UC flare that led me to do some food allergy blood testing and I dont' understand the results

Hi everyone,

I've been a bit more active on here lately because I've been tring to get back to complete remission from my minor flare that occured almost three months ago. Long story short, I feel I'm very close to remission and I am scheduled for a colonoscopy on Monday to check things out. My GI also requested an ultrasound, so I'll do that on June 12.

Seeing as how foods seem to be a major trigger for me, I went to see a naturopath about some food allergy/intolerace testing a few weeks ago. I followed up with him yesterday to view my results and now I don't know what to make of them. The food item that showed up with the greatest intolerance was eggs, followed closely by gluten, dairy, mushrooms, multiple kinds of fish and a few nuts. The thing I don't understand is that I've eaten these things my whole life with no issues, so now I'm wondering if they are false positives. He suggested I cut everything out for at least a month then slowly reintroduce the foods one by one. He also mentioned that I may not be allergic to these food, but I have intolerances to them which affect my gut. Interesting thing is that I had a food allergy prick test when i was about 12 and muchrooms and gluten came up as intolerant, but again, I've never had any issues with them. My GI also tested me for celiac disease and lactose intolerance and the tests came back negative.

Can anyone provide some alternative advice or guidance on food allergy testing as it relates to UC? Especially if I have never experienced any reactions that I've been aware of when eating the foods that come up as intolerant.

Currently, I'm taking 3 800mg pills of asacol in the morning then again at dinner. I've also recently started taking 2 capsules of curcumin with my asacol in the morinig and again at dinner. I've stated taking one VSL#3 packet probiotic with my fruit and kefir smoothie in the morning, which I feel has really helped. I also take vit b12 and vit D in the morning.

I feel like I'm at 90 percent healed but I can't get to 100 and back to normal. I have zero diarrhea and blood in my stool and I'm going 2-3 times a day which is normal for me in remission, however I still experience some left side discomfort here and there especially after a BM. I've also lost about 15 lbs since my minor flare but I've levelled out at 155lbs for about 3 or so weeks with absolutley no changes, even though I've been trying to gain it back with larger portions and healthy foods and protein.

Food allergy testing is notoriously unreliable. As you noted, they may very well be false positives.

Many years ago I was tested by an allergy/immunology MD for various food allergies. (My GI at the time was skeptical that I had Crohn's and thought it might be a food allergy.) I tested positive to a ridiculous number of foods, including many vegetables. But I tested negative for shrimp.

I experimented with elimination diets and noticed no changes in any way when I stopped eating the foods I tested positive for.

But there is one thing I have an immediate reaction to: shrimp. My mouth gets tingly/itchy as soon as shrimp hits my mouth.

When I told my doctor that I have no reaction to any of the things I tested positive for, but that I do have a reaction to shrimp, he told me that the tests are notoriously unreliable and that many MD's won't even bother with them. But 'naturopaths' and the like love these tests, because they're money-makers.

Thank you for your responses. I'm certainly going to give the elimination diet a try. I just know my body and I went for over 2 years without a flare eating almost everything that comes up as intolerant. There were however some items that were accurate like my severe allergy to aged cheese and kiwi. I noticed that a few nuts came up too like almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and walnuts..and I do have a slightly itchy mouth after I eat them, but only in their raw unroasted form. When they are roasted, I have no issues. I'm also severely allergic to shellfish but they all came up as ok, granted I haven't eaten any of them since I was a kid. I wonder if because I haven't eaten any of those foods for so long that my body hasn't produced any antibodies for them.

I've also read that the testing can be very unreliable. I guess its just more information to consider and experiment with in terms of food. Part of me is very curious about why my celiac and lactose intolerance tests came back negative from my doctor, but came up as intolerant in the food allergy testing. Not sure what to make of that.

I have a decent health spending allowance where I work so I didn't pay for any of the testing out of pocket, but I don't know I would have done it if I had to pay myself. It was over 600 bucks Canadian.

Rtp85, the itchy mouth you have experienced when eating certain nuts may be what's called OAS - Oral Allergy Syndrome.

http://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies/types-food-allergy/oral-allergy-syndrome

As for celiac, keep in mind that it is not an allergy or intolerance to gluten - it is an entirely different kind of immune response to gluten. One can have celiac but not be allergic to gluten; one can be allergic to gluten but not have celiac. Allergy, or allergic, implies a specific type of immune reaction, and that is different from the type of immune response that occurs in celiac disease.

Similarly, lactose intolerance is not due to an allergy to lactose. It is due to a decreased production of the enzyme lactase, which is needed for the body to break down lactose into its constituent simple sugars. Without sufficient lactase production - which decreases with many people as they age - the lactose doesn't get broken down and doesn't get absorbed by the small bowel. So it makes it to the colon, where the bacteria feed off of it and have a party in your gut.

An actual allergy to lactose is uncommon; but an allergy to the *proteins* in milk is somewhat more common.

Sounds like you don't know what you're talking about.

As usual.

I think these food allergy tests are completely bogus. The most safe food for me are chicken, avocado, banana, etc. When I did a food allergy test with these foods they all came out on top. It's not even that they are false positives. The test is simply flawed. I think anytime you eat a lot of a particular food some of it inevitably escapes into the bloodstream intact and you get a reaction. Thus food allergy tests are probably completely useless.

I was tested by GI's for celiac and lactose at different times and both came back negative. However after going gluten-free (3rd time) rectal bleeding stopped so that was proof for me.

As for milk, I know my gut is intolerant of liquid milk having tested it many times (cause I love it). Hard cheese is OK, other dairy products are on a sliding scale of tolerance. Never anaphylactic reaction just a gut that cannot handle milk, small quantity once is fine but a couple days of small quantities and D appears.

For me it's not an allergy, it's an intolerant gut. Maybe the bacteria specific to milk is gone or seriously depleted. Probably never know the actual reason but do know the results when these are consumed too freely, not good.

I've self-tested so much food and drink I don't need outside tests to confirm anything.
Seafood for example has been off my OK list for a while but spouse has no food issues so orders that when dining out. But he sometimes gets skin reaction at some restaurants that could be either MSG or preservative in shrimp processing.

OP: you asked for advice so: do your own food tests, keep a food journal. Yes, much harder than having someone do it for you but MUCH more reliable.