Green Mountain Natural Health

Blood Food Allergy Testing

by Bernie Noe, ND

Common symptoms of food allergy include asthma, eczema, psoriasis, arthritis, ear infections, sinusitis, migraine headaches, irritable bowel, inflammatory bowel disease, anxiety, depression, fatigue, hyperactivity, obesity, and post nasal drip. The list of possible symptoms is even longer.

An easy and convenient method to determine what, if any, foods an individual is reacting to is blood food allergy testing. There are many different types of tests available, and even more labs that perform these tests, but the most accurate is antibody testing. The immune system produces antibodies to any substance that it views as foreign, such as a bacteria or virus. Under normal circumstances this is a good thing and a crucial weapon of our immune systems. With allergies, however, the immune system becomes overactive and antibodies are produced to things we don’t want them produced for, such as foods, pollen, and even our own bodies.

There are three primary classes of antibody that cause food allergic reactions: IgG, IgA, and IgE. IgE reactions cause an immediate and potentially severe reaction, such as when someone eats peanuts, shellfish, or strawberries and has difficulty breathing. Most people with this type of allergy already know what they react to. IgG and IgA cause delayed reactions that can take up to 24-48 hours to occur and are much more insidious in nature, causing any of the symptoms listed at the beginning of this article and more. Most people with this type of allergy don’t know they are allergic or don’t know all of the foods they react to.

Allergists most commonly use skin scratch testing for food allergies. While this is a very good test for IgE based immediate reactions, it is not a good test for the delayed allergic reactions that can cause the above symptoms. Unfortunately most conventional physicians and even allergists don’t understand the connection between delayed food allergic reactions and the above symptoms/diseases, so many people are never advised their problems may be caused by food allergies, or are erroneously told they don’t have food allergies.

In my experience IgG allergies are more common than IgA allergies, so I generally start by testing IgG food allergies. Also in my experience, about 80% of the time people with the above symptoms get better when they eliminate the foods identified on a good IgG food allergy test. Sometimes the choice of lab can make all the difference in getting accurate food allergy test results. In the past, many labs have performed poorly when independently tested by “split sample testing.” Split sample testing is when the blood from one person is sent to the same lab for the same test under different names. A good lab should get exactly the same results. Unfortunately, when it comes to food allergy testing, this is frequently not the case. I therefore use a laboratory, US Biotek, which does its own in-house split sample testing on every single patient to insure that the results are accurate. My own split sample testing and published trials with this lab have found highly reproducible results.

Blood antibody testing requires as little as a few drops of blood, which is then exposed to a variety of different foods in the laboratory.  A report is then produced which lists the amount of antibody found for each of the foods tested.  The advantage of this type of test is that 100 or more foods are commonly tested, and the list of foods that need to be eliminated is usually shorter and easier than with an elimination diet. This testing is also covered by most insurance plans.

Knowing one’s food allergies is often crucial to the effective treatment of a wide range of diseases, including those listed above. Naturopathic doctors are physician experts in treating the underlying cause of disease and using natural medicines to help people get and stay well. To be tested for food or airborne allergies or for help with elimination diets or other treatments for allergies, please make a selection below.

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