Will and The Great Food Intolerance Debate

Gorgeous!!

So, I mentioned a few months back, that we had taken Will to a naturopathic doctor because of his food allergies, eczema and constant congestion. We had a blood test done to check for food sensitivities.  This is different from a food allergy test.  With an allergy test the lab is checking for a different type of reaction.  (I won't get into all the technical mumbo jumbo).  However, because they are testing for a different thing, the food sensitivity test may show that Will is not intolerant to certain foods we know he is allergic to.  Get it?

So, the results are in.  Turns out Will is only intolerant to, EVERYTHING!

He is extremely intolerant to dairy (all), gluten, wheat and most grains except for oats and rice; all meat but most especially red meat and pork and eggs.  He is also intolerant to soy, citrus fruit, tomatoes, garlic, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, lentils and soy.  On a high note he is not intolerant to peanuts or shellfish, the two things he is severely allergic to.  So, what's for dinner?

We were supposed to start weaning Will off these foods, one at a time at the rate of about one thing per week.  We wanted to see is he stoped eating dairy, for instance, would his congestion clear up.  It would be the first time in as long as I can remember that he wouldn't be plugged up.

So, week one, no dairy.  We really don't drink a lot of milk in our house.  The kids had no problem switching to almond milk or vanilla soy milk for their breakfast cereal.  I got some chocolate coconut milk for a treat.  It tastes exactly like regular chocolate milk!  We explained to Will that he could not have any more ice cream.  Surprisingly he was ok with that.  It was at dinner that night, when I told him he couldn't have any sour cream with his burrito, that he lost it.  I guess the kid really likes sour cream (who can blame him eh?).  Other big problems for Will was the no cheese pizza (just not the same) and the no cheese wiz.  He really likes cheese.

cheeseless pizza Mmmmmmm.

But he has survived so far, and for the first time in 6 years, he can breath through both nostrils at the same time.  We were driving home from A&W the other day and Will said, "Mom!  I can smell onion rings!  My nose is working!".  I almost cried!

So this week we are cutting back on gluten.  Really though, $7.00 for a tiny little loaf of bread?  Once you cut the crusts off for Mr. Fussypants, there's almost nothing left!  We'll see how far we go with this.   As long as his nose stays clear, I don't think we need to go too crazy.

Now, here is where the debate lies.  Will had an appointment last week with his regular allergy doctor.  He asked all the same questions as he always does. "Has he eaten this, has he eaten that, how is his asthma"?   I told him, "by the way, I had Will tested for food sensitivities".  He immediately shook his head.   "Oh, that test is no good", he said.  "Really"?  "No, no" he said.  All that test tells you is whether or not you've eaten those particular foods recently.  It's no good". Oh. I must admit I was feeling a tad deflated.  But then I said, "well, you know, since he stopped eating dairy his congestion has cleared right up".  He looked at me and actually said, "well if you want to believe that go ahead, but really, that test is no good".

                          VS      

So I started thinking about it. Does Will already eat a lot of those foods?  Is the test just telling me what he has eaten recently?  I mean, he does eat a lot of dairy and gluten and he scored really high on those, and he never eats fish and he scored really low on that.  Could it be that my precious food sensitivity test was a lot of bunk?

Then I thought a bit longer.  Once Will stopped eating dairy his congestion went away.  He scored very high for egg intolerance, however he never eats eggs.  Ever.  Not even in baked goods (I use egg replacer to make my baking vegan).  He also scored very high for meat.  We're VEGETARIANS!  We rarely have meat.   Will only has meat if we eat out. He scored really low for apples, but he eats them every day!  So I'm thinking the allergy doctors theory is blown to hell.

Not only that, but in the 4 years we've been seeing this allergy doctor, he has done absolutely nothing to help Will's congestion or his eczema.  Other than writing prescriptions  he has been useless.  Our Naturopath on the other had has fixed both problems.  No dairy and a teaspoon of fish oil a day has cleared up both problems.  Hmm.  Interesting.

So, even though there my be no ice cream in my immediate future, I am happy.  My baby has soft skin for the first time since he was born and he can smell onion rings.  What more could a mom want.

Here is a link to our Naturopath's website.  Dr. B is the bomb!naturalfoodpantry.ca/about-us/in-store.../dr-kevin-bernardo-nd/  Check him out.

Michy