slayadragon
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People with ME/CFS often have a difficult time figuring out what foods they are reacting to.
I have had some success using a particular method, called "The Pulse Test." I'm interested in whether it might be helpful for other people as well.
The method is summarized in a short book, which unfortunately is currently out of stock at Amazon. However, I think I can describe it quickly. Some descriptions written by others are below.
http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Test-LYLE-STUART/dp/0818403101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329766994&sr=8-1
The method goes by the principle that when problematic foods are consumed, the body will attempt to compensate by increasing its heart rate. Thus by monitoring the heart rate, foods can be evaluated.
The key here is to get the system calmed down to the point where the pulse goes down to a reasonable level. With regard to foods, this may involve a fairly strict elimination diet for a few days.
Once the system is calmed down so that the pulse is at a fairly low level, then a large serving of the suspect food is consumed by itself. The pulse is taken before eating the food, 30 minutes after eating it, 60 minutes after eating it, and 90 minutes after eating it.
If the pulse jumps, this suggests that the food is a problem (or at least, that the body believes it to be a problem!). For instance, at one point I was testing lemons (squeezed in water). My pulse rate was stable at about 70 until I drank the lemon water. At 30 and 60 minutes after that, my pulse jumped to 110. Then it went back down and stayed down. After repeating the experiment with lemons a few times, I concluded that lemons were a problem for me and eliminated them from my diet.
One problem here is that some people have constantly elevated pulse no matter what they eat. This could be from reactivities to other environmental stimuli (such as to a moldy home), or to other factors. If that's the case, it might be difficult to do the test properly.
Another problem is that in CFS, pulse rates can vary unexpectedly. As with anyone, things like exertion or stress can cause pulse rates to go up, so those should be avoided during the test. With CFS though, there seems to be even more variability, perhaps in some cases due to reactivities to hidden environmental triggers (such as fluctuations in outdoor air quality or contamination in drinking water), but conceivably for no reason other than inherent system instability.
Also, many CFS patients have a difficult time taking their own pulse. I found a blood pressure cuff (which also measures pulse rate) to be really helpful for that.
Despite these problems, I think it would be interesting to know if this test worked for people. Considering how inaccurate most laboratory tests of food reactions are and how cumbersome elimination diet experiments are, it might be really helpful if it did work.
If anyone gives this a try, please report your experiences!
Best, Lisa
*
http://vitaminlady.com/Articles/CocaPulseTest.htm
http://www.iwholehealth.com/main/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=The-Coca-Test.html&Itemid=0
http://www.alternativehealthzone.com/alternative-health-news/coca-pulse-test-for-allergies
http://andreannarainville.com/pdf/cocaPulse.pdf
I have had some success using a particular method, called "The Pulse Test." I'm interested in whether it might be helpful for other people as well.
The method is summarized in a short book, which unfortunately is currently out of stock at Amazon. However, I think I can describe it quickly. Some descriptions written by others are below.
http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Test-LYLE-STUART/dp/0818403101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329766994&sr=8-1
The method goes by the principle that when problematic foods are consumed, the body will attempt to compensate by increasing its heart rate. Thus by monitoring the heart rate, foods can be evaluated.
The key here is to get the system calmed down to the point where the pulse goes down to a reasonable level. With regard to foods, this may involve a fairly strict elimination diet for a few days.
Once the system is calmed down so that the pulse is at a fairly low level, then a large serving of the suspect food is consumed by itself. The pulse is taken before eating the food, 30 minutes after eating it, 60 minutes after eating it, and 90 minutes after eating it.
If the pulse jumps, this suggests that the food is a problem (or at least, that the body believes it to be a problem!). For instance, at one point I was testing lemons (squeezed in water). My pulse rate was stable at about 70 until I drank the lemon water. At 30 and 60 minutes after that, my pulse jumped to 110. Then it went back down and stayed down. After repeating the experiment with lemons a few times, I concluded that lemons were a problem for me and eliminated them from my diet.
One problem here is that some people have constantly elevated pulse no matter what they eat. This could be from reactivities to other environmental stimuli (such as to a moldy home), or to other factors. If that's the case, it might be difficult to do the test properly.
Another problem is that in CFS, pulse rates can vary unexpectedly. As with anyone, things like exertion or stress can cause pulse rates to go up, so those should be avoided during the test. With CFS though, there seems to be even more variability, perhaps in some cases due to reactivities to hidden environmental triggers (such as fluctuations in outdoor air quality or contamination in drinking water), but conceivably for no reason other than inherent system instability.
Also, many CFS patients have a difficult time taking their own pulse. I found a blood pressure cuff (which also measures pulse rate) to be really helpful for that.
Despite these problems, I think it would be interesting to know if this test worked for people. Considering how inaccurate most laboratory tests of food reactions are and how cumbersome elimination diet experiments are, it might be really helpful if it did work.
If anyone gives this a try, please report your experiences!
Best, Lisa
*
http://vitaminlady.com/Articles/CocaPulseTest.htm
http://www.iwholehealth.com/main/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=The-Coca-Test.html&Itemid=0
http://www.alternativehealthzone.com/alternative-health-news/coca-pulse-test-for-allergies
http://andreannarainville.com/pdf/cocaPulse.pdf