Allergy Testing

Testing for food allergies is best done under the care of a specially trained physician, also known as an allergist. These doctors are able perform various tests to determine whether a person is allergic or intolerant to foods or other substances. Often a referral is necessary to make an appointment with them which can be obtained from a family or general practice physician.

There are generally two types of food allergy tests - blood work and a "scratch" test. The scratch test is more commonly performed as it is less expensive and more substances can be tested at once. To perform this test, the skin is prepared with small ink outlines and a tiny amount of the substance or substances being tested for are either placed on the skin or just under it then left alone for at least 15 minutes.

Blood tests for food allergies examine for IgE antibodies and can help to determine whether it is a food allergy or intolerance. These tests can be expensive so they are often used after a scratch test has been performed and the field has been narrowed to only a few foods. Blood tests are not always 100% accurate and many allergists will caution that even a negative result should still be treated as a positive if it is already known that the patient reacts to the certain substance.

After the testing has been performed, an allergist will discuss the results with you and explain any allergic reactions that they found as well as what they recommend for a course of treatment. The most common treatment for food allergies is to adhere to a total avoidance diet of the food in question to prevent any problems.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis is an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus which causes excess eosinophils- also known as white blood cells. It can be caused by frequent acid reflux, allergies, radiation, medications that can get stuck in the esophagus, bacteria, fungi, and viruses such as candida and the herpes simplex virus. In most people, the cause of their Eosinophilic Esophagitis is an allergic reaction due to the fact that white blood cells play a large role in the inflammation caused by allergens. Doctors and researchers do not yet know how the allergic reaction in the esophagus occurs- whether it is by an inhaled substance or an ingested substance that the patient possesses an allergy to. The symptoms of this condition in adults include heartburn, dysphagia (trouble swallowing often due to narrowing of the esophagus), chest pain, and nausea. Vomiting, abdominal pain, and failure to thrive are the most commonly seen symptoms in adolescent patients. Although Eosinophilic Esophagitis is a newly recognized condition, it is extremely vital that doctors diagnose and treat it due to the fact that it can result in scarring, impaired functioning of the esophagus, esophageal cancer, and a great deal of pain.

Once symptoms are displayed, testing must be done to confirm the presence of excess eosinophils. The only way to check for Eosinophilic Esophagitis involves an endoscopy procedure. To perform this procedure the patient is placed under anesthesia and a flexible, lighted endoscope with a camera is inserted through the mouth of the patient. The tube then travels down the esophagus, into the stomach, and into the first part of the small intestine- the duodenum. Tissue samples are then taken from the lining of the esophagus and are sent to a lab to examine for the presence of excess eosinophils. If the results come back positive, allergy skin testing is commonly the next step to take. Eliminating foods and other things that the patient is allergic to is highly important. Once the cause is established, treatment must begin to avoid permanent damage. Short term use of oral or inhaled steroids has proven to be extremely effective. For Eosinophilic Esophagitis caused by fungi, viruses, or bacteria, medication is prescribed to clear up the issue. Proton pump inhibitors are also utilized in preventing esophageal scarring by controlling excess stomach acid production. Additional monitoring including repeat endoscopies is also necessary to make sure that the condition does not return. With a combination of avoiding triggers such as allergens, taking medication, and living a healthy lifestyle, Eosinophilic Esophagitis can be quite manageable.

Summer is a time of year to look forward to, associated with long, lazy days or exciting vacations with friends and family. However, it also has its downside, like bad action movies, exacerbated heat due to global warming, and hay fever. For many sufferers, hay fever is something that keeps coming back, year after year. It is not a matter of curing the symptoms. One may only choose to bear them nobly, or be a whiner.

Alright, perhaps that was a little melodramatic. There are several ways to either minimize exposure or treat the symptoms of hay fever.

One might try to take treatments to suppress ones own immune responses (since these responses, not the allergen, are the direct cause of the symptoms), but this might leave one vulnerable to far more serious health problems. Some medicines, like pseudoepinephrine, that treat allergies or flu-like symptoms might even set off drug tests administered in schools and work places. Of course, there are often further rounds of testing or other similar measures to eliminate these kinds of false positives, but setting off the preliminary alarms can cause a major hassle, all the same.

