Allergy

Many people now have allergies or intolerances to chemicals and foods that can make life really miserable. I use the terms allergy and intolerance inter-changeably to mean a non-anaphylactic response to food or environmental triggers. I specialise in intolerances rather than acute anaphylaxis-type allergy. 

Whatever anyone might say, identifying allergies and intolerances is not easy. They can be masked, occur only at certain times, only in combination with certain other foods etc. No-one knows yet exactly how all intolerances and allergy reactions work so there is no 100% way of testing, whatever anyone tells you. Over the years, I have found that there are a few main ways of testing that help us find at least most of the problem allergens.

For a detailed factsheet about Allergy& Food Intolerance, see below for more info or click to read all about it.
 
Elimination & Challenge

This is where the food or suspected substance is avoided for a while and then reintroduced to see what happens. This unmasks any hidden allergens and there is usually no mistaking a problem! Usually just by removing the two primary allergens of wheat and dairy (and sometimes sugar, yeast and gluten!), the secondary intolerances tend to sort themselves out, we have found, in the majority of cases, when the body is repaired. 

Antibody Tests

These are blood tests used to identify antibodies the body is making to foods or other substances. The main one in classical allergy is IgE (Immunoglobulin E) . The most common one in delayed food intolerance is IgG. But, IgA and IgM are also sometimes found, especially if the reaction is in the mucosal system like sinuses or gut. It is very difficult to get all four tested, but I have managed it. Check the Food Intolerance Test 1 for IgG, IgA and IgM, and you can add IgE to it if you wish.  

Food Antigen Cellular Stimulation Test (FACT)

Sometimes, the reaction going on is not antibody-related. This test will look for other immune-related reactions. The blood is mixed with the food antigens one by one to see if it causes an inflammatory reaction in the cells. This reaction is then measured and reported from mild-severe.

The FACT Elisa Test, is the most comprehensive one testing 190 foods and environmental substances. A popular test is the FACT Dairy, Grains, Yeast Test.  

To make it easy for you, I have designed four different discounted food allergy/intolerance tests.

• Food Intolerance Test 1 will look for IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies.
• Food Intolerance Test 2 will look for those PLUS the FACT Dairy, Grains, Yeast Test.
• Food Intolerance Test 3 will look for the antibodies PLUS the full FACT 190 foods test.
• Food Intolerance Test 4 will look for all the antibodies, include the full 190 FACT test PLUS the IgE Test for classical allergies. 

At the moment, no blood test exists that is 100% accurate, but it can give you an excellent insight and this is the best available.

Causes

As for what causes them and what you do about them, we may feel that your allergies could have causes such as toxin overload, poor digestive ability, a failure of a liver detoxification pathway or poor intestinal health causing a leaky gut, all of which can be tested and treated.

What Do I Do Now?

1. First off, you may want to confirm if your problem is likely to be related to allergy or intolerance?

Do the Raised IgE 30 Minute Test to check if allergy is the culprit.

Or, to check if intolerance is the problem, start with the first step 'have I or haven't I?' IgG test.

2. Then, depending on your result, choose more detailed IgE or any of the four Intolerance Tests listed above.

3. If you have already given up a lot of foods and are still unwell, check the Gluten Section; you could be a hidden coeliac or have non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.

4. If you want to know why you may have food intolerances, check the Food Intolerance Causes Test and read the Food Allergy & Intolerance Factsheet (see below), or book in for a consultation.

In truth, allergy and intolerance is usually found to be a combination of factors and individual help is recommended so feel free to contact me.

Food Intolerance Causes Test

This is the test you need if you want to look for the main causes of food intolerance. It includes a testing for coeliac disease, leaky gut, pancreatic enzyme insufficiency (ie lack of digestive enzymes), lack of stomach acid (hypochlorydia) and SIgA gut immunity levels. (See my published article on SIgA here). 

If you think you may have a problem with gluten or grains like corn, check the gluten gene test out by reading more in the gluten testing section and read more about non-coeliac gluten sensitivity here.  

Just ask if you're unsure what you need and I'll advise what combination would best suit your needs.

Important

Remember - always check out with your health practitioner or GP before starting anything new especially if you are taking any other medicines, are pregnant or trying to conceive or have high blood pressure. See here for more advice on interactions with meds and general cautions.