Need advice about possible food sensitivity
 

Hi all,
I recently went through a month of an allergy-elimination diet. After 3 weeks, I was excited to go to the doc and get "rewarded" for my good run of eating NOTHING. I am the Queen of eating out, and for 3 weeks I didn't eat out once. I stayed home and ate the foods on my diet plan, which included NO gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar, and lots of other things. As you all know, it was very limiting.

After 3 weeks I saw my doc, and he agreed that it didn't seem like the diet was helping me, but told me to stay off 5 things... gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar. I replied, that's everything still! I was so heartbroken to not get any reward, I immediately went out to eat. And since then, I've started eating all those things again. My stomach has been fine since, but I am suffering from the previous problems. Yeast, autoimmune, peripheral neuropathy.

When I added peanut back in, no reaction. I added almonds, no reaction. So shortly I added cheese. NO REACTION. Then I started with the bread products, still no reaction. Basically, I added some things simultaneously and still no reaction. There have been 3 times I have had a reaction. #1 - an herbal tea from Teavana that included CREAM. #2 - Sour CREAM. #3 - decaf coffee with CREAM. I also had already thought that ice CREAM and MILK caused problems.

Does anyone know if someone can have problems with milk and cream but NOT cheese? I can sit here and eat cheese and crackers all night. I love it. But I don't ever feel discomfort. Is there something different in CREAM vs. cheese?

I'm asking you because I know anyone with celiac or gluten sensitivity has most likely done a lot of research or done the diet already. If you can point me to another place to ask, I will do so. Or, is gluten still a possibility? Thank you!!

P.S. I thought I had problems with sugar but none of my tests have ever showed a problem, including a 3-hour glucose screening. However I still worry about sugar due to yeast issues. My stomach used to be upset, since using glutamine in a morning shake with fiber, my stomach does not get upset anymore. I only notice it when I have CREAM.

Lactose is the sugar in milk and cream. Something over 40% of adults are lactose intolerant. Cheese is made by allowing specific species of bacteria to "ferment" the lactose in milk. So the big difference between milk and cheese is, milk has lactose while cheese has virtually no lactose.

That said, the reason why people become intolerant of lactose? Lactose is a complex sugar. Lactose is broken into simple sugars in the small intestine by the enzyme lactase. The lactose detection process and the lactase are contained in the villi, the finger-like protrusions which make up the lining of the small intestine. These protrusions are eroded by gluten proteins, and by immune reactions to these proteins. Gluten sensitivity is responsible for a large portion of lactose intolerance, but probably not all of it.

Lactase breaks lactose into glucose and galactose. The intestine can absorb glucose and galactose into the bloodstream, but it can't absorb lactose into the bloodstream. "Yeast" usually means candida albicans, but can mean related yeasts. Intestinal yeasts thrive on sugars like lactose and fructose. When lactose fails to be converted into simple sugars, it stays in the intestine and grows microorganisms, like yeasts.

What to take home? People who are simply lactose intolerant can ingest cheese, but not milk or creme. People who are intolerant of casein can't tolerate any dairy products. Casein intolerance is even more heavily linked to wheat ingestion than lactose intolerance.

People generally do not have the enzyme in their stomachs needed to break down milk proteins. However sometimes all you need is a good break (i.e., 6 months) from dairy then reintroduce it slowly to the level that you can take it.

Many may diagnose you as allergic to dairy but they don't tell you that you will probably be able to have it again.

Lactose allergy or intolerance is often displayed by skin conditions, facial skin especially, nausea, stomach pain, aching joints , etc.

Notice too how other funguses affect you i.e. mushrooms, wine, beer, bread. You may just have a candida problem. Do you have dry skin on the heels of your feet?

If you can go to a good nutritionist, get tested and work with them to repair the enzyme level in your gut and get help with illumination and possible eventual reintroduction to dairy.

Take care.