The 10 Reasons Identifying Sensitivities is Difficult for Lipedema Ladies
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During this holiday season, I heard some Health experts talk about the unreliability of Hair Sensitivity tests, and that testing each food on your own is the best method. Summarized to that nutshell is nothing different from I have said all along. There will be false negatives and false positives with ANY test, and you will want to test the results of the Hair sensitivity test – eliminate for 1-2 weeks, and then reintroduce to see if you react or not.
But the experts took their advice a couple steps further, and indicated that there was no useful information in a Hair Sensitivity test, and to “Use your head”, “You KNOW what you react to”. You “KNOW to cut out Grains, Sugar and Dairy”.
Upon reflection, I realized how condescending this sounded. Especially to someone with Lipedema and multiple food sensitivities. From what I’ve seen with Lipedema – and please realize I’m not a medical professional, so my observations are just that — observations. Sensitivities are not “That simple”.
Yes, Virginia, I Believe in Hair Sensitivity Tests!
I imagine that you’ve seen my presentation. I had struggled with my weight and tried an Elimination type diet to identify my sensitivities. I found that my “Big 5” – items that caused me to gain 0.25 pounds or more a day – were scallops, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, egg yolks and xanthan gum.
Not a grain, sugar or dairy item among them. (Take that experts!)
But I knew that there was something else — something that was keeping my weight steady. I tried for almost 2 years to try to find that elusive item.
The expert’s statement to “Use My Head”… was actually quite insulting. I kinda think I’m a pretty smart cookie, so telling me to “Use my head”… well, gosh, I’m pretty furious at the moment.
In hindsight, I realize that part of my issue in identifying my food sensitivities was that there was more than 1 item that was giving me the same symptom. Also, I had become so used to the symptom of nasal drainage. He nasal drainage was chronic…. And just part of my life. I remember a doctor pointing out that I had nasal drainage coating the back of my throat – “Don’t you notice that?” he asked, but didn’t offer any suggestions on what to do about it.
I had finally realized that one of the items had to be coffee because my nose ran at breakfast. And I mentioned in my presentation how my friend pointed out my issue with nightshades. Again, in hindsight, I also realize that I cut out cumin during this time as well.
But it wasn’t until cumin showed up on my hair sensitivity test that I realized it had also been an issue for me.
The reason I believe food sensitivities is a particular issue for Lipedema women is that I believe swelling from inflammation in the lipedema areas is a symptom of a food sensitivity. This swelling places fluid in the interstitial spaces, between fat cells and the lymph vessels. This distance impedes the fat cell’s ability to expel its waste products leading to the fat cell becoming sick and fibrotic.
Determining food sensitivities through the trial and error method is difficult for Lipedema ladies because of:
- The number of sensitivities
- Overlapping symptoms
- Uncommon symptoms
- Not recognizing the symptom
- Delayed Symptoms
- Attributing symptoms to another health condition
- Unusual food sensitivities
- Changing sensitivities
- The amount of time required for trial and error
- Not wanting to take on a new project
1. The Number of Sensitivities
I don’t have access to sensitivity information for the general public, so I don’t know if Lipedema Ladies have more sensitivities than the general public, but I believe it’s probably true. I do know in speaking with thousands of Lipedema women, that we do have multiple sensitivities. It’s thought that one of the first steps to developing a food sensitivity is having a leaky gut, and with Lipedema being a connective tissue disorder, I believe the connective tissue in the gut may be defective and leaky, leading to those food sensitivities.
Perhaps others will have better luck than I did; however, the sheer number of sensitivities was difficult to deal with. To overcome a sensitivity, that food needs to be eliminated for 6 months up to 2 years! Finding all the foods is difficult in itself – and then cutting out that many foods can be near impossible!
The trial and error method has you try a food, and decide if you have a reaction. If you don’t, you keep the food and if you do, you drop the food from your diet. But this also assumes that you are not reacting to begin with. Some plans have you eat “neutral foods” to get you to a baseline, and then test from there. But what if you, like me, react to the “neutral foods”? What if you assume that you’re reacting to the peppers in the meal, but you’re actually reacting to the turmeric?
