Back in January I wrote about food intolerance a.k.a. food sensitivities.  It has now been over six months of following the guidelines of my food intolerances and I wanted to give a report on what I have found.

In this six months I have also found a reliable and accurate method (PinnerTest USA) for all of us to have food intolerance testing done.  No healthcare provider needed!  I will give you my report on this later in the blog!

First, it has been an interesting ride!  Finding out what truly works well with my body and what does not.  The results from my traditional IgG ELISA test as I reported in January are below:

The first set of results were examining my IgG comprehensive food panel.  The IgG testing revealed I am sensitive to several of the foods I was consuming on a daily basis.  The foods were ranked on level of sensitivity from Zero (0) no problems to Three (3) high sensitivity.  Some of these foods include:

• Nuts and Seeds (3)
• Coconut (3)
• Eggs (3)
• Gluten (2)
• Dairy (2 and 3)
• Oats (2)
• Wheat (2)
• Squash (3)
• Turnips (2)
• Tomato (2)
• Whey (1)
• Casein (1)

I worked hard on keeping many of these foods out of my daily nutrition because of how well I was feeling.  Lots of planning and preparation…I experimented with new foods and also my breakfast menu on a daily basis.  I truly feel that working with foods that help you progress and feel well in life will help your overall vitality, resilience, strength, and energy levels.  They also aid in keeping inflammation low and this is key to helping your body maintain great health.

I am not going to lie.  This was a challenge and the list above was just a handful of the approximately fifty(50) foods that the traditional IgG ELISA tests was reporting I had intolerance.  I focused on taking out the major 3s, and 2s in my daily nutrition.  Unfortunately this left me with a limited supply of foods to vary in my diet.

I was happy with the result of the testing but continued to due to my research on food intolerance and methods of testing.  (Of which I will admit…there is not much in the literature yet on IgG.  But the evidence is developing and gaining momentum.)  I guess its just the scholar in me…continuing to read, review and develop some hypothesis about my nutrition.  As I was reading and reviewing the methods of testing I came across a method of testing for IgG intolerances that uses a microarray method.

Protein microarrays are more similar to ELISA. The proteins in a sample are not fractionated prior to the assay.  In constructing microarrays, the proteins are deposited in small (100-300 um) spots on a specially coated microscope slide. The slide is often coated with a polymer like nitrocellulose, or gel that increases the binding capacity of the protein. Microarrays offer advantages of higher throughput, multiplex analysis, low reagent consumption, high sensitivity and lower sample requirement compared to ELISA assays.

The only company using the microarray method in the USA is Pinnertest.  Pinnertest is a method of having your food intolerances tested without the need to visit a physician.  This testing has full approval of the FDA and has been used for years by many health care providers and nutrition experts in Europe.

• Pinnertest is “The Next Generation Food Intolerance Test”.  It is a Microarray IgG method Lab test that reports intolerances for 200 food items.
• It is the standard protocol for most Nutritionists in Europe and has reached approximately a half million clients.  Many Europeans take a Pinnertest before creating their diet plan.
• The difference between Pinnertest and old technology Food Intolerance Tests, is due to the latest update on our micro chip test method, Pinnertest can accurately identify the Temporary and Permanent food intolerances.

I contacted Pinnertest and had my testing done with the microarray method.  It took about 2 weeks to receive my results and they reported:

• Vanilla (3)
• Wheat (2) This is not related to Gluten.
• Tomato (1)

The pinnertest is read on a

• +1……….. LOW REACTION
• +2…………MODERATE REACTION
• +3…………HIGH REACTION

The pinnertest showed I had a food intolerance to only 3 foods and the most sensitive being vanilla!  Three(3) foods!  I was a little skeptical as I read the results but I did have an intolerance to Wheat and Tomato in my traditional ELISA.   So there was a correlation and Vanilla just was not measured in my traditional ELISA.

One drop of blood to gain a wealth of nutrition information!

So what happen to the other 47 foods my traditional ELISA reported I had intolerance to?  Well, the microarray method is a way of determining short term inflammation and long term inflammation.  Short term being a normal reaction to food intake and long term being a chronic effect from eating a particular food and causing long term inflammation the body has a hard time managing and possible relating to long term chronic inflammation in the digestive system or other areas of the body.

Having short term and long term inflammation markers is normal in our body.  I will relate this process to exercise.  When you exercise you have a normal short term inflammation reaction.  This is a good thing…it tells the body you were active…sends appropriate chemical signals and cells to the area, the body then manages and rebuilds.  This is where hiring a qualified strength coach, trainer and rehabilitation specialist comes into appropriate planning and programing of your exercise and/or rehabilitation.  He or she looks at the level you are entering exercise and then writes a sustainable program.  An example of long term inflammation is when you develop an injury from exercise or sport.  Chronic exposure to a certain movement that overrides the bodies ability to rebuild, restructure, and mange the inflammation will lead to injury and dysfunction.  A well seasoned coach and/or trainer will recognize this and regress the movement to allow for the body to manage the long term inflammation and allow to recover.  Or in some cases eliminate the movement from your exercise routine all together…because…the risk and reward relationship is just not good.  You always want the reward to be greater than the risk!

