What is LEAP?

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Summary:

The LEAP program starts with a blood test to identify food sensitivities. When your results come in you will go over them with a Certified LEAP Therapist (like me) and together we will decide which of your “safest” (lowest reactive) foods you will eat for Phase 1. It will be a strict 2 weeks, but with planning and support the time will fly, and the relief you’ll start experiencing will make it worth it! For the next 4 weeks you will gradually add back the rest of the foods you were tested “safe” for. During this 6 weeks, your immune system will calm down, chronic inflammation will subside, and you will be allowing your body to return to normal functioning. After this 6 weeks (approximately) you may start trying untested foods of your choice, and all the while you will be keeping a food & symptom diary so we can troubleshoot if/when you notice any symptoms arising again. You will now be in control of your health, creating your new diet and lifestyle according to your own needs, tastes, and priorities. Welcome to your new life of freedom!

Details:

LEAP stands for “Lifestyle, Eating, And Performance”. The blood test is called the Mediator Release Test, or MRT. You’ll go to a lab to get blood drawn and sent off. The MRT tests the release of mediators from white blood cells when they encounter each food. Currently 176 foods and chemicals are tested. Your immune system puts out over 100 different mediators; you may have heard of some: cytokines, histamine, prostaglandins, and more (note: home test kits and hair tests for food sensitivities only test for some of these mediators. MRT includes all of them). In the lab, the amount of mediators released when your blood encounters each food is measured, and we are given a report of these numbers. In addition, the results are put into an easy-to-use chart of red, yellow, and green foods, representing a stoplight. This is what we mean when we say “a green food”, etc. Red foods are highly reactive and you should avoid them for 6 months before trying them again. Yellow foods are moderately reactive and should be avoided for 3 months before trying again. Green foods are the ones we’ll work with in your first 6 weeks. We will look at the results together and come up with about 25-30 foods for Phase 1. You’ll need to cook from scratch during this time. You’ll need to be flexible and have an open mind about what constitutes a “meal” for a couple weeks. You can be part of a LEAP Facebook group with others who are experienced, and I can help you with those things to get you set up confidently for your first 2 weeks.

Food Diary

Before you start LEAP, you’ll fill out a survey about your symptoms, and you’ll track your food intake for at least a few days. During LEAP you will continue logging everything you eat & drink, and you will turn these in weekly at first, then maybe just if symptoms come up and we need to troubleshoot. Although you should keep track of general portion sizes so we know if you ate a lot or a little in case you get symptoms, you do not need to track calories or any other details.

My Realizations About Freedom

1 –  You may be worried that you won’t be free to eat your favorite foods anymore, or freely choose from menus, or eat on the run. I get it. I can’t just walk into a 7-11 (for example) and choose anything off the shelf. But are those really my choices on those shelves? No, they’re the choices that 7-11 decided to put in front of us because they’re the most tempting and make the most money for the company. If I know that most of those snacks make me feel terrible or contribute to poor health, I don’t actually want them. I want to choose healthier foods. I feel much more free bringing out a small lunchbox of snacks that I can have at my fingertips wherever I am. Freedom is choosing my snacks and meals in advance, with a clear mind, not what convenience stores and fast food chains want me to choose from while in a vulnerable, hungry moment.

2 –  You are always free to eat anything you like, but you will now know the consequences first. Once you get through the initial couple of months, you will get to know how much of a food makes you feel bad. You may choose to have small amounts, or only on special occasions.

You’ll decide what to eat, and ‘tweak’ your diet and life however it suits you. For example, maybe fresh black pepper causes a symptom, but the small amounts in a jarred, cooked sauce don’t. Also, some people have reactions from a food but after avoiding it for a few months they can start to have it again, little by little. It will be a learning process, with you in the driver’s seat.

3 –  You’ll experience a new “whole life freedom”: Pause and think of ways you don’t feel free. Would you like to get down on the floor to play with children or pets? Would you like to leave the house without worrying about where bathrooms are, due to unpredictable bowel issues like IBS? Do you avoid bright lights, even the sun or lakes or streams because the glare might cause migraines?

That is NOT a free life!

What are you avoiding? Think about this over the next week and write it all down. The freedom to walk around stress-free, participating in life, is worth far more to me than the freedom of eating a short list of foods that I know would hurt me. Nature/God has put an enormous variety of foods on this earth for me to enjoy that don’t disagree with me. I’ll happily choose from all of those.

I offer 3 levels of support: 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. All include the same first steps for the first month, with more support depending on your needs. The Standard Package (3 months) is recommended so that you have guidance while reintroducing foods and watching for symptoms.