Also, anti-allergy medication, which, besides being expensive, can make you sleepy or, in more serious cases, give you polyps in your nose. Though the overall trend in medicine is to resort to medication, there is such a concept as too much of a good thing. It might be better for you to try other treatments, instead.

Besides bringing out the pills and syrups, one might try to learn breathing techniques to avoid hay fever. You can train yourself to breathe through your nose and never your mouth, since the nose has better filtering mechanisms that are more likely to block allergens. In addition, people can learn to control their breathing when they are around sources of hay fever-inducing pollen.

Proper breathing might help you avoid hay fever, but it cannot guarantee 100% effective protection, especially if you live in a place with many "dangerous" plants, or are an especially sensitive individual whose system reacts to the slightest trace of inhaled pollen. Therefore, we should also discuss what to do if and when you actually do get hay fever.

You can try to use special cough breathing techniques so that you will not choke on air while coughing, or end up with overlong coughing bouts that irritate your throat. Coughing with phlegm does not hurt as much as dry cough, but it can still damage your throat if you do it too often. For some patients, slow, shallow breaths can help calm a cough. In general, your research should target your upper airway breathing passages, so that you will not end up using a breathing technique that makes you swallow or inhale your own mucus. (Disgusting to read, write, and say, but still a legitimate problem that needs to be discussed.)

The next time summer rolls around, try breathing better instead of popping pills. You will be better able to think of summer as a fun time, instead of as hay fever season.

Well, technically, there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Contrary to popular belief, people are not allergic to a dog's hair or its dander but rather to a protein shed from the surface of the skin. Shedding spreads the protein and as a result causes an allergic reaction in some people. So, if a dog is low or non-shedding, it reduces the potential for an allergic reaction to this protein. (Saliva Allergies will react to any canine)

So, how do you find a low to non-shedding, allergy friendly dog with the temperament of a companion dog and without the hunting instincts of a terrier? Well, that's the dilemma I found myself in when I wanted a third dog. My husband is already very allergic to the two retriever mixes we have, so there was no way I could add another shedding, allergy generating dog to our pack!

I discovered that the answer to our problem was created 25 years ago in Australia and is call a Labradoodle! Labradoodles give allergy suffers a practical opportunity to finally own a dog. And Labradoodles are increasing in popularity, because they're very intelligent, playful, and depending on the Labradoodle - allergy-friendly dogs.

Now let's begin with the Labradoodles fascinating history. Their story starts in Australia. Now the exact date when breeding began is still a question, however the current view among experts is sometime in 1988 or 1989. It all started with an inquiry from a visually impaired women in Hawaii, who wanted a guide dog that wouldn't cause her husband's allergies to flare.

The reason why she chose Australia was the countries quarantine laws. Because of their laws, dogs exported to Hawaii could go home with no quarantine.

Now in response to the women's request, roughly thirty Poodle hair and saliva samples were sent to Hawaii to test for allergy friendliness over a two year period of time. Unfortunately, none on those original samples tested successful.

Following the unfortunate failure of those samples, a man named Wally Conren suggested to the Manager of the Australian Guide Dog Association to cross a Labrador Retriever and a Standard Poodle. Approval was granted and his first litter produced three puppies. Wally gave the resulting cross the name we use today--Labradoodle.

Now from those three puppies, hair and saliva samples were sent to Hawaii for testing once again. And this time, the samples from a puppy named Sultan were successful!

After the success of the first mating, Mr. Conren bred Labradoodle to Labradoodle, and called the subsequent offspring, "Double Doodles." But he wasn't done, because next he crossed the Double Doodles and called the offspring "Tri Doodles." These were the forerunner to what we call today the Australian Multi-Generational (or Multi-Gen) Labradoodles.

Because of their unique coats, Labradoodles typically have no body odor, they don't require constant bathing, and rarely attract fleas - which is great for all types of owners.

Certain Labradoodles are proving to be ideal for asthma and allergy sufferers, as wool and most fleece coat Labradoodles rarely shed. Labradoodles who have a hair-textured coat will shed, so are less likely to be suitable for allergy sufferers.

The continually increasing popularity of Labradoodles and Goldendoodles (a golden retriever/poodle cross) today has encouraged a slew of backyard breeders to jump on the doodle band wagon. So in order to get a healthy, allergy friendly dog for your family, it's critical to find a reputable breeder. In my ebooks 'The Definitive Guide To Labradoodles' and 'The Definitive Guide To Goldendoodles' I give readers the tools they need to evaluate breeders and find the best possible puppy for their family!

