Want to hear how I personally manage multiple sclerosis with food? And how clearing parasites took my health to the next level? I recently shared my story on the Rebuilding My Health Radio podcast.
Listen in to hear the whole conversation and understand how I learned about the power of the Mediator Release Test and customized anti-inflammatory diets in helping my patients reclaim their health and live pain-free!
Reader question: (note: this is a multi-part conversation)
Hi Elizabeth. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your time and wisdom last we talked. I really appreciate you and your consciousness around healing and food.
I’m wondering if you could share information with me. I am in conversation with my son’s father about nutrition . He has up to this point honored my requests for my son to be gluten and dairy free and also my request around him eating organic food options. Now his dad is really beginning to resist this and we are meeting to have a conversation this Sunday.
I am seeking information about the benefits of eating gluten free, dairy free and organic. Do you have any resources you can share that I can use in my discussion? I would love to come to the conversation with good information. I have a good grasp and am reaching out to others who use good to heal to gain additional source support. Any articles you can share would be deeply appreciated. Blessings ~Rachel T., Denver, CO
Actually I am not sure I believe that all people should be gluten-free and dairy-free (only those who are sensitive to them, and as long as they are organic sources) so can’t really give you much in terms of those. I do think that organic is the most important of the things you mention.
Thank you ! Can you tell me why you feel gluten and dairy are beneficial to those not sensitive ?
I want to do what is best for him .
He’s always eaten gf and dairy free because I am. We have never had any issues with digestion, spitting up as a baby or rashes. He seems pretty balanced. Would it make sense to get him tested?
Rachel, I am personally wheat-free and dairy-free (among other things) because my body can’t tolerate them, but my husband and kids eat wheat and dairy and I keep them in the house for them. If they had to abstain from everything I have to avoid eating, they would really hate me. They are exposed to a lot of alternatives to gluten and dairy, which they sometimes choose, but it is their choice.
While I use my influence as The Mom to provide organic foods, homemade meals, and fruits and vegetables, the only things I think everyone across the board should avoid are:
Additives, preservatives, and other chemicals in our food supply.
Artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, and scents.
Beyond that, it comes down to the individual as to what their body can tolerate. I’m not a fan in general of removing entire food groups willy-nilly. Most people do fine with organic wheat (70-90% of the population), and wheat has sustained human beings for more than 5,000 years. It’s difficult to go through life without eating wheat in our world, and just because something is “gluten-free” doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthier. Often gluten-free items have many more ingredients and are more heavily processed than their wheat counterparts. Homemade bread, for example, only has a few ingredients.
Same for dairy. If he tries it and has issues, then he should avoid it. But otherwise, organic dairy products aren’t necessarily “bad” for everyone. I don’t think kids need to be drinking milk, though whole milk is always preferable if they want to.
How old is he? Does he have any ailments or struggles, digestive or otherwise?
I usually only recommend testing for people who are trying to resolve symptoms. Healthy people can certainly do the test, too, but not 100% of the population needs to or even should.
As for getting the MRT food sensitivity testing for a healthy kid with no current physical issues? I would say it is not needed. I’d rather not test a child who isn’t suffering and put him on a restricted diet unnecessarily and possibly create an unhealthy attitude toward food or an eating disorder as a result.
If his normal state is healthy, then you can likely identify the culprit of any new negative symptom if it arises in him. Just remember that food sensitivity reactions are dose-dependent and can manifest as long as four days after exposure. Then do the detective work to remember what new he could have eaten within the time frame.
Of course, if at any time he or anyone else experiences anaphylaxis, call 911 and give him an appropriate-sized dose of Benedryl or use an Epi-Pen as directed.
I discussed the connection between our gut and our immune system –did you know that 60-80% of our immune system is in our gut?!– and giving proven methods for resolving inflammation in our bodies.
“Healthy Products, Healthy Food, Healthy Life” is the subtitle of this conference that is open to anyone interested in feeling better and living naturally.
People ask me all the time if food sensitivity testing is reliable. My answer is always: “Depends on which test you use.”
Food sensitivity/food allergy testing that looks for IgE or IgG antibodies can show us whether or not someone has been exposed to a food and created an antibody to it, but not necessarily if the person becomes symptomatic when exposed.
In other words, antibodies can tell us there is a gun in the room, but not whether it has been fired. The existence of these antibodies are not reliable indicators of symptoms.
The ALCAT test, invented in the early 1980s by a team led by Dr. Mark Pasula, was the first test to look at the release of inflammatory markers known as mediators rather than the slippery antibodies. Over time, Dr. Pasula wasn’t satisfied with the way the ALCAT measured the mediator release from the blood. This led to a bitter difference of opinion within ALCAT and Dr. Pasoula split to apply what he had figured out to making a more accurate and reliable test.
The state-of-the-art Mediator Release Test, or MRT, is like ALCAT 2.0.
Dr. Allen Bonilla, D.C., in Los Angeles, recently decided to see once and for all which test, the ALCAT or the MRT, would provide more accurate results with which to treat his suffering patients. In this video, he takes blood samples for three ALCAT tests and three MRT tests on the same afternoon and submitted them to the labs.
Holding the results side-by-side, it’s plain to see that the ALCAT results changed radically from sample to sample, while the MRT results were practically identical for the three submissions.
Thank you, Dr. Bonilla, for this enlightening experiment, and for sharing it on video. (Be sure to continue reading below the video for more…)
I’ve always found it hard to trust ALCAT results when working with clients, and now I can see exactly how unreliable this test is. It’s unfortunate, because ALCAT employs a sales force that convinces allergists and other doctors to order this test for their patients. When following the ALCAT results does not eliminate their symptoms, they dismiss the idea the dietary therapy could help relieve their condition.
Oxford Laboratories, on the other hand, the company Dr. Pasula founded to build the MRT, realizes that doctors do not have the time or expertise in nutrition to correctly interpret the test results and implement a therapeutic diet, so they focused their efforts on training Registered Dieticians (RDs) and other practitioners knowledgeable in nutrition and food.
Which makes the MRT a choice to go with a professional who can take the time to work with you to regain your health.
My food sensitivities clinic is open to clients nationwide. My clients receive not only the reliable results from the MRT, but also extensive analysis and customized anti-inflammatory diet plans complete with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas, recipes, and safe brands and shopping advice.
