

[poppy88]

E95 basic food panel

This has come up before. 

I did see that.  I'm sorry for posting on this subject again, but I felt that my situation was a little bit different from that person's, since she didn't have any symptoms of food intolerance other than the infertility.  Some of the responses I have read on other forums recommended people not take heed of the e95 test unless they had symptoms, which I think I do (symptoms of something at least), so that's why I posted here.  I'm sorry if it was an unnecessary repost.

[CMdeux]

Not at all-- just wanted to make sure that you hadn't missed it.

Questions are always okay here.  NO worries.   

I know how miserable arthritis can be. 

[jschwab]

I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.

She actually recommended a lot of nightshades for a diet plan she made me, so I was kind of surprised.  I think she kind of just told me what she would tell any other patient and didn't give me advice for my specific medical conditions.

I think that is a little nuts of the naturopath. I just did a search around to see if nightshade avoidance was recommended for psoriatic arthritis and it popped up on every page. That doesn't mean it will work for you and isn't complete bunk, but you don't know until you try things out. Have you checked out support forums for your conditions? You will probably get the best advice from other people who have used diet to help manage it. Before I developed food allergies, I used diet to manage a few things I was dealing with and had success. This forum is meant more for people who experience anaphylaxis when consuming their allergens, so you probably won't get a lot of information to help you, unfortunately.

[poppy88]

E95 basic food panel

This has come up before. 

That said, trying different dietary changes certainly might impact your health otherwise, and I can't see any reason why it would hurt to try a few things and see what works for you-- just know that your E95 panel, unfortunately, was probably a waste of time/money.

Glad that you aren't trying to manage your T1D with a naturopath!!  However, that brings up a good point-- they are just as dangerous for the management of food allergy.    It doesn't sound as though you have reason to suspect that you have any IgE-mediated (true) food allergies.  That's good news.  The bad news is that you're hooked up with a naturopath that thinks that s/he can diagnose/manage/treat food allergies. 

Let's put it this way-- what would you recommend someone do if they encountered a naturopath that wanted to diagnose/treat T1D?  Run, right?  Well, that's pretty much how most people with life-threatening food allergies feel about naturopaths or other alternative medicine practitioners diagnosing or treating food allergies.

A careful food journal is probably a much more useful tool for finding patterns that might help you with any symptoms that are dietary in origin.   There are a lot of things to explore there-- histamines, tannins, etc.    I truly do wish you luck in finding something that works to make your life better-- but I am skeptical that your naturopath is going to be very helpful.  Sorry.   

Thank you very much.  You are probably right.  My naturopath has said a few things that have already made me feel like I don't want to see her again ("we will get you taking less insulin," etc. when she doesn't even know how much insulin I am on), and your response makes me feel even more confident in not seeing her anymore!

I do have a question about food journals.  I was under the impression that a food intolerance that would cause this type of reaction would be something that would need to be eliminated for several weeks before an improvement was noticed.  Is this true?  If so, how does a food journal work?  If the food causing the reaction was eaten weeks ago, it seems like it would be difficult to determine anything.

Also, so do you think I should completely throw out the e95 results, or should I eliminate those foods for a while?

Thank you so much 

[poppy88]

I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.

She actually recommended a lot of nightshades for a diet plan she made me, so I was kind of surprised.  I think she kind of just told me what she would tell any other patient and didn't give me advice for my specific medical conditions.

I think that is a little nuts of the naturopath. I just did a search around to see if nightshade avoidance was recommended for psoriatic arthritis and it popped up on every page. That doesn't mean it will work for you and isn't complete bunk, but you don't know until you try things out. Have you checked out support forums for your conditions? You will probably get the best advice from other people who have used diet to help manage it. Before I developed food allergies, I used diet to manage a few things I was dealing with and had success. This forum is meant more for people who experience anaphylaxis when consuming their allergens, so you probably won't get a lot of information to help you, unfortunately.