Fibromyalgia is an arthritis-like disorder. While it does not inflame the joints, muscles, or other tissues or harm them, it does lead to noticeable pain, stiffness and fatigue, and can hamper a person's regular life. Its symptoms include irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, painful menstruation, deadness or tingling of the limbs, uneasy legs, sensitivity to temperature, cognitive and memory difficulties ("brain fog").

Most of the patients of fibromyalgia are women and just 10-20% are men. This disease is first detected in middle age, even though the symptoms may be evident earlier. People suffering from specific rheumatic diseases like as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), or ankylosing spondylitis (spinal arthritis) are more prone to contract this disease.

Detecting fibromyalgia is quite difficult as most of the symptoms are similar to those of other problems, no symptoms are evident which will help the doctor and no conclusive laboratory test. It can be diagnosed only clinically, based on the background of chronic extensive pain that lasts for over 3 months along with soreness in a minimum of 11 from 18 particular sore point areas. Treatment fibromylagia is beneficial if it includes a combination of knowledge, stress minimization, exercise and medicine. According to research, aerobic exercises like swimming and walking, enhance muscle vigor and lower muscle pain and soreness. Heat and massage can also offer temporary relief. Those suffering from fibromyalgia will see their condition improve with a combination of exercise, medicine, physical therapy, and relaxation. Here are some suggestions for prevention and cure:

Do delayed food IgG allergy testing, like the one offered by the New Hope Medical Center. It needs 12 hours of fasting before the blood is taken. 148 antigens are checked against the patient's blood. Reactions are observed with the help of a microscope and noted down with the help of a digital camera. The patient is then offered consultation and an instruction manual focusing on the method of rectifying the problem. If the patient's blood is highly reactive then some intravenous infusions might have to be given before drawing the blood so as to lower this hyperactive condition and get a more correct test result.

Stay away from processed foods like white flour, refined foods like white sugar, and stimulants like tea, coffee and tobacco as all of them can weaken your immune system.

Try to increase your daily consumption of water. Ensure you drink 8 glasses of disinfected or reverse osmosis water everyday.

Ensure you have bowel movement at least once a day by eating more fiber in the form of fruits and vegetables. Oat bran and psyllium husk too are excellent sources of fiber. Coffee enemas are also effective for this purpose and help in liver detoxification by increasing bile secretion.

Get your basal body temperature measured to monitor your thyroid activity. You can do this be keeping a thermometer below your arm for 10 minutes before getting up from the bed on 2 successive days. In case of menstruating women, it is better to do it at the start of a menstrual cycle. The general basal body temperature should exceed 97.8 degrees, otherwise go for natural thyroid.

Treatment fibromyalgia should also include testing for free radicals damage caused by environmental pollutants like lead, aluminum, cadmium, and mercury. If it is high, then the patient should undertake heavy metal detoxification therapy.

Treatment fibromyalgia should supplement antioxidants like vitamins A, C, E, Bioflavonoid, and Coenzyme Q10, B-vitamins, magnesium, free-form amino acids, thymus gland, and acidophilus. Also include Proteolytic enzymes, DMG, and vitamin B12 vaccines. Chlorophyll in tablet or liquid form is also beneficial.

Herbal preparations made from burdock root, dandelion, echinacea, goldenseal and pau d'arco either in the form of combined teas or alternated everyday should form a part of treatment fibromyalgia.

Homeopathic nosode medications like those prepared from viruses themselves, are especially beneficial. But they must be used only on the recommendations of the homeopathic doctor. Other homeopathic medicines useful in curing fatigue are Carbo Vegetabilis, Cocculus, Ferrum Phosphoricum, and Phosphoric Acidum. Combination remedies may also help, particularly if they have the substance (like virus) recognized as the likely cause of infection and/or fatigue. Isode therapy like the preparations obtained from the patient himself is also effective here.

Have sublingual fermented lactobacillus thrice a day to recharge immune system.

Mild skin detoxification can be obtained via a health spa having steam sauna, infrared sauna, and/or contrast shower.

