Enterolab results - Now what??

[Marnica]

I am new to this board.

After suspicions since DS was very tiny (he is almost 2 now) that he has food allergies/sensitivities and not having luck with elimination diets, and blood tests, I decided to do the Enterolab tests after a HUGE amount of research.

The results are back and DS is not only soy intolerant (which we knew from the blood tests), but gluten sensitive and also sensitive to dietary yeast. Milk and eggs were ok (Thank God something was ok!). I have started to embark on the journey of going gluten free, soy free and yeast free and I feel like I want to cry. So many of the gluten free products have soy in them, many of the gluten free breads/mixes etc have yeast in them if not soy, some have both. We did the gene testing and he did not have the celiac genes but did have 2 alleles for the gluten sensitivity which means he got 1 from me and 1 from his dad. So most likely we are both sensitive to gluten as well. I plan on doing these tests on myself as soon as money allows, but until then, Im going GF along with DS. DH is not interested because he doesn't have symptoms. (He doesn't care that he could be doing silent damage).

Anyway I am looking for some encouragement here. It seems with trying to avoid soy, gluten and yeast there is not much one can eat and forget about dining out. Soy and yeast can be hidden in somany sauces and things. I really feel like cyring

[kjbrown92]

What kind of yeast are you sensitive to? Was it a test for candida albicans? Or a test for brewer's or baker's yeast?

We're gluten free, soy free (and more) and we dine out occasionally, and eat lots of things. Think of all the things you can eat, instead of what you can't. Figure out a meal plan for a couple weeks. Just starting out, keep it simple. Meat, starch (rice, potato, sweet potato, qunioa), and veggie and/or fruit. Then you can branch out.

I make gluten free popovers. You might be able to do biscuits since you still have dairy. I have lots of recipes on my blog if you want to look for ideas. We just had chicken mirabella tonight, with rice and peas. DS had turkey soup since he can't have chicken. For breakfast, you can make buckwheat waffles, there's Rice Chex, hash, eggs, bacon, hot buckwheat cereal, millet porridge. There's variety right there.

Lunches... soups and stews, leftovers. Tinkyada rice pasta is very good. Do you have a Whole Foods near you? They make gluten free boxed macaroni & cheese now (I don't know the ingredients). There's other things there that you can use for things. I use a thing called Coconut Aminos, which tastes like soy sauce.

Don't forget to look in meds/supplements for gluten/soy.

We eat at places like Outback Steakhouse and Red Robin, and make it clear what the restricted foods are, and so far we've had good luck. There's a great farm-to-table restaurant I found that I can eat lots of things at, so it's the place I always choose for birthdays/anniversaries. You just have to do a little more research before you go out.

And for the time being, while you're getting the hang of it, your DH gets to eat what you're eating, so that you're not making two seperate meals. When we do pasta night, I do make rice pasta and regular pasta (for DH and DD1), but we all eat the same sauce, same veggie, etc. But two whole separate meals? Too difficult.

It'll be okay. One day at a time!

[dannic]

Check out Kathy's blog and the recipes thread in the resources at the top. Lots of good ideas there. Amy's frozen foods may have some fast options for you (meaning fronzen instead of takeout). We're gf,cf/egg free and another dd has a whole other list. I agree to keep it simple at first and find a Trader Joe's/Whole Foods equivalent to become familiar with what is out there. I think the celiac mall lets you shop by allergen as well. I also agree to try to keep family meals to one meal, if possible. We all went on dd's restrictions with her for ease and so she wouldn't be different at home. I've only recently had to adapt some meals to be okay for dd2 and it's way easier to make one dinner than two.
DD was originally gf/cf/soy free and after three yrs has gotten soy back, which is nice for additives, but you can find soy free items. Enjoy life brand makes allergen free chocolate, for starters.

Come visit with us on chat, we all encourage each other!

[Marnica]

Thank you both...I know I am not alone. DH's yeast allergy is to dietary yeast.
As for cooking, that's the kicker because I really don't cook. DH is the cook of the family. I guess now I will have to learn and do more which is unfortunately because I HATE cooking and my DH LOVES it!

We have a WF nevr near us and I shop there alot. I guess I will have to spend some time and get farmiliar with more of their GF/SF/YF products and then I might not feel so overwhlemed.

dannic - which chat are you referring to?

Kathy - I look forward to reading your blog. I see you are in CT...me too. Which part? PM me if you don't want to broadcast that info

[kjbrown92]

What is "dietary" yeast- candida albicans? brewers yeast? bakers yeast? or nutritional yeast?

DH can still cook! He just has to learn the process as well. I learned to cook because of the dietary restrictions.

I'm smack dab in the center of CT.

This month's "chat" is called Corned Beef and something. It's just the people who are unfortunate "regulars" here and we talk about all sorts of stuff.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

What is "dietary" yeast- candida albicans? brewers yeast? bakers yeast? or nutritional yeast?

DH can still cook! He just has to learn the process as well. I learned to cook because of the dietary restrictions.

I'm smack dab in the center of CT.

This month's "chat" is called Corned Beef and something. It's just the people who are unfortunate "regulars" here and we talk about all sorts of stuff.

Dietary yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae or brewers/bakers yeast, nutritional yeast...it's all the same.
I'm in Southern CT

I will def dop by and "chat"

[kjbrown92]

There's got to be a difference between the yeasts though because DD2 reacted to brewer's yeast but not baker's yeast at the allergist. It doesn't make sense if they're all the same...

southwestern? south central? or southeastern? If it's south central, you're right below me! We're only 20 minutes from the shore.

