Holy Wheat Intolerance, Batman!

Last week I had myself tested for a variety of foods and non-foods. I wasn't sure what to expect and quite frankly, the 'science' behind some blood and DNA tests can be a little hocus pocus, but given the amount of people having them done nowadays, what can be determined with any certainty is that people are feeling rotten and they are not sure why.

I was curious to see the results of my own test, especially since I seem to have developed a mental food allergy to wheat in the past few months. The books Wheat Belly and Why We Get Fat really did a number on me and I told myself that even if the tests showed up inconclusive, bread and grains were not something I ever wanted back in my diet.

I've read that the only true way to verify if you have a food allergy is to inject a tiny amount of the substance into your body to see how you react, but this seems extreme, expensive and time consuming, particularly as with my Paleo/Primal eating by elimination, I've been noting unpleasant reactions to foods I would have never thought affected me - foods such as milk, nuts, peanut butter and tomato sauce.

A few months ago, this detection would have been impossible. I felt so all-round sluggish and unwell, I could not pinpoint the culprit(s) if I tried. So I was very interested to see if the results would match up to my own observations. So here's what it said.

Wheat - high intolerance (honestly, I am happy this showed up, not that I had any of the classic symptoms)
Yeast - high intolerance (I had no clue about this one)
Dairy - medium to high intolerance (I suspected)
Nuts - medium to high intolerance (also suspected)
Aubergine (eggplant) - low to medium intolerance to nightshades (I had no idea. I have no problem with fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce however makes my lips feel swollen)
Fructose - medium to high intolerance (doh! Although I'm not sure what this means on a food test)
Curry - low to medium intolerance (again, no clue I had this, does it in some way relate to tomatoes I wonder?)
Pollen (this was also a surprise as I don't have typical allergy symptoms, well except for the red eyes. I always thought this was tiredness)

My husband said he has never seen anyone so happy to receive 'bad' results on a test. But I guess I'm happy because my body is learning to recognise what is good for it and telling me when something isn't. Welcome back, body! I promise to take better care of you and keep you away from foods that are harmful.

On the back of my allergy test was a footnote explaining that one should stay away from red results for a minimum of three years before reintroducing those foods. That seems a little strange and unreassuring, doesn't it? Wheat Belly says that if you are wheat intolerant, you will always be wheat intolerant, even if you don't have outwardly symptoms.

I remember my parents taking me to the doctor when I hit adolescence because of my migraines, lethargy and back of arm and leg rashes, only to be prescribed expensive hormonal cream that only made things worse. Finally, the doctors gave up trying to find what ailed me. If only they had known!

It is nice to have confirmation, even if it comes a lot later than I would have liked. At least I know what I have to continue to avoid.