In extreme instances, treatment fibromyalgia should be through intravenous solutions, in order to elicit better and more absolute treatment. It should also provide for either vitamin C or amino acids or both combined.

Intramuscular vaccines may be given 1-2 times a week as they help in delivering energy medicines like B5, B12, AMP, NADH.

Subcutaneous energy vaccines can be given everyday and should include the medicines mentioned above as well as homeopathic medicines.

All the medicines and supplements mentioned above should be taken only after consulting a doctor. However, there are natural remedy programs to help guide you to becoming symptom free from fibromyalgia.

One great way to check for allergy symptoms safely and conveniently are the allergy testing kits. Today, there are tons of different selection of kits so before choosing, make sure it's FDA approved. Allergens or intensified effects to an external substance are one possible result of allergies. Through inhalation, or contact with skin, eyes or airways, allergen enters the body. Signs and symptoms of an allergic response contain sneezing, shortness of breath, itching or rash, abdominal pain, or digestive complications. If you are experiencing from the above mentioned indicators, perhaps, you might want to know the causes. For this reason, you should consider seeing the doctor for allergy testing.

Instead of paying your doctor for the treatment, which is expensive, kit is the right one for you. Allergy testing kits could be utilized in the comfort of your own house,and they provide quick outcomes. You are able to figure out what causes your allergy symptoms within a week after sending in your test. Typical causes of allergies can be found anywhere the house, such as dust mites. Just one mattress can contain as many as two million mites. Dogs and cat's fur can also cause allergies. This is commonly known as 'pet dander".

A good allergy kit can also help you find out whether the family is producing your allergy symptoms or not. And also, outdoor allergens like pollen from grass, trees and weeds causes individuals to endure from seasonal allergic reactions. As you see, this allergy testing kit will help you from many more allergens that you can get anywhere.

Here are some less common yet bothersome allergy causes:

* Insect bites - most common are Bess or wasps
* Meals and drinks - includes milk, eggs, wheat, citrus, shellfish or peanuts.
* Cosmetics or body wash and soaps.

According to Mold and Fungus Latex or rubber Medications Specialists that 1 out of 3 individuals will endure from an allergy at some point in their life. For this reason, it is good to invest in an allergy kit. Here's a brief summary of how testing kits works. Most allergy testing kits include the following: Instructions Painless finger stick lancets, Blood assortment tube, Alcohol pad and adhesive bandage, personal information and facts and registration card mailing supplies. You'll need to fill out the registration card.

Each card contains individual key code that's used to acquire and report your information. Afterwards, you'll gather blood samples utilizing a painless spring-loaded lancet. Blood is placed into the given collection tube. The completed info and sample tube are placed within a pre-addressed mailer and sent directly to the laboratory. After receiving, in 3-5 days you are able to locate your outcomes using the key code using the laboratory site. A more complete report will likely be sent by return mail. The most effective way to find an allergy testing kit would be to do a thorough research online. You will discover numerous distinct types of kits, and costs will vary. Get the allergy kit that works for you. It just may aid to relieve your signs and symptoms.

Most allergies can easily be shrugged off; just take some doctor-prescribed medicine, have some rest and you are good to go. Yet, there could be allergic reaction that can be life threatening and one of them is anaphylaxis.

This kind of allergic reaction usually involves more than one organ; it may involve the skin, the respiratory system, the heart and other organs in the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal system, and the nervous system. In other words, a person with anaphylaxis may have an itchy skin, swollen lips, shortening of breath, abdominal pains and diarrhea, dysrhythmia (irregular rhythm of heartbeat) and losing of muscle control all at the same time. That was the worst-case scenario, but the point is that having more than one organ involved in an allergic reaction is a symptom of anaphylaxis and the person who seems to have it should be brought to the nearest hospital in the fastest time possible.

Like most allergies, anaphylaxis can also be triggered by exposure to animals, food, being bitten with venom from insects like bees, hornets, and wasps, and by taking medication that one could be allergic (which is why one has to go through drug allergy testing if a new medicine has been prescribed).

To prevent the induction of anaphylaxis, one may have immunotherapy with venoms coming from the Hymenoptera and Hemiptera order (bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, fire ants, etc.). A skin allergy test may also be conducted to know which allergens should be avoided and drug allergy testing may also be taken to prevent going into shock once the medicine is taken.

