NO WHEY FOR ME
NO WHEY FOR ME
by: Stefanie Billette
ACE-Certified Health Coach
Hashimoto's Avenger
My autoimmune thyroid disease had hijacked my body for nearly 40 years until 2017 when I decided to take back my body by going on the Autoimmune Protocol. My autoantibodies (which attacked my thyroid) were in the 400s before I began the protocol. After months of resetting my immune system, my antibodies dropped into the 100s. After four years, I finally got my thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO) down to 27, which is essentially remission.
All my autoimmune symptoms disappeared and I felt better than ever. I was even able to slowly add back in a few foods that I initially had to eliminate: ghee, green beans, black pepper, dill, white rice, and cacao. There are many foods I never even attempted to reintroduce because I knew I would not be able to tolerate them (e.g gluten, tomatoes, etc.).
A couple of months ago, I learned of the amazing properties of lactoferrin (the glycoprotein that makes colostrum so important for infants). It stops the "C" virus in its tracks and has anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, antiviral effects, modulates the immune system and increases metabolism. I have been giving it to my kids, my husband and myself for the past month and I believe it has helped us stay healthy even through a stressful move.
However, knowing that I cannot tolerate dairy, I needed to know if I have been having an immune reaction to lactoferrin the past month. I needed to know if there is increased inflammation in my body. So, I asked my functional medicine practitioner to write a lab order for my thyroid antibodies AND for IgG to Whey. Now that I have been ingesting whey (lactoferrin is free of lactose but is actually a whey protein), I would be able to see if I am having an immune response.
I got my results yesterday, and sadly, my IgG to Whey is high. Not surprisingly, my thyroid peroxidase antibodies have also risen from 27 in June to 45 now. I believe this underlying increase in inflammation is the reason I pulled my piriformis two weeks ago and had a flareup of sciatic compression for the first time in two years.
I am disappointed that I cannot benefit from the incredible properties of lactoferrin because it flares up immune reactions and exacerbates my autoimmune disease. This is further proof that while the Autoimmune Protocol can reset the immune system and put autoimmune disease into remission, it is not a cure and triggers can always cause flare-ups.
-Stefanie
Stefanie Billette, M.S., ACE-CHC, ACE-FNS
Author of You Are What You DON'T Eat
ACE-Certified Health Coach and Fitness Nutrition Specialist
Founder, CEO, and CRC (Chief Recipe Creator)
educ8.elimin8.elev8.
Paleo/AIP Specialty Foods Manufacturer
“Let nothing which can be treated by diet be treated by other means”
-Maimonides