Food Sensitivity Testing

Sensitivity Testing for Foods, Food Additives, Molds, and Drugs

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Current studies and research have indicated that a tremendous amount of health problems can be linked to food sensitivities. Common everyday problems like migraines, aching joints, fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), eczema, acne, hyperactivity/ADHD, asthma and even obesity can have their origins in food sensitivities. In these cases, the body becomes sensitized to certain foods in the diet and creates an allergic inflammatory response when these foods enter the digestive tract. These may be foods as seemingly benign as tomatoes, corn, soy, or fish. Much like a person can be sensitive to pollen or animal dander, you can also have these types of responses in your gastrointestinal tract. When these responses occur, your body responds with an increase in inflammatory enzymes to mount a defense against a perceived threat.

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The problem in this situation is that the inflammation attacks the digestive tract itself, causing various digestive issues such as bloating, gas, indigestion, nausea, or even diarrhea. Unlike pathological food allergies that cause immediate reactions (such as a peanut allergy), these reactions to food sensitivities can often be delayed for weeks as your body slowly mounts its defense. By the time you register the symptoms, you have most likely consumed more of the offending food thereby making the problem worse. But without a rapid onset, it’s hard to determine the foods that are causing the problems.

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As the digestive tract inflames, it becomes porous and harmful agents such as viruses, toxins, and even food particles can enter the bloodstream and spread elsewhere. If left untreated, the symptoms that start in the digestive tract can worsen and spread to other areas of the body. This type of cascading inflammation often leads to the manifestation of symptoms in mood, energy, respiration, skin, joints, etc. Low levels of constant, sustained inflammation in the body have been shown to play a key role in developing such dire conditions as coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and other life-threatening diseases. Many people also have sensitivities to food additives, molds in the environment, or pharmaceutical products they take every day. For these patients, the immune system of the body responds with the same inflammatory response against the body.

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However, with accurate and comprehensive blood serum testing, the food allergens or other dietary and lifestyle elements your body may be fighting can be determined, isolated, and removed from your diet. Our clinic uses two different testing laboratories to assess food sensitivity for patients: Meridian Laboratories in Washington State and ALCAT Laboratory in Florida. Each of these labs offers different styles of testing options and prices, and we work with the patient to determine the appropriate test based upon case history and prior examinations. We draw blood samples in the comfort of our office and send the samples to these labs to determine the foods, food additives, pharmaco-active agents, or common molds that can be irritating your body. We incorporate our nutritional knowledge with the testing results to design an effective diet that removes these inflammatory foods from your diet for specific periods of time while replacing them with foods shown to be safe for your consumption.

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By using a rotational diet such as this, your body’s inflammatory response to these substances can be diminished or even eliminated. In addition, we prescribe specific nutritional supplements to bolster your body’s intestinal function and eliminate the transmission of bacteria and/or toxins from the digestive tract into the body’s blood or tissue. For more information about these tests, please contact our office with your questions or to schedule a consultation.