After my house was destroyed during the 2008 Hurricane Season I spent many months afterward living in temporary housing - my camper. I love my camper dearly and under normal circumstances I never had any problems or issues. However, this changed while living in it during the subsequent 24 months following the Hurricane. Due to a number of issues happening all at once, I developed allergies. Even worse, I had no way of knowing which allergen was the problem or trigger - all of them seemed to be attacking at once.

Due to my circumstances at the time, I did not have any funds to go get allergy tested, or money for allergy treatments, and was unable to move into an apartment quite yet. But I needed to resolve this issue in order to Live Healthy in the middle of all the chaos! As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and this is so true! I came up with several innovative low-cost ways to keep my interior allergy-free. With the implementation of these 5 Allergy Fighting Methods, within a couple of weeks, my allergies abated to a manageable level.

1. Cleaning The Indoor Air

Indoor air can be filled with thousands of allergens that cannot be seen; dust, dust-mites, pet dander (if you have pets) and pollution from outside.

The air itself must be cleaned of these allergens so that they are not breathed in and constantly setting off the body's histamine levels.

Solution: Buy a 20 X 20 box fan ($14.99 at Walmart). Buy an Air Filter that is rated at least 1300 ($13.99 at Walmart). Plug the fan in and place the filter on the back side of the fan so the air is sucked through the filter. Presto! An in-expensive air filtering system. I had 2 set up in the camper; 1 in the bedroom and one in the main area.

Make certain to change the filters at least every month.

Cost: $$ 30.00

2. Lower The Humidity Level

Check the humidity level in your indoor space. Humidity levels of 55-60% and above can foster molds and mildews. This is naturally occurring, especially if you are living in a geographical area that is prone to humidity anyway- and you don't mold and mildew in your indoor living space.

Solution: I was fortunate to have my de-humidifier from the house that was lost. I set the humidity level at 55% and let it do its job.

If you do not have an external de-humidifier (your AC system has one internally already), you can find one at Walmart or equivalent store for under $100 if you are on a budget - also not a bad investment for your health's sake.

Cost: $$100.00

3. Vacuum With A Hepa Filter

My camper came with carpeting. My preference is for tile, laminate or vinyl flooring that can be dusted on a daily basis and cleaned easily of any spills. Carpeting, on the other hand, holds allergens and is very unsanitary.

Again, I was fortunate to still have my Dyson Vacuum with Hepa Filter that I had in my house. For those who have always wondered if they are worth the cost, my assessment is yes, absolutely! I had the fortune to find mine in 2005 when I shopped more frequently at Sam's Club, and happened to find it on sale. I've never regretted that investment. The Hepa Filter system is available on almost every vacuum currently on the market, depending what you have in your budget. The best pricing that I found was for Eureka or Dirt Devil smaller vacuums, with Hepa Filters, at Walmart for about $70.00. Not a bad investment for your health's sake.

Solution: Vacuum the carpeting at least once a week with a vacuum that is equipped with a Hepa Filter. The only cost is your time if you already own a Hepa Vac.

Cost: $$ 70.00

4. Aluminum Windows

Aluminum single-paned windows can be a nightmare. Not only are they horrible for energy efficiency, they condensate every night as the air inside is warmer than the air outside. How does this relate to allergies? When the water accumulates and sits on the windows and aluminum frame, mold can grow on these surfaces and cause allergy problems for those who are sensitive.

This is especially a problem if you have blinds and curtains in front of the window (who doesn't?) and the area cannot dry out during the day, thus staying in a damp state all the time.

Solution: This solution is in 2 parts:

First the windows and frame need to be cleaned of all the dirt, dust and mold. Clean with Clorox Clean Up or a solution of water and cap-full of bleach.

Second, the aluminum portions of the frame need to be treated so that it is more difficult for the mold/mildew to grow again. The Lysol spray in the can has anti-fungal properties in it. Spray all parts of the aluminum frame and leave it on there. Let it dry. This will inhibit any further growth of mold/mildew. Repeat the cleaning and treatment once a month as needed.

Cost: $5 and your time.

5. Weather-Stripping The Doors

Pollutants are in the air - a modern fact we cannot escape. But we do not want them in our interior living space if at all possible. To ensure that pollutants have a harder time getting in when the doors are shut, check and/or change the weather-stripping on the door so that there is no light showing. Not only is this more energy efficient, it will ensure that your indoor space is cleaner.

