The Results Are In

I was just not satisfied with the dentist's and doctor's take on Owen's teeth, and I had some nagging worries about the root of the issue, so Owen and I sent off some stool samples to Entero Lab to get a bit more information about our digestion.
Yup, I'm telling you about our, um, poop analysis!
So, we got the results back this week, and here's what they say:

• Owen and I are both sensitive to gluten; specifically, our intestines are making antibodies to gliadin which is part of the gluten molecule.
• We also "have an autoimmune reaction to the human enzyme tissue transglutaminase, secondary to dietary gluten sensitivity." This autoimmune reaction causes a breakdown in the intestines.
  
• We each have two copies of a gene that predisposes us to gluten sensitivity, but neither of us have a "celiac gene."
• We are both sensitive to (bovine) casein (milk protein).
• We both have elevated fat in our stools. Mine is in the "mild elevation" range, and Owen's is in the "moderate elevation" range. This is a measure of how efficiently we are digesting our food and absorbing the nutrients from it. The damage to our intestines from the autoimmune reaction has made us less able to absorb the nutritients in our food. (This, in turn, has resulted in Owen's tooth decay.)
  

What does this mean?

• This is a confirmation of what I have suspected all along, and we were already on the right track. I think the mild and moderate levels of fats in our stools indicate that significant healing has already started over the last few months of our diet.
  

• Owen and I will continue the diet we have been doing to heal our "guts." This diet is full of bone broths (very healing to the digestive system), meats, eggs, good fats, and vegetables with some fruit. It does not include any starches or grains (so, by default, no gluten). Eventually, we will transition to a diet that will include limited gluten-free grains (such as rice) and starches.
  
• Owen and I will be excluding dairy (except butter oil and ghee which are both essentially casein-free) from our diets for a while. We also figured out that Owen is reactive to dairy in my diet. His persistent (2 month) cold that climaxed on our fall visit home, cleared up and has not returned since we took dairy back out of our diets. We will try re-introducing dairy after 6 months or so.
  
• We will retest (just the fat test this time) in about a year to see if our absorption has improved.
  
• Eventually (in a couple of years) we may attempt to re-introduce gluten very carefully, but that's a long way off.

At this point, you may be thinking I'm off my rocker again. You've never heard of someone who was sensitive to gluten and never had a problem with it yourself. But, in fact, many people are sensitive to gluten and do not know it. Besides an observed reaction to gluten, the best way to determine gluten sensitivity is through a stool test. Blood tests and skins tests are sampling far away from the site of the reaction, and often do not indicate a sensitivity when it really present. As almost 1/3 of people who have stool analysis, have anti-gliadin IgA (antibodies), it is likely that you or someone you know (besides Owen and I) is gluten-sensitive. Allergies and food sensitivites present themselves in a myriad of ways. Chronic colds or infections such as "strep throat" or ear infections, digestive issues, hyperactivity, seasonal "allergies," autoimmune conditions, and many other commonly accepted conditions are signs that you may be reacting to foods. They are signs of negative overall health. If I had a nickle for every time someone told me they or their kid was healthy - despite need for tubes in their ears, braces, dental fillings, (diagnosed) hyperactivity or AD(H)D, tonsillectomies, rounds of antibiotics, dark circles under the eyes, . . . - I could pay for next year's stool analyses.