# Has anyone had a food intolerance or food allergy test done before?



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Since my doctor's aren't getting anywhere with my digestive issues in nearly 10 years, and since nearly all of my physical health issues can be tied back to poor gut health, I was considering getting a food intolerance test done. They are $325 here but I've read that lots of IBS sufferers see a lot of improvement or almost total improvement when they cut out the foods they were tested intolerant for.

Has anyone done one of these tests before?


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## strictlyresearching (Jan 6, 2014)

Before testing you can do some tests by yourself:

1. Lactose intolerance: If you can drink 500 mL of milk without experiencing bloating or loose stools within several hours afterwards, you probably don't have lactose intolerance.

2. If you can eat 2 apples or pears or 3 spoons of honey without having GI problems (which are all high in fructose) it is not very likely you have fructose malabsorption.

So, if you can safely eat these foods, it's less likely the tests will show lactose intolerance or fructose malabsorption.

You can try a low-FODMAP diet, which means you exclude *lactose* (milk), *fructose* (fruits, honey and products sweetened by HFCS) and *polyols,* like sorbitol and xylitol (artificial sweetener in many commercial foods) for 3-4 days. If any of mentioned nutrients is a cause of your problems, you should experience obvious improvement within 3-4 days.

There's more detailed explanation in this article.


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## 8888 (Oct 16, 2014)

I had a blood test for Celiac Disease. They said they didn't see the antibodies that most people with Celiac have but the only way to know for sure was to do an endoscopy. Gluten clearly upsets me so I just avoid it, in my case there is no reason for an invasive test. I hear they have a blood test for lactose intolerance now too. Maybe your insurance will cover blood tests? Good luck and hope you feel better soon.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

No, but then there's nothing to suggest I'm intolerant or allergic to any foods.


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

Why can't you just test food yourself? If I find myself having cramps and spening hours on the crapper I just think back to what I ate 10-12 hours before. That's always the culprit. Except one time when a subway bacon ranch chicken sub went though me in a couple of hours. I have trouble with peanut butter and rich sauces like quiznos honey bourbon sauce. I had some pork in a wine sauce once at a fancy restaurant and that was bad too. I also have lactose problems. Never went to a doc over any of it. Just track what you eat and how you feel.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

scarpia said:


> Why can't you just test food yourself? If I find myself having cramps and spening hours on the crapper I just think back to what I ate 10-12 hours before. That's always the culprit. Except one time when a subway bacon ranch chicken sub went though me in a couple of hours. I have trouble with peanut butter and rich sauces like quiznos honey bourbon sauce. I had some pork in a wine sauce once at a fancy restaurant and that was bad too. I also have lactose problems. Never went to a doc over any of it. Just track what you eat and how you feel.


Food intolerances may take up to 3 days for symptoms to appear so good luck trying to figure out what caused that with the sheer volume of food I would eat in 3 days time. Food allergies on the other hand are easy to spot as the symptoms occur usually within an hour of consuming the food you are allergic to. I've found onions, wheat, garlic, cabbage, most raw vegetables, lactose(thats really obvious), overly greasy foods, bother me but there problems beyond that. I may have a fine bowel movement one day eating something and not the next for the same food item.

I also have an allergy to carrots, they cause a burning sensation in my mouth after eating them raw. I wonder if any similar foods to carrots in the same family could be bothering me as well.


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

Noca said:


> Food intolerances may take up to 3 days for symptoms to appear so good luck trying to figure out what caused that with the sheer volume of food I would eat in 3 days time.


So just eat one food over a 3 day period and see how you feel. This $300 test sounds like it could be quackery. Always check quackwatch. Here's what I looked up:


> *Allergies: Dubious
> Diagnosis and Treatment *
> 
> *Stephen Barrett, M.D.*
> ...