Solution: Weather stripping is available at any home improvement store; Lowe's, Home Depot or Walmart

Cost: $$ 5 to 25 and your time to install

These methods worked wonders for my allergies when I was in the camper. I have since moved into an apartment and I implemented the same strategies again with similar results. Of course, there are many other allergy fighting products & technologies available such as UV systems and Ozone Machines, and they reportedly work great. Their only downfall is that they come with a considerable price tag of $1,000 and up!

Worst case scenario, Allergy Fighting Costs are reduced to around $200.00 for the low-cost methods, assuming a new vacuum and de-humidifier are needed. Amazingly, allergy testing alone costs upwards of $350.00 and yearly treatments are double that amount per year. Whether you currently suffer from allergies or not, try these low-cost strategies to clean the air you breathe - your lungs will thank you!

Read more about energy saving tips and techniques.

Many people experience unpleasant reactions to foods they have eaten and suspect they have a "food allergy". However, only 2-5% of adults and 2-8% of children are truly "allergic" to certain foods.
The remainder of people may be experiencing food intolerance, or food sensitivity, rather than true food allergy.

I think a quick lesson is in order...
A food allergy occurs when an individual ingests a food (usually containing a protein) that the body sees as a "foreign" or threatening substance - known as an ANTIGEN or ALLERGEN.
The person's immune system responds by mounting an attack, producing large amounts of IgE antibodies, which attach themselves to specialised white blood cells. These cells release histamine and other inflammatory substances, producing "classic" allergic symptoms of swelling and inflammation. Conditions and symptoms such as rhinitis, asthma, wheezing, lip swelling, itchy skin, hives, and eczema involve this type of "allergic" reaction. The allergens involved could be anything from a food protein, pollen from flowers or grasses, house-dust mite or animal dander.

A food "intolerant" reaction also occurs when the body "reacts" to the ingestion of a food. This reaction however may or may not involve the immune system, and may be caused by a food protein, a starch or sugar molecule, other food component, or by a contaminant found in the food (e.g. food colouring, preservative etc.). If the immune system IS involved, it is usually a different class of antibody that is produced, which is why standard food allergy tests can produce negative results, yet noticeable food-related symptoms persist. Many symptoms related to food intolerance are caused by a local inflammatory response in the gut, and a sign of underlying "inflammation".

With food "intolerance", it is worth understanding, that it's rarely the food that is the problem - it is the person's response to it!
Foods containing wheat or milk for example are getting reputations as "bad foods" due to the reactions they can produce in some people. While they can very well be "problem foods" for some, they can also be very healthy foods for others. Food intolerance could be re-named as "poor digestion", as reactions to food are often the result of poor or compromised digestion!

So what can cause food intolerance?
Food intolerances are often caused by stress! Food-intolerant people often have low levels of secretory IgA, a class of protective antibodies found in the gut. IgA antibodies protect the body against the entry of foreign substances. Stress leads to a decrease in secretory IgA... a bit of vicious cycle really, but it certainly explains the relationship between stress and food intolerance!

Underlying digestive problems (e.g. low stomach acidity, gut bacterial overgrowth, a "leaky" or damaged gut lining, yeast infection or poor digestive enzyme production) are common "causes" of food intolerance and must be addressed before avoiding foods unnecessarily.
Gallbladder disease, gallstones, and pancreatitis may also be underlying causes of reactions to foods, but these will produce other symptoms too.

It is usually large food particles that cause allergic reactions, so proper breakdown of food (especially protein) via cooking and chewing is vitally important. Digestive enzymes or probiotics can often help too to ensure complete digestion, and once digestion is corrected, things can improve quite dramatically.

Signs and symptoms of food intolerance can be quite diverse, depending on how long the person has been ingesting food allergens and how the body has "adapted". Common symptoms include bloating, stomach cramping, diarrhoea or constipation - yes commonly known as "IBS"!
Long term food intolerance may produce symptoms totally unrelated to the digestive system and may include fatigue, joint and muscle aching, depression, headaches and migraine, hyperactivity in children, and even certain autoimmune disorders.

