# LEAP-MRT Food SensitivityTesting Program for IBS



## Ali_27 (Feb 20, 2009)

Has anyone tried a program called LEAP via there healthcare provider? It "uses a blood test that isolates your individual safe foods by testing mediator response." I plan on trying this test with an out of state dietitian who is LEAP certified. I was curious if anyone else on the list has done this, and what his/her experience was...especially since the test is almost $400 and most likely will not be covered by the health insurance coverage I have.When I do try it, I will certainly post my experience. There's an elimination diet as part of this, too.


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## EarnestAccord (Dec 11, 2001)

Yeh, In fact I still have the test results packet. The stucture behind the LEAP program has everything to do with an elimination diet not just " a part". It just claims to give you a more exacting idea what foods irritate you the most, moderately and least. This then lays out a meal plan for the next few months catering towards what the "safest" are first, and then gradually start re-introducing more and more "unsafe" food items.It didn't work at all for me. The initial foundation diet never brought me down to a secure enough low symptom base-line. I quit after one month stuck on the first tier of foods and never being able to reintroduce anything. Hope it helps. That price tag is actually much lower then it was in 2001. Back then it was $800. Not a total loss but it didn't get me lower symptoms. Worth the try though. You never know. What my problem is could be quite different then yours'. Lot's of Love.


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## TexasMom (May 27, 2006)

EarnestAccord, I am surprised that you didn't experience improvement...... as a LEAP therapist myself, I've had over 400 patients with migraine, IBS, fibromyalgia, Crohns, ulcerative colitis... and only 2 migraine and 2 diarrhea patients did not improve..... did you work with a certified LEAP therapist? It is not as easy as it seems to implement the results on your own. The inherent chemicals in the foods have to be taken into account. For example, a person may not show up reactive to potatoes, but if they show up reactive to solanine, which is a chemical in potatoes, then potatoes have to be removed from the elimination diet, at least initially until symptoms resolve...... also, there are so many foods that have other ingredients in them, and without the guidance of someone that knows how to implement this, I'm wondering how many untested items you ate? For example, if the program says you can have tuna..... have you looked at a can of tuna lately? Most tuna, unless bought at a health food store, has tuna, soy, vegetable broth, etc..... even if it says tuna packed in water. If you are allowed wheat..... have you looked at the ingredients in wheat bread or wheat crackers? When the resuts say wheat, it means 100% wheat, so in that case, you could have certain brands of water crackers for example, which are 100% wheat, and your local dietitian could help you with more choices from your local store or health food store. ANY untested ingredients are potentially reactive. If you results aren't too old, and you didn't do it with the guidance of a certified LEAP therapist, I would encourage you to try again. Chances are you introduced some untested ingredients in your diet. I train LEAP therapists nationwide, so I can give you a list of who is available in your area if you'd like. If there isn't one close by, anyone of us can do phone consults. If you did the diet with the guidance of a trained LEAP therapist, I would get tested for celiac disease, candidiasis, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), fructose intolerance/malabsorption..... just to name the most common... Hope this helps,Susan


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## Ali_27 (Feb 20, 2009)

Thanks, Susan!! Your post was EXTREMELY helpful!! I am so excited to do the LEAP testing, and will share my experience with everyone!!


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## Ali_27 (Feb 20, 2009)

EarnestAccord said:


> Yeh, In fact I still have the test results packet. The stucture behind the LEAP program has everything to do with an elimination diet not just " a part". It just claims to give you a more exacting idea what foods irritate you the most, moderately and least. This then lays out a meal plan for the next few months catering towards what the "safest" are first, and then gradually start re-introducing more and more "unsafe" food items.It didn't work at all for me. The initial foundation diet never brought me down to a secure enough low symptom base-line. I quit after one month stuck on the first tier of foods and never being able to reintroduce anything. Hope it helps. That price tag is actually much lower then it was in 2001. Back then it was $800. Not a total loss but it didn't get me lower symptoms. Worth the try though. You never know. What my problem is could be quite different then yours'. Lot's of Love.


Hi Earnest!Thanks for your reply and for sharing your experience! I am sorry it didn't work for you. Texasmom posted some helpful info. about your experience--hope it helped!This afternoon, I also read testimonials on the internet that looked extremely promising. I am so eager to try this.


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## EarnestAccord (Dec 11, 2001)

Texasmom, not to hijack this thread, but yes I did do the diet with the help of a LEAP certified dietitian, Jan Patenaude, over the phone. There were no LEAP certified dietitians in my area at that time. I am and was well aware of the hidden ingredients in foods and know how to read ingredients and avoid them. In fact only ingredients that compose 2% or more of labeled food have to be divulged. I lived on a very basic diet for the duration of the LEAP program. Making everything from scratch, even my cottage cheese. So I didn't trust anything not made by me. You hit upon one thing that I was very reactive to, solanine, found in the nightshade family: potatoes,spinach,bell peppers,tobacco, eggplant and Tomatoes. This was about eight years ago and to be honest I'd be open to trying it again just for the sake of some improvement since I haven't any since then but am a bit more skeptical having gone through the program once before. I wonder if the results hold any relevance this many years later? I now have insurance and am seeing a Nuerogastroenterologist, because I've since been through the ringer of tests. Celiac blood test and Upper Endoscopy both confirmed negative for gluton intolerance, Hydrogen Breath Analysis confirmed negative for SIBO, I've had it all. The only thing ever to come back with something was my first Colonoscopy which found mild inflammation of the ilium. The GI called it Crohn's and put me on steroids. I tested clean four months later went drug free and now four years, three Colonoscopies and most recently a wireless endoscopy pill later, doctors still can't find anything. Maybe I could just hire a dietitian and use the old results.??. I have a hard time believing that a dietitian would be more knowledgeable in diets than me. But I guess that's kind of arrogant soooo...... I'd be open to some references, thanks TexasMom.


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## TexasMom (May 27, 2006)

No worries about hijacking..... honesty is always the best. You must have been one of the first people to be tested, and honestly 8 years ago we didn't know 1/2 as much as we do now about food sensitivities, and other possible contributors.... Jan has learned a ton in 8 years too, I know her very well..... Unfortunately, your results have changed since then so no longer valid. It's really rare to have people retest, but the ones that have retested have about a 50% change in their test results after about a year..... Do you have insurance other than United or Aetna, medicare/medicaid, tricare or unicare? I'll send you the CPT code privately so you can ask your insurance company if they cover it..... I'm not saying that a dietitian would know more than you, since I don't know you, but based on 99.9% of my patients, they wouldn't be able to apply the results without help since they don't realize that a grilled piece of chicken from Chik-fil-A is not 100% chicken but probably has 20 ingredients in it, or the other examples I gave you earlier, and most people don't understand delayed hypersensitivities, dose and frequency response, or hidden chemicals in foods like salicylates, tyramine, phenylethylamine, sulfites, , etc etcWe're also trained to look for other issues like the SIBO, candida, fructose intolerance or malabsorption, etc etc etc....Susan


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