Why complete a food intolerance test?

9 Nov

There any many food intolerance tests on the market. Which one do I recommend?

When your gut bacteria is out of balance (Dysbiosis) you can start to react negatively to common foods.

It might be you suddenly have an allergic reaction to one of the top allergens.

It might be that you develop food intolerance to food that is supposedly healthy for you, ginger, cabbage, eggs for example.

It can be baffling and frustrating, it can be up to 72 hours before a reaction occurs with food intolerances making it hard to pinpoint the culprit.

Like most people who suffer from IBS, I have completed a couple of food intolerances tests.

Each time the results have been very confusing so in the end, I do nothing.

Does this sound familiar?

I don’t want to spend time telling you what hasn’t worked for me, but I am going to tell you why I am a convert to the Regenerus P88 Dietary Antigen test.

But first of all, let's talk a little about the immune system and immune reactions. The immune system like many functions of the body is complicated.

An IgE (allergic) reaction is generally immediate.

A typical allergic reaction can be life-threatening as it can lead to anaphylactic shock.

Typical allergic reactions include (1)

Skin: Hives, red blotches, welts mild to severe

Eyes: Tearing, itchy, redness, blurring

Nose: Running, sneezing, itching, congested

Mouth: Itching, swelling lips and tongue

Throat: Tightness, trouble inhaling and speaking

An intolerance is typically an IgG reaction. These are not life threaten but can be extremely uncomfortable causing symptoms such as; bloating, stomach pain, gas or diarrhoea, a sense of fullness, headaches, fatigue and brain fog (2)

One of the most confusing issues with an IgG reaction is that it can happen between 30 mins to 3 DAYS after you have eaten something.

So for most people, it is very hard to decide what is causing the symptoms.

Additionally, IgG reactions can cause inflammation in the body, which can be associated with joint pain, weight gain, brain fog, headaches, and mood fluctuation. Basically, you can feel terrible!

If all this isn’t bad enough there is a suggestion that IgG food sensitivities can lead to gut impermeability or leaky gut(3). Or is it the other way around leaky gut leads to food sensitives? The jury is out on that one, but what we do know is that healing the gut and reducing food sensitivities go hand in hand.

Can you both be allergic to a food and have a food sensitivity? Yes, unfortunately, you can.

The most common food allergens are;

Milk

Egg

Soy

Wheat

Peanuts

Tree nuts

Fish

Shellfish

So if you are really unlucky you can have itching and swelling of the mouth, running nose, diarrhoea and headaches, to name a few, all at the same time. This used to be me…

The good news is that now food intolerance and allergy tests are sophisticated and more accurate.

A typical intolerance test may use hair samples, but this can only analyse for IgG (sensitivities)

This is where the Regenerus P88, Dietary Antigen Test is in my opinion superior.

This is a FINGER prick test that can be completed at home. This is a blood test, that measures both IgE (allergy) and IgG (sensitivity)

It looks at 88 foods in 4 different ways, so you get 352 possible results

Firstly it looks for IgE (allergy) reactions but also tests if you have an immune tolerance to this food. If the answer is yes, then you don’t have to remove this food from your diet.

It then looks for sensitivity. Firstly it looks for an IgG4 reaction. This is an immune reaction that causes the immune system, to calm down, a good thing. It promotes an interleukin (IL10) immune reaction, similar to the reaction babies have when fed breast milk. This is GOOD!

Other compounds that can increase your IL10 reaction are, omega 3, probiotics and glutamine

A not-so-good reaction is C3d (compliment) a Cd3 immune reaction will encourage your immune system to react more.

When we look at IgG reactions (sensitivity) if you have a high or moderate reaction to a food plus a C3d reaction, you may only need a little of that food for a big reaction.

I encourage my clients to eliminate the foods they are most reactive to, while we work on healing the gut. Is there a time limit to this? I'm afraid not, we are unique. It might take 3-6 months for your immune system to calm down.

Why would you not eliminate these foods forever? Because we need to eat a varied diet, the more varied our diet the stronger our microbiome and our immune systems.

Over time we would introduce foods that you use to react to. Slowly one at a time. Starting with those foods you react to least.

There is one more little trick our immune system has in store for us. Cross-reactivity. If you have allergic or sensitive reactions to a food, take cabbage, for example, you may have to consider other foods in the same family, for cabbage that would include brussel sprouts and kale.

This is why food allergies and intolerance are confusing, and for some exasperating.

If you work with me, we will go through the report slowly, I will look for cross-reactivities and we will decide whether to eliminate these foods as well.

I will ask you to complete a detailed food and symptom journal so I can check if you are reacting.

I can provide you with recipes that exclude the food you want to eliminate so that you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Alongside we will work to heal the gut and strengthen your immune system.

Together we will then start to reintroduce foods, slowly in a considered way.

If you would like to work with me on your food allergies and intolerance, I recommend my signature package.

Jacxxx

References

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