Diagnosing a food intolerance rather than an allergy (via IgE antibody blood testing) is not easy, simply because reactions to foods can occur from anywhere between 12-36 hours after eating... coupled with the fact that an individual may be reacting to more than one food!
Exclusion/reintroduction diets are the "gold standard" of tests and the most useful when done properly. They do need to be adhered to for at least 2-4 weeks initially, and are always best done under the guidance of a registered nutritionist or dietician with experience in food allergy and intolerance.

Various blood tests are now available (most useful are IgG antibody tests - available now via pin-prick blood sample) which may prove useful in many cases - but only when there are noticeable symptoms.
Vega testing (measuring energy flow) and kinesiology (muscle strength testing) are entirely reliant on the skill of the practitioner, so how effective they actually are is very difficult to measure. Whatever the test, none are 100% accurate, and changes to a person's diet based purely on the results of a test cause more confusion than clarity, and very often lead to unbalanced eating, unnecessary food phobias, and possible nutrient deficiencies.

What to do if you suspect you have a food intolerance

1) Keep a food diary and note when symptoms occur

2) Try and identify the possible problem foods

3) Seek advice on how to adapt the diet to improve digestion

4) Eat a varied, fresh and nutritious diet

The most commonly allergic foods...
Cow's milk, cheese, soya, eggs, peanuts, wheat, gluten, yeast, corn, rye, chocolate (often the milk in chocolate!), coffee, tea, alcohol (it is the chemicals and preservatives in alcohol, not the alcohol per say), citrus fruit (lemons, oranges), white potato, beef, various spices, tomato, malt, pork, chemical additives, colourings and preservatives in food (especially tartrazine, sodium benzoate, aspartame).

Food intolerances are best dealt with by avoidance of the offending food for a prescribed period of time, followed by a "rotation" diet, in which problem foods are only eaten every three to four days, instead of daily.
Young children can often re-introduce foods after three months of avoidance, whereas adults may require six to twelve months of avoidance.

Much food intolerance and even some food allergy problems settle down after long-term avoidance, and especially when digestion is improved.
When a problem food is only eaten sparingly, symptoms are less likely to return. The importance of rotating foods varies from person to person and may be related to the severity of the allergies.

The following foods are the least likely to provoke allergic reactions:

Beverages:

Almond milk, Quinoa milk, herb teas, apple juice and other pure or freshly squeezed fruit juices without sugar or additives (dilute 50:50 with water).

Roasted grain beverages may be used as coffee substitutes. If you like fresh coffee, Dandelion root which you can grind in a coffee grinder.

Soya milk is fine UNLESS you have an allergy to soya!

Cereals:

Oats (unless you have diagnosed Coeliac disease or are known to be "sensitive" to gluten)

Oatmeal and Oatbran

Quinoa porridge

Puffed rice and millet cereal

Homemade mueslis

Grains and flours:

Chick pea flour

Potato flour

Buckwheat flour

Rice flour

Cooked whole gains:

Oats, millet, pearl or pot barley, buckwheat groats (also known as Kashi), brown rice, basmati rice, amaranth, quinoa, 100% buckwheat soba noodles, rice noodles.

Breads:

Sprouted grain breads, rice bread, 100% rye or spelt bread (often fine with wheat-sensitive individuals), other wheat and yeast-free breads

100% rice cakes

100% rye crackers

Legumes:

Haricot beans

Chickpeas

Black-eye beans

Kidney beans

Lentils

Navy beans

Pinto beans

Peas

String beans

Tofu (soya bean curd)

Dried beans should be soaked overnight. Pour off the water and rinse before cooking for allotted time. Canned beans often contain added sugar or other potential allergens, so if used they must be rinsed well.

Nuts and seeds
Almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds - eat raw with no salt etc.
Nut butters are highly nutritious spreads to use in place of butter or margarine, e.g. Tahini, almond butter, hazelnut or cashew butter.

Oils:

Use cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils (available from health food stores), as they are safer. Do not use corn oil or "vegetable oil" from an unspecified source, as this is usually corn oil.

Rapeseed oil

Linseed (edible linseed or flaxseed) oil

Olive oil

Safflower oil

Sesame oil

Soya oil

Sunflower oil

Protein:

Fresh white fish, salmon, mackerel and tuna and most canned fish, lamb, poultry and fowl.

