Today, we will be talking about what does the protein compounds and the peptide compounds do when a patient is being tested for food sensitivity. And we will also discuss what the Lectin and Dairy Zoomer do when a patient has a reaction to those types of food groups. In the last article, we mentioned about immunoglobulins in the intestinal barrier. And what do IgA and IgG antibodies do to the peptide and protein level?
Proteins vs. Peptides
So let us take a look at proteins and peptides since this is what Vibrant Food Zoomers are actually testing on a patient. Remember that the Food Zoomers are testing the peptides in the whole protein and testing all the links to see what the patient is actually sensitive to the foods they are consuming.
Protein is basically abundant biomolecule that is consist of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins can be found in whole foods like meats and vegetables that can help the muscles in our bodies. In the last article, we talked about how IgA and IgG antibodies are used for food sensitivity testing.
However, there is a limitation of a whole protein food sensitivity testing on a patient. Practitioners do make the assumption that the patient’s gut barrier is functional and intact since there are no signs of a leaky gut syndrome presented in the results. But, if that patient has the leaky gut syndrome, then the food sensitivity test will reflect what the patient has been eating. Another assumption is that the patient’s HCI and digestive enzymes are sufficient for tolerable proteolysis. Which means that those enzymes are breaking down whole proteins into smaller peptides.
Peptides are what in protein molecules as they are short chains of amino acids and are linked by the peptide bonds. When they are being tested by the food sensitivity tests, the reproducibility is higher. It doesn’t rely on the excess HCI (hydrochloric acid) or enzymes. What the test eliminates is the cross-reactivity because peptides in proteins are not going to have molecular mimicry to other unrelated proteins.
The antibodies are highly specific to the peptides because they are not going to be generalized or more massive antibodies of proteins since cross-reactivity is eliminated. Another thing is that the peptide test does is that it can measure thousands of peptides in one protein for a full spectrum of reactivity.
When patients are coming in with digestive problems and inflammatory condition/symptoms, practitioners take note that a lot of patients commonly have hypochlorhydria and deficiencies of enzymes and/or bile acids. Most patients sometimes have moderate to severe impairment of the intestinal barrier. When that happens, local doctors discuss with them that they may have to change their diets slowly but surely. And with integrative functional medicine that can occur. Local practitioners look at their patient’s ailments and start detoxifying their bodies slowly. This helps their bodies heal and recommend them whole, nutritious, organic foods, and supplements to help repair the body naturally. Sometimes medicines can cause disruption to our bodies, however with whole natural foods and specific diets, it can help restore our bodies. Plus making sure that we exercise to make our bodies feel good and look good.
So now that we understand what proteins and peptides do when they are being tested. Let’s take a look at the food zoomers that can help you in case you have a sensitivity to these food groups. These are the Vibrant Lectin Zoomer and the Dairy Zoomer.
The Lectin Zoomer is consist of a handful of lectins and a handful of aquaporins. The most common lectins that people consume are barley, bell pepper, chickpea, corn, cucumber, potato, etc. And the most common aquaporins that people consume are spinach, soybean, tomato, tobacco, etc.
Difference between Lectins and Aquaporins
The difference between lectins and aquaporins is that lectins are sugar-binding proteins that are found in both animals and plants, which can bind to the carbohydrate structures on cells. While aquaporins are water channels that are found in cavities in both plants and humans. Some aquaporins can cross-react and can lead to primarily neurological symptoms.
How Problematic are Lectins?
Some studies show cell toxicity in humans is done by using extreme cytotoxic lectins. Ricin, for example, is a common biological warfare element that is not from the commonly consumed legumes or grains. It contains cytotoxic lectins and is being consumed by animals like mice or pigs. The assumption is being made that there are similarities with humans and animal gut glycosylation (the process of sugar-binding) in these situations.
Unfortunately, though it hasn’t been demonstrated thoroughly. But lectins have biological activity in the human body. They have been used as a cancer treatment mechanism because they can agglutinate cancer cells. Which means that they produce cytotoxicity to cancer cells and can actually carry chemotherapy across cancer cell membranes.
Even though that is a good thing, lectins can facilitate the bacterial endotoxins across the epithelial barrier and go into the peripheral tissues. And that can cause inflammation to the intestinal epithelial barrier in the small intestines. Animals studies show that raw lectin consumptions can cause hemagglutinating effects, causing inflammation.
But we as humans don’t eat raw lectins because they are cooked, not pressurized cook. Certain foods that are lectins can be eaten raw or cooked. But animal studies stated that they are using for these studies are grain and legume lectins that are raw like beans and grains. But the upside is that lectins can affect the metabolism of nutrients to increase fat loss which is a positive side effect.
Measuring the Sensitivity to Lectins
On the Food Zoomers test, lectins are really not included in each analysis, except for the Wheat Zoomer. Surprisingly, a Food Zoomer may be non-reactive, but whoever is sensitive to a lectin component in the food they eat, may be reactive. So when that happens, it is necessary to eliminate the food temporarily.
If you are sensitive to a particular food, you can have a Food Zoomer and a lectin Zoomer combine. Because if you are sensitive to the food you consume, and it doesn’t show up on the Food Zoomer, but it shows up on the Lectin Zoomer. Then you should eliminate it from your diet for a bit until you retake the test.
Conditions Associated with Lectins
If you do have a lectin sensitivity, here are some of the terms that can affect your body.
- Arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis
- Connective tissue disorder
- Gastrointestinal inflammation
- Intestinal permeability
- Possible cancer in established cancer patients
Now let’s take a look at the Dairy Zoomer and its functions if you are sensitive to whole dairy products.
The Dairy Zoomer is a peptide level assessment of the full spectrum of immune response possible to proteins in cow’s milk dairy. What this means that the Dairy Zoomer is only specific to cow’s milk. Since some proteins in cow’s milk are similar enough in the molecular structure to have the same homology to goat or sheep’s milk.
This means that these other kinds of milk may be potential can cause inflammatory in some individuals. The oral challenge for alternative types of fluid may be warranted, but use your best clinical judgment after the intestinal barrier is healed.
What the Dairy Zoomer does is that it takes the milk protein and breaking each individual protein down to its different peptides. If you are wondering if the Dairy Zoomer is a test for lactose intolerance, it is not. Since lactose intolerance is not an immune-based reaction to dairy and does not involve any protein constituents of the food, therefore no antibodies are being generated.
What it is going to test for is the casein and whey proteins in the milk product from all animals, and the ratio of these proteins will vary by species. But all the proteins and milk will generally fall into one of these two proteins.
What to do with the results?
Once your patient comes back after taking the Food Zoomers test, here are some of the things to look for when you are retesting them.
- If there are any IgA antibodies still in your patient, warrant an immediate elimination, regardless that it’s moderate or positive.
- If there are any Moderate IgG antibodies in your patient, then it should be eliminated in the short term. Then rotate after a 30-60-day elimination and assessing the status of the intestinal permeability to confirm that that gut barrier is no longer “leaky.”
- If there is a positive IgG result, then it should be eliminated long term and only reintroduced after 90+ days and confirm of an intact intestinal barrier.
So all in all, food sensitivity combine with the food zoomers test are an excellent way to help your body, especially the intestinal system. The Food Zoomers we used is functional for our patient’s wellness. Because we want to get rid of the excess antibodies and heal our patient’s body through the use of functional medicine.
“Protein.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein.
“Peptide.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide.
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