Now lets take this over to food.  As you intake a certain food, your body will have a normal inflammation response…the response will lead to utilization of that food to rebuild and nourish your body (it is much more complicate than that, but this blog and post is not about getting too much into the physiology).  A long term chronic effect can lead to significant health issues, such as migraine headache, obesity, diabetes, joint and muscle pain, and possible auto immune disease.

So now the big question!

Did this relate or effect my training?

Absolutely!  Since January I have noticed small and significant changes in my training and daily life.  My training has both improved in mobility and strength.  The consistent and sustainable mobility drills along with strength training has allowed for growth in both areas.

As I started out in January and I first made a few changes with my IgG nutrition plan I started small and light in all my training.  Placing most of my focus and strengths into my nutrition changes and allowing my body to accept and adapt to the changes I was placing on it.  You cannot stress too many areas in your body and expect them all to change.  My main focus was to decrease the IgG inflammation and dial in my food.  This worked great.  I had nice training sessions and I fell into a nice pattern of nutrition.  I felt my body begin to make some changes.  It really became evident at about 10 weeks.  Which makes sense in a physiological way.  Without getting into too much into physiological detail, it takes about 53 days for a fibroblast cell to live.  So the introduction of the new foods and training began sending the appropriate signals to the areas to begin rebuilding.  Around 10 weeks is 70 days…my body was beginning to replace the older tissue with new healthier tissue.  My body was responding to appropriate changes both in exercise and nutrition.  This was a great feeling.

I was also feeling less bloat and better energy levels.  This makes sense…as my body was actually using the food for energy and not fighting against this as an invader!  I was very happy.

Then came my pinnertest  results and I dialed these findings into my training.  I switched my protein powder from vanilla flavor to chocolate (I use VEGA Sport).  This switch was substantial and I noticed some big changes in a matter of a few days.  I dropped about 3 pounds and measured a 1/2 inch decrease in my area around my navel.  No lie…a 1/2 inch!  Again, I had worked out all the 3s from my previous testing and had no idea about vanilla.

I also began to test the water on some of the 3s from my previous ELISA testing.  I looked at some of the 3s and decided to add one back into my nutrition plan to see if I could notice an effect.  I chose almond butter.  In the morning I worked back in a 1/2 tablespoon of almond butter to my morning whole food nutritional shake.  About mid-day is when I noticed the almond butter had no effect on me and even into the next 2-3 days there were no adverse side effects.  I did add in some tomato and a little wheat as well.  These did have an effect.  Mainly on a feeling of bloat and sluggish.

One final area I tested was adding back in dill pickles.  Dill was actually a 2 on my traditional ELISA testing and on the pinnertest it showed no reaction.  I know it sounds funny but I really enjoy pickles and this was one food I really missed.  The fact is, I am an small town upstate NY guy…born and raise 1/2 Polish and my grandfather used to make amazing homemade pickles.  I have been eating pickles my whole life.  I added back in the dill pickle and it had no reaction!  I was happy….and my girlfriend and co-owner of Iron Body Studios Artemis jokes with me regularly on my satisfaction with consuming pickles!  Don’t even get me stared about Kielbasa.  I know it, I eat it, I love it, and I can tell you the best out there comes from Utica NY.

So what is my recommendation.  I strongly recommend anyone that notices issues arise from eating certain foods to think about and commit to having the pinnertest done.  The pinnertest is simple and very accurate.

If you notice:

• Poor recovery from training
• Nagging aches and pains
• Bloat (gas, abdominal discomfort)
• Feeling of low energy (sluggish)
• Migraines
• Poor Bowel Movements
• Skin irritations
• Hard time decreasing body fat with intense training

These can all be indicators of having a possible food intolerance and investing in the testing can help you for the rest of your life and also aid in your goal of becoming the healthiest version of YOU.  Please remember, nutrition is not a cookie cutter program.  You can’t google the latest tuna and toast diet and expect it to give you wonderful results.  Do you really just want to eat tuna and toast your whole life?  Heck NO!  You must find what works well with your body and helps you to be great!  Sustainable nutrition is the key.

If you are interested in a pinnertest I urge you to take a look at the website.

Click HERE to see the Pinnertest website and the microarray IgG test they offer.

If you want to purchase the pinnertest for 10% off the retail price please contact me by filling out the form at the end of this blog article.  I believe in this product and I feel it can help everyone to have this information about IgG inflammation.

Contact me to purchase the pinnertest I will email you a 10% discount code for purchase.  I am also offering anyone that uses my 10% discount code a single complimentary 45 minute skype or FaceTime session to discuss your results and how to develop a strong game plan to overcome your food intolerance.  We will also touch on exercise that pairs well as your transition into the new nutritional path!

Once you purchase and receive your results, you will share them with me in confidentiality via email.  We will then schedule your single 45 minute consultation.  You will not get this single ($100.00 value) complimentary session with anyone else offering this test.  My 15 years experience as an athletic trainer will help to dial in your results and eliminate any IgG inflammation in your body.  Let me help you to feel better, move better, perform better, and move stronger!

An even easier way to get started is to fill out the contact form and I will send you your 10% off promotional code.