June 2009: Received my own MRT results, and it is an eye opening experience.
All that ”healthy” stuff I was putting into my fruit smoothie every morning (yogurt, strawberries, bananas, mango) - REACTIVE! All the bread/muffins/pretzels/pizza/bagels/crackers I ate regularly – doesn’t matter that they are whole grain…I am RED REACTIVE to wheat. Guess I’ll be joining the gluten free crowd. Italian and RED REACTIVE to garlic and basil?? Afraid so. Oh, and favorite things like peanut butter and green peas…frugal eating will have to take a new direction.
It goes to show that just because a food is supposedly healthy, that doesn’t mean it is healthy for YOU.
Once you get your MRT results, you eliminate all your RED (high reactive) and YELLOW (moderately) reactive foods and chemicals. You’re guided to eat a limited diet consisting of low reactive foods to help your immune system calm down. Sometimes this means giving up things you are accustomed to eating every day. And buying unfamiliar foods that you may have no clue how to prepare (but you’ll learn).
These were my lowest reactive foods to start with: Sole, Tuna, Codfish; Quinoa, Kamut (whole grains); Lima Bean, Beet, Onion, Broccoli; Blueberry, Pineapple, Grape, Olive; Cocoa, Cow’s Milk; Pistachio, Walnut; Cumin, Leek, and Carob for flavoring.
All of which I like, which helps. Went to Whole Foods and stocked up. I tried the kamut but then remembered if reactive to wheat, it is best to eliminate kamut as well, as they are very similar antigenically. Perhaps down the road. It’s good, though.
Another rule is if you test reactive to 2 or more foods in a single food family, it is best to avoid other foods in that family in the early phases. So had a little milk at first but now I’m leaving it out. Same with lima beans, since I’m reactive to numerous other legumes.
Here are a few meals I made in the first couple of days.
One dinner was pan-grilled sole with cooked kamut grain (kind of like a cross between brown rice and barley, sort of), and some fresh beets roasted in a bit of olive oil.
For breakfast had some blueberries and kamut with milk, quite good. Will now swap out for quinoa.
A satisfying lunch was sort of a Salmon “Waldorf” with canned fish, apples, grapes and a little olive oil to moisten – just like a good Waldorf salad should be. (No, I didn’t cheat – salmon and apples were allowed phase 2 substitutes, and I had them in the house.)
Snacked on walnuts, grapes, blueberries, and olives here and there. Smaller meals throughout the day are encouraged.
Gradually, you build a diet that satisfies and mends.
It’s recommended that anyone who gets MRT tested works closely, at least in the beginning, with dietitians specially trained in the protocol. There are individualized tweaks beyond the computer-generated meal plan that your LEAP dietitian can spot. That way, you’ll get the best outcome, the obvious goal of anyone making these changes.
When followed, the personalized diet usually has people feeling better within the first week or two. See link at right for one great testimonial.
I know for myself, my daily episodes of hypoglycemia (eg shakiness, extreme hunger, needing to eat IMMEDIATELY especially protein) disappeared almost overnight and have never returned. I have better skin and energy levels, no more late day fatigue, and feel more clear-headed. This is typical for most people along with resolution of many of the sensitivity-caused symptoms they tested for in the first place.