A food sensitivity test provides a finite list of foods to cut out. Cut out those foods for 1-2 weeks, and you potentially have your “neutral baseline”. You can always test foods from there with the trial and error method if you don’t believe the test and can decide whether you react or not. I tend to find that I’m feeling so much better in those 1-2 weeks that I don’t want to rock the boat!
2. Overlapping symptoms
Is it the wheat, the coffee, the eggs, the onions or peppers in the eggs, or the seeds on the bread causing my sinus issues? I know wheat is the culprit for many – and perhaps it’s because I went gluten-free for so many years – but for me, it WASN’T the wheat. The coffee, the eggs, the peppers and the seeds were all causing my sinus drainage. With trial and error – I’d cut out one item and STILL have nasal drainage. Do I cut out another item, or add that item back in and drop another? With this method I’d never find the culprits unless I changed the complete meal. A long and tedious process to identify the items.
With a food sensitivity test, you have that finite list of troublesome foods – just eliminate that list, and you’re done – no worry about cutting out the wrong item. Unless, of course, you are concerned about the results, but you can always use the trial and error method after 1-2 weeks to test the foods to make sure that the test was correct.
3. Uncommon Symptoms
I believe those of us with Lipedema have symptoms that are not common or at this time not acknowledged. Weight gain is not a typically recognized symptom, however Lyn Genet-Recitas recognized this symptom in her book “The Plan”, and her updated book, “The Metabolism Plan“. I’ve also had reports from hundreds of Lipedema women of sudden increases in pant size – sometimes 1-2 pant sizes overnight! And although aches and pains are listed as typical symptoms of a food sensitivity, the aching/ burning in the legs in Lipedema is not typically associated with a food sensitivity. For me, egg yolks will cause my legs to burn, so good news – potentially you can reduce/ stop pain by eliminating your food sensitivities!
Instead of needing to be aware of every potential symptom of a food sensitivity (and I know I’ve ignored a lot of symptoms over the years!), with a food sensitivity test, you have a finite list of foods to cut out for 6 months to 2 years. After this amount of time, the antibodies will die off and you can try to reintroduce back into your diet. That’s the great, but confusing thing about food sensitivities – the list is continuously changing.
4. Not Recognizing the Symptom
I feel for many Lipedema women! We have lived with the symptoms of food sensitivities for so long, like the pain in our legs or chronic nasal drainage, that we no longer realize that we are suffering from a food sensitivity! I had no idea that a good part of the body pains I was having was a food sensitivity! I know many women are shocked when I mention that weight gain or a sudden increase in limb size could be a food sensitivity! And then it all makes sense and falls into place.
Many Lipedema women no longer take their weight or measure their limb size – too many years of being shamed for a condition that is not their fault! And in some cases, the scales do not measure the weight they’ve become. I find it’s difficult to recognize some symptoms as a food sensitivity. I remember eating a banana and having digestive distress. Knowing bananas are often given for digestive issues, I ate a banana a day trying to fix my very angry stomach. For 10 days, I couldn’t keep anything down… My solution was my issue, and when I FINALLY wised up and stopped eating the bananas, my stomach issues resolved. I double-checked my earlier Food sensitivity test, and it showed bananas on the list! I had just forgotten!
Instead of overlooking symptoms, a food sensitivity test provides the list of foods to cut out. I know I have been amazed that after cutting out the foods on the list, the symptoms that I never connected to a food sensitivity that “magically” go away!
5. Delayed symptoms
It can take up to 3 days for a symptom to manifest! 3 days! I was oblivious to reactions happening 3 hours after eating – never mind 3 days! When i finally realized I was reacting, I was traveling, and about 2-3 hours after dinner, I began coughing and clearing my throat. A friend had to point out that I was having a food reaction!
With the trial and error method, with you testing one food a day, a reaction could be from any of the previous 3 days of foods! As if making these connections isn’t hard enough! With a food sensitivity test, you don’t have to worry about the delayed reactions – just cut out the foods the test says you react to and begin feeling better!
6. Attributing symptoms to another health condition
Is your stomach distress, brain fog and body aches and pains from the flu? From Covid? Brain fog and body aches and pains are also classified as symptoms of the comorbidity Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I know many Lipedema women mention these symptoms! So are these symptoms just manifestations of Lipedema, or are these symptoms really screaming at you that you are reacting to a food that you ate?
