After a synopsis from last week on how gluten and other foods affect my health, I will go more in-depth this week on cross-reactive foods and how I can help and empower you to better your health. In short, cross-reactivity means your body reacts to foods as if they are gluten. There are foods that are similar enough to the proteins in gluten that your body mistakes them for gluten proteins like gliadin, which reacts by creating inflammation, tissue damage, low level autoimmunity (the precursor to autoimmune diseases), and gut damage. Whether or not you have full blown Celiac (autoimmune reactions to gluten that can occur anywhere in the body, not only the gut), or you’ve been told you have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, or you just notice you’re a bit more sluggish or bloated after gluten, you will greatly benefit from this information.

I don’t recommend taking a deprivation approach to nutrition, where you remove all of your favorite foods without healthy substitutions. This just plays into cravings, subconscious patterns of sabotage, and often frustration due to failures.  The following information provides many delicious substitutions that will leave you feeling satisfied (physically and emotionally). What I do believe in, is commitment to make healthy food choices based on your individual body and its metabolic, hormonal, nervous, and immune systems. You may not have any cross reactivity to foods or you may only have a few. I invite you to take the test!

You may be wondering “How do I know if I cross-react to a food?”  First, this kind of reaction is NEVER tested on any standard food sensitivity test. IF you’ve had food testing by other labs, they don’t test for this, and I don’t trust most food testing because they simply aren’t accurate. There is only one test specific to this kind of reaction and it’s performed by Cyrex labs, it’s Array #4 Gluten Associate Cross Reactive Foods and Food Sensitivity.  The reason it’s so valuable is due to the many “health” foods that are on this list.

Cyrex Array #4 Gluten Associated, Cross Reactive Food and Food Sensitivity Screening Test list:

  • Rye, barley, spelt, polish wheat
  • Millit
  • Quinoa
  • Sesame
  • Potatoes
  • Egg
  • Casein (alpha, beta), Casomorphin dairy
  • Milk butyrophilin
  • Whey proteins
  • Soy
  • Yeast
  • Coffee
  • Buckwheat
  • Sorghum
  • Hemp
  • Amaranth
  • Teff
  • Oats
  • Tapioca
  • Rice
  • Chocolate (milk)

Wow, wouldn’t it be great to know if you cross-react to eggs, coffee, hemp or other gluten-free grains and foods?

By doing this test you will learn what you cross-react to, but you must prepare yourself in order to receive accurate results. If you don’t have diagnosed Celiac disease then eat everything on the Array #4 list of foods for 7 days in a row (this includes gluten), then wait 26 days and get your blood drawn for the test on that 26th day. This ensures that your immune system has made the antibodies to the food antigens so you will get accurate results.

If you or someone you know has gut issues, autoimmune issues (Hoshimotos Thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis MS, psoriasis, eczema, or Crohn’s disease to name but a few), then this test is vital to you being able to fully heal. If you eat foods to which you cross react, or have even a speck of gluten, then it will likely flair your autoimmune condition and cause multiple future autoimmune diseases. These issues become compounded. You never just get one autoimmune disease, unless you properly halt it. You will likely get two, three, or even four of them at a time, and this seriously impacts the quality and length of your life.

Going gluten-free isn’t always enough and taking the next step on your health journey to identify and eliminate cross-reactive foods may be necessary for you to maintain or regain vibrant health. Please use this information to become empowered to take back your health.

Blessings of Vibrant Health,

Kristin Grayce McGary
Health and Lifestyle Alchemist