FOOD ALLERGY TESTING

Is your food making you sick?

Food allergies are common, and commonly misunderstood by doctors as well as patients. We see patients all the time who go to a doctor, test positive for lots of different foods, and are advised to avoid all of these foods. It can make life miserable. We have found in practice that they are often not truly allergic to all these foods, taking the definition of an allergy as something one is born with and often found out at a very young age. Often allergies are actually in-tolerances  Meaning the gut lining is not working optimally and you cannot tolerate breaking down and absorbing certain foods.

The term “Food allergies” is becoming more and more common. There has been an increase in severe food allergy cases in the last 10 years, we believe this is from poor diets and processed foods depleting our stomach lining causing Leaky Gut Syndrome (often mistaken for IBS). When we see test results that are positive for healing and nutrient dense foods such as carrots and beets we have to think it’s not the food, it’s the stomach. Instead of following traditional treatment of avoiding the foods and ignoring the true problem, why not rebuild and heal the gut to allow for proper food breakdown. Knowing that 70-80% of your immune system is in your stomach, strengthening it will increase quality of life on many levels.

Symptoms of “Food Allergies” or Intolerances

• Reddening of the skin
• Hives
• Itchy skin
• Swollen lips or eyelids
• Tightness of the throat
• Wheezing, coughing, or difficulty breathing
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea or vomiting
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Unable to lose weight or weight gain
• Joint pain and Inflammation

If you experience any of the above symptoms frequently, you may very well be allergic or intolerant to the foods you are eating. It is time to get it tested. We use food allergy testing in my office to determine what foods you are unable to break down. We then take you off those foods while you are in the repair and rebuilding phase for the gut. This may take 6 to 9 months, then we retest and find fewer allergies! You are then able to resume eating many of the healthy foods you enjoy. This is a much better alternative to avoiding foods indefinitely, never fixing the problem.

The food allergy testing we do is through ELISA/ACT.  ELISA/ACT labs, founded by Russell Jaffre, MC, PHD, CCN, is the most accurate food allergy test on the market to date. This test is the only test on the market that tests the delayed reaction an allergen, up to 3 days delayed.   This is an advanced cell test, done through blood, that analyzes the body’s reactive antibodies to IgA, IgM, and IgG.  Most tests only test for one of the 3 antibody reactions, making this the most accurate and thorough test available.

The basic test is a list off 144 foods for $265, and the enhanced basic is $365 which gives us a list of 212 items.

Only ELISA/ACT Biotechnologies Offers:
• Functional/Lymphocyte Response Assay (LRA)
• Ex vivo assay technique (better than in vitro ELISA tests)
• Tests all 3 delayed allergy (hypersensitivity) pathways – much more than IgG tests or ELISA IgG tests
• Over 450 test items, the most of any delayed allergy lab
• Average cost per item as low as $1.77 each
• Most advanced and reliable technology available
• Patient-friendly, easy-to-follow test results

Once we remove from your diet the foods causing distress, you have a faster healing time!

The most common actual food allergies that may have to be permanently eliminated:

• Cow’s milk
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Soybeans
• Wheat

If you are NOT a numbers person, and very in tune with your body – the Allergy Elimination Diet may be a good way to determine what foods you can not tolerate.  Allergy Elimination Diet