With a food sensitivity test, you can cut out the guessing, and instead, cut out the list of foods you are sensitive to!
7. Unusual food sensitivities
Many of the lipedema women that I speak with have unusual food sensitivities such as sensitivity to mint, lettuce, lemons – items that typically don’t show up in the top allergens. I believe part of this is because many of us eat very clean diets. When our immune system is triggered it’s going to look for the items that we’re now eating as being the culprit.
This is also why food sensitivity tests lists a lot of the items that you’re currently eating because it’s those items that have triggered the immune system. The antibodies for items that you haven’t eaten for 6 months to 2 years have died off and will not show up in a hair sensitivity test.
Instead of trying a diet that cuts out foods that you DON’T react to, a food sensitivity test provides the exact list of foods you CAN eat and those YOU should be avoiding.
8. Changing sensitivities
Lipedema women have a compromised lymph system. The lymph system handles cleansing the body of viruses and bacteria. Thus, we are more susceptible to sickness. Antibiotic use or contracting a virus is a trigger to your immune system in developing a food sensitivity.
As I mentioned in the above section, food sensitivity antibodies will die off in 6 months to 2 years. Something you were sensitive to 2 years ago, you may no longer be sensitive to. And new sensitivities will develop after the use of an antibiotic, contracting a virus, extreme stress, hormone changes or surgery.
Imagine my shock when I became sensitive to nightshades (which includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplant) when I had previously lost 30 lb eating those same items!
9. The amount of time required for trial and error
The amount of time to test an infinite list of foods became an impossibility to me. I would test one item a day, and if you react, then you need to reset for at least 3 days before testing again. One item a day gives you at the most, 30 items in a month. My testing was also complicated in that I reacted to an item that was considered “neutral” and in the “cleanse” part of the plan. (This actually happened to me twice – the first time I was reacting to sunflower seeds, and the second time to zucchini.) By the time I “finished” testing, I would have had a virus, had an antibiotic, etc, and I’d have to restart the process again. I was in perpetual testing mode.
A Food sensitivity test, at the time of this writing, will test for 970 items. That’s nearly 3 years of testing items one at a time! Take the list of items that you DON’T react to, and develop your meals. In 6 months, take another test to find items you can test to add back into your diet!
10. Not wanting to take on a new project
I mentioned the amount of time to test foods – but there’s also the discipline in taking on this project. An extremely detailed food diary is required – down to the spices used! I know women who have reacted to cumin, turmeric or cinnamon. These spices are commonly used by Lipedema women to reduce inflammation. A detailed food diary often requires cooking all your own food (which is typically nothing new for Lipedema women), to know EXACTLY what you are eating. Recording all your food AND all your symptoms can become a daunting task! Plus, with the potential delay of symptoms – it can become a mind-numbing task trying to figure what food truly caused what symptom. Also, with all the self-care that is required with Lipedema, adding one more task can be an impossibility.
A food sensitivity test will require you to alter the foods that you are eating, but you are handed the list instead of trying to develop the list yourself.
A food sensitivity test overcomes all these issues. You can take the list of items you are not sensitive to and develop meals to eat for your baseline. Your symptoms should reduce by eating these items and you’ll be more aware of symptoms as you test to reintroduce the foods. Instead of months (or truly years) of trial and error, checking every food item under the sun, you now have a concise and finite list of items to trial. The list has been created for you so you won’t be confusing items that you are sensitive to that you eat during the same meal. And if you’re feeling better, then you may be able to better identify symptoms when you have those symptoms in the future.
The food sensitivity test will not show the items you are allergic to nor the items that you are intolerant to. Those are different immune responses. It’s also not going to list items that you may become sensitive to in the future or ones that you had previously been sensitive to and at least for the short term are not.
I’ve seen 3 complaints regarding food sensitivity tests from the “experts”. The first is that they are junk science, although I haven’t seen anyone’s basis for this accusation. The second is that it will only show you the items that you are currently eating, and this is because the antibodies will die off after 6 months to 2 years of not eating the item. And third is that the test will report false positives and false negatives. But that tends to be true for any test.
Determining food sensitivities by testing a food yourself, is not “That simple”. Despite the flaws inherent in a food sensitivity test, I have seen a benefit for myself of using them and have had many other lipedema women agree with its usefulness.
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