http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/allergytests.html


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

*Proper Testing*

The correct way to assess a suspected food allergy or intolerance is to begin with a careful record of food intake and symptoms over a period of several weeks. Symptoms such as swollen lips or eyes, hives, or skin rash may be allergy-related, particularly if they occur within a few minutes (up to two hours) after eating. Diarrhea may be related to a food intolerance. Vague symptoms such as dizziness, weakness, or fatigue are unlikely to be food-related. The history-taking procedure should note the suspected foods, the amounts consumed, the length of time between ingestion and symptoms, whether there is a consistent pattern of symptoms after the food is consumed, and several other factors. Although nearly any food can cause an allergic reaction, a few foods account for about 90% of reactions. Among adults these foods are peanuts, nuts, fish, and shellfish. Among children, they are egg, milk, peanuts, soy, and wheat [14].
If significant symptoms occur, the next step should be to see whether avoiding suspected foods for several weeks prevents possible allergy-related symptoms from recurring. If so, the suspected foods could be reintroduced one at a time to see whether symptoms can be reproduced. However, if the symptoms include hives, vomiting, swollen throat, wheezing, or other difficulty in breathing, continued self-testing could be dangerous, so an allergist should be consulted.
Proper medical evaluation-done best by an allergist-will include careful review of your history and skin testing with food extracts (using a prick or puncture technique) to see whether an allergic mechanism is involved in your symptoms. In cases where skin testing might be dangerous, a radioactive allergy sensitivity test (RAST) may be appropriate. The RAST is a laboratory test in which the technician mixes a sample of the patient's blood with various food extracts to see whether antibodies to food proteins are present in the blood. It is not as reliable as skin testing and is more expensive. A negative prick or RAST test indicates a low probability of allergy to the test substance. Positive tests, however, have much less predictive value [1].
The only sure way to diagnose an allergy to a suspected food, food coloring, or other additive is challenge testing in which the patient ingests either the suspected food or a placebo [14]. This may be appropriate if the patient's history suggests a food allergy but the skin or RAST tests are negative. Because dangerous reactions can occur, challenge testing should be done in a hospital or office that is specially equipped for that purpose.
*For Additional Information*


Aetna Policy Coverage Policy Bulletin 0038. Allergy Testing and Allergy Immunotherapy
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Medical Policy Manual
British Advertising Standards Authority Criticizes Ads for YorkTest Laboratories FoodScan Test
EACCI Task Force Report on IgG4 Testing against Foods
Food Allergies for Dummies
Institute of Food Technologists Scientific Status Summary on Food Allergies and Other Sensitivities
The Regence Group (Blue Cross/Blue Shield): Noncovered "investigational" methods
University of Iowa Virtual Hospital: Food allergy basics
 *References*


Sicherer SH. Manifestations of food allergy: Evaluation and management. American Family Physician 59:415-424, 1999.
American Academy of Allergy: Position statements-Controversial techniques. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 67:333-338, 1980. Reaffirmed in 1984.
Chambers VV and others. A study of the reactions of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes to various antigens. Journal of Allergy 29:93-102, 1958.
Lieberman P and others. Controlled study of the cytotoxic food test. JAMA 231:728, 1974.
Benson TE, Arkins JA. Cytotoxic testing for food allergy: Evaluations of reproducibility and correlation. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 58:471-476, 1976.
Lehman CW. The leukocytic food allergy test: A study of its reliability and reproducibility. Effect of diet and sublingual food drops on this test. A double-blind study of sublingual provocative food testing: A study of its efficacy. Annals of Allergy 45:150-158, 1980.
Hecht A: Lab warns cow: Don't drink your milk. FDA Consumer 19(6):31-32, 1985.
Bartola J: Cytotoxic test for allergies banned in state. Pennsylvania Medicine 88:30, October 1985.
Proposed notice: Medicare program; Exclusion from Medicare coverage of certain food allergy tests and treatments. Federal Register 48(162):37716-37718, 1983.
Cytotoxic testing for allergic diseases. FDA Compliance Policy Guide 7124.27, March 19, 1985, revised March 1995.
Do you have hidden allergies? ELISA/ACT can help you. Undated brochure distributed in 1993 by Serammune Physicians Lab.
The ALCAT test: A simple blood test for food and chemical sensitivities (Flyer). Hollywood, FL: AMTL Corporation, 1995.
British Advertising Standards Organization. Adjudication: Allergy Testing Service, May 1999.
Sampson HA. Food allergy. JAMA 278:1888-1894, 1997.
 This article was revised on May 31, 2011.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Your first quoted post is related to allergies and not food intolerances so it is not even relevant. I have no idea whether a food would cause fatigue but the process of digesting foods definitely does. Taking digestive enzymes with every meal prevents me from having food comas after each meal.


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## strictlyresearching (Jan 6, 2014)

What are your symptoms and in what time after meals they appear?


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