I will look into some other forums for arthritis.  I was hoping that you guys could help me with the e95 panel info, and it looks like the panel is basically just a bunch of crap, so I will try to figure out other diet methods thank you

[twinturbo]

I think you have enough on your plate to not worry about something that isn't affecting you. E95 is pointless as far as it meaning anything. You said you haven't had any issues with foods--I believe you, therefore I wouldn't chase a phantom. What I would do given that you have diabetes to contend with which is real and present is concentrate on eating well for that first and foremost. Get that squared with some good nutrition, light to moderate exercise with stretch, good sleep cycles to get your anabolic system on line with your daily catabolic. Meditate if you want some complementary mind-body connection (I do). There are ways to promote your health globally that should support your specific issues.

Don't let the diabetes get out of control chasing a phantom diagnosis of E95. I kind of want to twist that naturopath's arm for wasting your money and messing with your diet considering what your more immediate needs are. A couple of my family members are diabetic it's serious stuff. I know my ticket might get punched with it at any time.

Although you may not have food allergies a few of us are familiar with net carbs and more than a few of us (nearly all) eat for global health promotion... we just also happen to have IgE-mediated allergies. Some are also diabetic or cook for diabetic family members. Feel free to hang out for recipes.

[jschwab]

I will look into some other forums for arthritis.  I was hoping that you guys could help me with the e95 panel info, and it looks like the panel is basically just a bunch of crap, so I will try to figure out other diet methods thank you

It might make you feel better to know that even standard allergy testing done with allergists can also be a "bunch of crap" . Even standard allergy testing is very unreliable and has high false positive and false negative rates, no matter who does it. Even with life-threatening allergies going on, the gold standard is "did the food cause the reaction and can we replicate the reaction in a controlled environment?". Often this requires lots of detective work unless the diet is so simple that it's very clear what is going on. That is one of the advantages to having a simple, predictable diet which is kind of the point of an elimination diet. With inflammatory conditions, the guesswork is harder. My husband has a severe gluten intolerance (maybe celiac? he was not willing to keep eating gluten for the test) and it took lots of hits and misses to truly eliminate any cross-contamination from his diet. He's great now and also far less sensitive when he does get "glutened" but in those early days it was miserable. He had some serious physical stuff going on like ataxia (lack of balance) that was getting worse, so it was very, very stressful. You are young and, hopefully, have the time and energy to devote some time into this. I hope you feel much, much better soon.

[twinturbo]

I would not agree with previous statement broadly against board certified allergists administering, interpreting and diagnosing with IgE testing. It's an art for the experienced and many of their patients deal with objective symptoms of allergy at any time potentially resulting in anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. Many who hang their shingle out as a food allergist should not, and even then some are not up to date on best practices, and yet others under treat. But they are a far, far cry from a naturopath E95. IgE is one data point along with SPT, neither trump history or IOFC. Any of the board certified would be unlikely to tinker with something like diabetes, most won't even touch GI issues that are better off with a GI specialist. Even with asthma some go to a pulmo.

Most allergists are not cavalier, and as we face an initial establishment appointment we do so having already had a surprise anaphylactic episode. At that point IgE and SPT are used to confirm an allergen, and if that testing does not bear out a likely cause only then would the average allergist suggest performing an IOFC. Having a true allergy is bad enough. Living like you have one when you don't is worse, trumped only by having a real underlying medical issue misdiagnosed as an "allergy".

In the hands of a fool the best tests can be harmful, yes. But I would not say most allergists are fools, rather the distinction of an up-to-date food allergy and anaphylaxis expert is a newer breed resulting in the epidemic rise in rate of IgE-mediated allergy.

[SilverLining]

Thank you very much.  You are probably right.  My naturopath has said a few things that have already made me feel like I don't want to see her again ("we will get you taking less insulin," etc. when she doesn't even know how much insulin I am on), and your response makes me feel even more confident in not seeing her anymore!

I'm glad you have your brain in gear even she apparently doesn't.