[FireWithin]

I agree that it is totally overwhelming in the beginning. My oldest is free of 4 or 5 top foods, and my youngest avoids over 20. It was a process to accept and problem solve.
This is what totally helped me when I was (and still am) in panic mode.

Post in a visible spot in your kitchen the following safe meals:

4 breakfasts
5 lunches
6 snacks
7 dinners

sit down and brainstorm for ideas. Really think outside the box. We have a recipe thread around here somewhere. There are great ideas there, but also Kathy's blog totally rocks.

When you start to panic, look at your list and it will help.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

There's got to be a difference between the yeasts though because DD2 reacted to brewer's yeast but not baker's yeast at the allergist. It doesn't make sense if they're all the same...

southwestern? south central? or southeastern? If it's south central, you're right below me! We're only 20 minutes from the shore.

Don't know but if you look up Saccharomyces cerevisiae , it lists both of them under "other names for this organism" ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_cerevisiae

I am in Southwest CT

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by Mammo2Sammo

I agree that it is totally overwhelming in the beginning. My oldest is free of 4 or 5 top foods, and my youngest avoids over 20. It was a process to accept and problem solve.
This is what totally helped me when I was (and still am) in panic mode.

Post in a visible spot in your kitchen the following safe meals:

4 breakfasts
5 lunches
6 snacks
7 dinners

sit down and brainstorm for ideas. Really think outside the box. We have a recipe thread around here somewhere. There are great ideas there, but also Kathy's blog totally rocks.

When you start to panic, look at your list and it will help.

Thank you for this. I have looked at kathy's bog and it is wonderful!! Thisis a learning curve for sure and I know with time and trial and error I will get the hang of it. I suspect there may be more foods he is sensitive to as well, but I have to start somewhere..totally eliminate these and see if I notice improvements and go from there. My personality is that when I encounter a problem I want to fix it NOW...RIGHT NOW!!!!! Especially if it is effecting my DS. I know things like this take time and patience.
I had my first Duh moment last night when I was making DS his dinner. AFTER I had already made everything and mixed in the pasta sauce (I mad e a kind of beefy stew with GF pasta and veggies which I make alot but usually with reg pasta and DS loves it) I glances at the label and saw the sauce was loaded with soybean oil. . I have known about the soy allergy since November and that's when I cut it out but we have used this brand of sauce (WF brand) all along. It never occurred to be as I assumed it was basically tomatos and herbs etc. I mean I read labels obsessively and yet it never occurred to me to read this pasta label. COME ON DUHHHHHH!!! So I had to start over and make a whole new batch of stew (I saved the other stuff for DH so not to waste it) and substituted Ketchup for the sauce. By the time I got DS al sorted out with his dinner and to bed, DH and I didn;t eat our dinner until 9:30pm.
I guess this is a learning curve and I am just at the beginning. I'm so glad you guys are here for support!!!

[balancedmama]

I know it is so hard mama! Especially at the beginning. We are in the middle of a similar process. I just had to go GF last week, and DS is soy and egg allergic. DD is soy and peanut allergic, and whey intolerant. My best recommendation, like some of the PPs have said - get a few meals you KNOW you can make. I started a google docs spreadsheet w/ safe foods and my comments on them - whether they were good or not. I think the beginning is hard b/c I feel like we have wasted a lot of money on foods that ended up being not safe, or tasted awful.

I think for the first bit, give yourself permission to get packaged foods just to get you by, while you are experimenting. Like the PP mentioned, the tinkyada pasta is really good. There are several prepared pasta sauces without soy. We even found a conventional sauce - Prego traditional, that is GF and SF. That's a meal right there...not great, but it's food.

I have always loved making veggie soups, so I try to make 2 big pots a week and we can have them frozen and pull them out for dinner or lunch. The Amy's meals have tons of really good GF options. A lot of them are also soy-free. Oh, also Amy's has really good soups, many of which are also GF/SF. We do a lot of corn tortillas filled w/ rice, beans, and whatever dairy or veggies can be had.

Oh another recommendation...if you have a natural foods store, go and ask for recommendations. THe second time I went to shop for GF stuff, I found an employee who told me what was really tasty, and I came home with a lot more successful foods than the first time.

I'm confused about the yeast issue too - I do think the yeasts are different.

[Marnica]

Great suggestions and much appreciated

I did a little more resecrh on the yeast thing. ASpparently bakers yeast and brewers yeast are both in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae family but are different strains. Kind of like Fuji apples and macintosh apples are both apples, but different kinds of apples.

In bread making, the carbon dioxide is the more important of the two products, with the evolving gas causing the bread to rise. There is alcohol production, but the alcohol quickly evaporates on baking. In beer and wine-making, the alcohol is the important product, although the carbon dioxide may be used in beer and champagne. The same species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in both processes, but different strains (varieties) of the fungus are used. The bread making strain, for example, is genetically selected to produce more carbon dioxide and much less alcohol, while the opposite is true of the spirit-making strains.

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/dec2002.html

So if one is intolerant to one strain, most likely they are to the other as well, although I know Kathy said her DD reacted to one and not the other so maybe it's possivle to be intolerant based on strain. Since the test did not differentiate, but seems to have tested for this category of yeast, I think it's best to avoid them all for the time being.