Vegetables and fruit

All vegetables except corn are generally acceptable on a low-allergen diet, as is all fruits with the exception of citrus fruits. Tomatoes can often cause problems and should be avoided by susceptible individuals. Other food members of the nightshade family (potatoes, aubergine, peppers) may prove problematic with arthritis sufferers.

What I want to do in this follow-up article, is give you some tools to assess whether your doctor is up on the subject of food intolerances and celiac disease.

My recommendation is that you ask your doctor some or all of the following questions and you'll know fairly quickly how well-versed he or she is in this area.

If you suspect that you may be suffering from gluten intolerance or may have celiac disease you should ask your doctor some of these questions:

• Can you explain gluten intolerance and its symptoms?


• How many patients have you seen with celiac disease or gluten intolerance? (It doesn't matter if the answer here is zero, that's fine, as long as you think your doctor truly understands the situation, and-this is important-stays up-to-date with the recent research)


• What is your understanding of celiac disease? (This is an intentionally loaded question. If you're going to ask just one this is it, sit back and let your doctor talk.)


• You should also ask a few questions that you already know the answer to, not to be challenging or cute, but to see how knowledgeable your doctor is on the subject. My experience is that doctors who are intimidated by patients who know more than they do on the specific issue tend not to be open-minded enough to help with issues such as this.


• Is and celiac disease a childhood condition? (The answer to this should be no)


• If a person is gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, is it okay for them to have some gluten from time to time? (The right answer is no)

If you find that your doctor won't or doesn't want to learn about the condition, I suggest that you find a new physician immediately.

And if you are reluctant to believe that your doctor isn't the right doctor, or you have trouble accepting the fact that you may need to change consider the following reasons why your doctor will not test you for celiac disease:

Most doctors are heavily influenced by their training in medical school and residency, if your doctor is not exposed to celiac disease during this training it's been my experience it's very unlikely they will ever look for it once they graduate from medical school and residency.

Many physicians think the people who are complaining of multiple symptoms affecting different parts of the body at the same time are either hypochondriacs or exaggerating.

Celiac disease and gluten intolerance can present itself with symptoms that are very often outside of the digestive system-and they can also be silent: as I've mentioned in other videos, celiac disease is a multisystem condition, which affects many different organs, not just the gastrointestinal tract. And the result is that it's rare one physician will recognize that all of these symptoms, such as joint pain skin conditions and depression, can all be due to a single disorder. Doctors are trained in medical school to find the simplest explanation for their patients symptoms.

Common or routine blood tests will not make the diagnosis of celiac disease confirmed. Routine blood tests that are performed during your annual checkup or even when you are sick rarely if ever include a test specifically for celiac. Usually they will include the usual chemistry panel and a complete blood cell count among other things. In a patient that has untreated celiac disease the complete blood count panel may reveal things like anemia or a low red blood count. If the red blood cells are small, this is often due to an iron deficiency. If the red blood cells are large, this might be due to a vitamin B12 or folate deficiency.

All of these are examples of malabsorption that happen in patients with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Usually what happens is the doctors just suggest you increase your vitamin supplements, without looking for the cause-and this is why it's so important to understand the cause of this situation and get to the root of it.

Cost containment is another issue in our era of managed medical care. I see this more often in the United States where there is a two-tier health system than here in Canada. As I mention in the testing options video the only true way to know if you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance is to have a biopsy of your small intestine.

I hear many of my website visitors tell me that their health plan will not pay for a biopsy because it's not cost effective, even if they have blood tests and symptoms that are consistent with celiac disease. What is so sad about this situation is that these health plan providers just don't get it-they don't understand that early diagnosis of celiac disease is actually cost effective, and preventative medicine.

This is because patients with untreated celiac disease have been proven to have twice the mortality rate at any given age of those who do not have the disease. This is due entirely to the increase of other disorders as well as extremely high rates of bowel cancer. Lastly treating celiac disease early has been proven to prevent osteoporosis-another huge burden on our health care system.

The reality for people who are suffering from a toxic body resulting from wheat consumption, is that the best therapy is dietary. The big pharmaceutical companies don't have any way too make a profit from people who are suffering from wheat intolerance symptoms. That plus the fact that there's very little nutritional knowledge built into the typical general practitioner's training means most means doctors really won't have much ability to help you with this journey.