Food Sensitivity Testing
Are you suffering from any of the symptoms below? Many of these can be caused by, or worsened by, having food allergies you may not even know you have.
It’s important to treat the cause, not just the symptom, when embarking on any healing process. Part of this means knowing what factors contribute to whatever it is you’re suffering from. Some of these contributors may be in foods we eat regularly, and since many of the symptoms you may be experiencing don’t show up immediately, the only real way to be sure is to get tested for food allergies.
Over the past few years, awareness has grown about many diseases and complaints that can be caused, or contributed to, by the having allergies to foods and other things we ingest.
Food allergies are quite common. Over 20% of the population is allergic to something, with varying degrees of symptoms and reactions. When we take into account symptoms such as hay fever, bronchitis in children, varying degrees of eczema and food intolerance, the true incidence of allergy and/or intolerance to one or more environmental agents would certainly be much higher. Many people are allergic to multiple things, including strawberries, nuts, wheat & other grains and more. Gluten allergies in particular are in the news a lot these days. Because of all the press coverage, many people think they’re allergic to gluten when it may be something else entirely, and may change their diets to eliminate something that their body needs unless they get tested to know exactly what they are really allergic to.
Types of Reactions:
Immediate Food Reaction As you would guess from the name, an immediate food reaction can occur anywhere from immediately to within a few hours after you eat the particular food that causes the allergy. The reaction is caused by the presence of what’s known as a high IgE antibody level in the blood, which sets off an immediate allergic response. Some examples of symptoms can be getting a rash after eating a strawberry or getting a headache after drinking some wine.
Delayed Food Reaction Delayed food reactions can occur up to several days after ingesting the reactive food, making it more difficult to link the symptom to whatever food it was that you ate several days ago. “Hidden” allergies are frequently the cause of many “chronic symptoms.” What these antibodies do is combine with the food particles in the blood to form “immune complexes” that cause inflammatory reactions in body tissues. Such inflammatory reactions can occur in most any part of the body, thus producing many kinds of symptoms such as headaches, joint pain, eczema, mental disorders, and more.
Diagnosing of Food Allergies Obviously an immediate food reaction can usually be easily identified. However, delayed food reactions are far more difficult to diagnose. We at Georgia Spinal Health & Wellness use different tests to diagnose different types of allergies. Thus both immediate and delayed food reactions can be detected.
These tests are designed to identify food sensitivities and thereby allow patients to make food choices that improve their overall well-being, help lose weight, and avoid allergic reactions. As a result of the tests, individuals can learn how to eat properly for their particular body and avoid allergens in their food, as well as overcome digestive disorders, migraines, obesity, chronic fatigue, skin disorders and other medical issues that may be caused by incompatibility with foods and certain chemicals found in food products.
Do you have symptoms of food allergies?
- Aggravation of diabetes
- Angioedema
- Asthma
- Asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis
- Bedwetting
- Bronchitis
- Bursitis
- Canker Sores
- Celiac disease
- Chronic Back Pain
- Crohn’s disease
- Depression/anxiety
- Diarrhea
- Eczema
- Eczema and other skin rashes
- Edema
- Epilepsy
- Facial flushing
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Fatigue and excessive sleepiness
- Fluid retention
- Gall bladder symptoms
- Gastritis
- Headache
- Hives
- Hyperactivity
- Hypoglycemia
- Infantile colic and infantile colitis
- Inflammatory arthritis
- Irritable Colon
- Irritable bowel syndrome (constipation and/or diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, wind)
- Itching
- Joint Pain
- Learning disability
- Malabsorption
- Migraine and other headaches
- Mouth ulcers
- Nephrosis
- Peptic ulcers and gastritis
- Premenstrual symptoms
- Proteinuria
- Recurrent Bladder Infections
- Recurrent Infection
- Recurrent infection (e.g. tonsillitis)
- Schizophrenia and other mental conditions
- Seizures
- Skin Rash
- Sleep disturbances
- Some kidney diseases
- Some types of palpitations
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Urticaria (hives)
- Weight problems
Consideration of food allergy testing is a critical component of any comprehensive approach to resolving issues with ill health or prevention of disease.
Benefits
It is estimated that that up to 12 million Americans have some sort of food allergies or multiple allergies. A food allergy is an abnormal response by the immune system to a particular food trigger. Development of food allergies is dependent on a number of factors including timing of exposure to the allergenic food, frequency of consuming the allergenic food, and the integrity of the gastrointestinal system. Food allergies can cause a wide variety of conditions, including migraine headaches, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic ear infections, eczema, psoriasis, recurrent infections, and weight gain.
Contact Georgia Spinal Health & Wellness to schedule your allergy and food sensitivity testing.
If you are on any medications, prescription or non-prescription, please consult with your physician before ordering these tests because some medications may affect your test results, in some cases resulting in a false positive for an allergen or showing a false negative result for an allergy.
