Food Allergy and Intolerance Testing Info

If you have a severe reaction then the bad news is you probably have a food allergy which affects the body’s immune system and can be life-threatening.  However, the good news is that there are conclusive skin prick and blood tests to confirm which foods or substances you are allergic to! Your GP can arrange this for you and a dietition will help with the adjustments to your diet offering alternives to the ingredients and nutrition value of the foods you need to eliminate.

An allergic reaction is when an immune system believes the food to be damaging and so it produces a specific protective antibody (IgE) which attacks the 'alien' substances. This then produces the knock on reaction of blood cells releasing histamine and other chemicals which all together create the symptoms commonly referred to as an allergic reaction.


Allergic symptoms normally occur fairly immediatly and can include sneezing / runny nose, itchy eyes / ears, severe wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, swelling of the tongue, sinus problems, a sore mouth, hives and rashes.

Food Intolerance is, unfortunately, more of a lottery and is the inability to digest a particular food or chemical or ingredent in it.

Have you ever wondered why you have so many days when you just feel below par -  too tired, bloated, lethargic and uncomfortable to function on all cylinders - if at all? Then you could have a food intolerance. 

It doesn't have to be like this, so many of these symptoms are eradicated by identifying and eliminating particular foods. Unfortunately when intolerant to certain foods the time between eating them and your body reacting to them can vary and symptoms may be delayed, only manifesting themselves after some days - in fact sometimes up to ten days later!. Factors like stress, your general health at the time, how much of the 'sensitive' foods and how they were combined and whether your gut is just having a bad day can affect your personal reaction time. This makes correlating the symptoms with what you have eaten very difficult, unless you can dedicate the time and attention to keeping a completely accurate food diary for several weeks or months.  

There are a range of methods of testing available which can quickly and simply help identify  foods that may be compromising your quality of life. We do not endorse any one particular method as this is a truly holistic process , and personal to each individual. Each method has its own merits and personal life changing success stories to tell - and as with everything in life there are critics and cynics for each too.  Some cases may even be anxiety rather than a food intolerance and the placebo effect of actually taking control and doing something can ease the stress and allow the gut to repair get back to optimum health.


The reality is that only allergies, and in some cases, lactose intolerance that can be definitively diagnosed - tests for food intolerance can be anywhere from 100% successfull to not at all.   A skin-prick test radioallergosorbent (or RAST) hospital blood test can diagnose an allergy, but reliable diagnosis of intolerances is more random and less conclustive, although a hydrogen breath test can detect lactose intolerance. 

As we update this page we will endeavour to explain the various differences but at the end of the day you need to be comfortable with your choice so read and research each company and product summaries to find one that feels right for you.  However keeping an accurate food diary as well is still by far the most reliable way of keeping tabs on what your body is doing.


Food Intolerance Blood Test.

Many of these are home test kits that require just a pin prick of blood.  These are sent to laboratory and analysed measuring the levels of immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies.  If raised these can indicate  an intolerance.  The skill is in identifying the level of the antibody produced as it is always produced when the food is eaten to some degree whether you are intolerant or not.

Vega (Electrodermal) Testing

This method measures changes in electromagnetic field and is carried out in person by an independent practitioner. The test etails the person being tested to hold a metal probe which is connected to a diagnostic machine (galvanometer) or computer. Another probe is moistened and repeatedlu pressed against acupressure points on the opposite hand (often the finger of the least favoured hand), creating an electric circuit between them and the machine. 
Normally  vials containing ‘essences’ (often homeopathic) of different foods are  placed in the machine, one at a time, and ‘resistance’ is tested.The change in current is measured and recorded with a reduction  interpreted as an  intolerance to that particular food. 

Hair Analysis

Food Intolerances are investigated by genetically examining the DNA at the hair root and/or by measuring the vibrational energy pattern of your hair to determine your body's energy level. Just a few stands of hair are required.

Kinesiology

Kinesiology tests involve lying down and either touching or being close to vials containing ‘food extracts’. The practitioner applies pressure on your legs or arms to test your muscle resistance. The lower the resistance, the more the food is believed to ibe having a detrimental effect on your body.

You should always also consider the possibility of Candiasis which is basically a fungal overgrowth  of Candida Albicans in the gut.  When this outnumbers  the good bugs in your gut your digestive system stops working efficiently and the classic IBS symptoms appear. This can cause a 'leaky gut' , fermentation, irritation of the gut wall and malabsorption and so also cause intolerance to foods that you would normally have a problem with -  often the very foods you eat a lot of!

Again stool or blood tests are available to test for the presence of Candida (mainly privately although some GP practices will allow them) but again are not 100% conclusive and false negative/positive results are not uncommon.  A yeast free diet is punishing enough but when combined with the restrictions imposed by supected food intolerances it can prove unmanageable. For this reason, and although not 100% conclusive, a Candida test could be worth having as a result of a  90% liklihood of Candida overgrowth is worth trying trying a yeast free diet for for whereas total uncertainty may not be...


Go back to search results