Igg Testing For Food Intolerances

[covsooze]

A few months back, I took the York tests and came back with positive reactions to nearly every food they tested for. I tried giving all the foods up, but it was just never going to work. Could I really be intolerant to that many foods, even temporarily whilst my gut recovers from the coeliac mess? I'm starting to wonder about this again now as last night I was in agony. A different part of my digestive system to the bit that normally reacts when I'm glutened - it was on the left just under my ribs. It hurt so much that I thought I might end up in the ED at one point, but it's gone today, and I didn't get any of the other symptoms I usually get if glutened. So, the likely culprit is oven fries, which I ate quite a few of yesterday evening. they were certified gluten-free (CUK licence), and even my DH, who was very skeptical about the York tests, now thinks they might have been right in finding potatoes as one of the things I'm most intolerant too. it really is the ned of the world as we know it if I have to give up potatoes, but I'm prepared to do it if it gets me better. But could the York tests really be right in saying I'm intolerant to pretty much everything I eat? And what if I am, do I just starve myself?! I'm thinking of doing an elimination diet and cutting out the worse offenders and seeing how I go.

The thing that makes me have my doubts is that I didn't react to wheat (I did to gliadin). I think my last 'glutening' was in fact a reaction to a gluten-free product that had wheat starch in it.

I guess I've got to bite the bullet and do an elimination diet, but it worries me as to what starches I'll have left to eat as there might not be enough to fill me up and be able to rotate them so I don't develop more intolerances.

And my GI just says coeliacs are no more or less likely to develop food intolerances than anyone else.

Help!

[jerseyangel]

Hi Susie,

I went through the same thing last spring! Had no idea what to eat or not eat any more.

I consulted with an allergist. When I asked him about the Igg testing for intolerances, he told me that those tests result in a lot of false positives. The reason he gave me is--every time we eat a food, our bodies make antibodies to it.

After testing me for actual allergies, he told me that the best way to uncover food intolerances is by doing an elimination diet. He said that most people who have had the blood testing end up dong the elimination diet anyway, because of all of the false positives.

Possibly potatoes came up positive and you really are intolerant--you could test that out via the elim. diet.

[Sweetfudge]

What is the best way to go about an elimination diet? I've never done this, and am thinking I might have to since going gluten-free isn't making me feel better (since June). I think the culprit may be dairy, and I hope it isn't potatoes cuz I might have to kill myself Only kidding!

[jcc]

Hi!

I have not personally had IgG testing done, but I've been thinking of doing it for my daughter for a couple of years now...just never seem to have the money or make it a priority (plus she is squemish about blood!). Anyway, I've known quite a few people who have removed the foods shown positive on IgG testing, and saw positive changes.

IgG testing is still rather controversial, as I'm sure you realize, especially among mainstream allergists. I asked one several years back, just out of curiosity, and I was surprised to hear him say that maybe positive IgG was meaningful for gluten and casein, but not other foods. (I didn't think he'd say even that much).

Anyway, if anyone is interested in doing a bit more reading on the subject, I've gathered a few things ~ There does seem to be some growing interest and acceptance in this area, but I suppose it is all in what things you read~ anyway for a few articles and a couple studies looking at IgG, non-IgE allergies~

Open Original Shared Link

There are a few things on the Open Original Shared Link page, too.

An elimination diet can work well, and I've also known people who swear by this. It might very well be the best way to test. I've always meant to try this for my daughter, too, and still haven't! You generally start by a short fast, and then slowly begin to add foods one or two, or by a food group, at a time.. I'm sure the library would have many books explaining elimination diets. I know the book Brain Allergies by William Philpott, MD, steps you through with food groups, charts, etc, but I don't know that it is the best one. You might also want to try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Cara

[burdee]

Test results for IgG food allergies/intolerances all depend on the lab and/or test you take. My doc said that if your test results show that you have more than 2-4 allergies (besides gluten intolerance), there's not enough quality control standards in the lab. Most people just don't have that many allergies. You may think you have sensitivities to a lot of foods, but those may be simply digestive difficulties (like beans, onions and cabbage) or intolerances (to milk sugar lactose) rather than true delayed reaction IgG allergies (like to casein, the milk protein). The longer you went with undiagnosed celiac symptoms, the more chance that you developed other food allergies while your gut was being damaged and your body produced all those gluten antibodies before you stopped consuming gluten.

My doc wrote a book entitled "The IBS Solution" (by Dr. Stephen Wangen) in which he explains that IBS symptoms (it's not a disease) are caused by Celiac Disease, food allergies and 'bugs' (bacterial imbalance or too many bad bacteria, yeast overgrowth like Candida or parasites). My doc posted a lot of what he wrote in his book on his website at Open Original Shared Link That link will tell you all about the tests he uses.

If you abstained from gluten for 2 years and are STILL having ongoing symptoms, I suggest you look for a doc who uses a reputable lab to do ELISA tests (delayed IgG food allergies to over 100 different foods) or check out Enterolab which tests for IgA allergies to milk, eggs, yeast and soy. Here's a link to Elab's test info: Open Original Shared Link

BURDEE

[Simply-V]

A few months back, I took the York tests and came back with positive reactions to nearly every food they tested for.

I took the Immunolabs ELISA. It was really accurate. I'm not sure how many foods you're reactive to, but I do recommend avoiding them. I react to every food on my list (some more significantly than others). Btw I tested pos. for 17 foods, in mainly 3 food families. I no longer eat beans with the exception of a couple soy derivatives, peppers (severe delayed reactions), and I limit my intake of yeasts.

I also recommend going to:

Open Original Shared Link

And searching for the foods you reacted to. If there is more than one reactive in a particular food family, then those are definately going to be problems.

Other helpful suggestion: to copy this information down on two different lists (use cut and paste on your computer is much easier). One list being food families in which you reacted to one or more foods. The other list being food families in which you react to no foods. The list of food families in which you react to no foods should be considered your ultra-safe list.

Clean your food slate. Forget everything but what is on your ultra-safe food list. Start eating those first, then add back in foods from food families that only have 1 reactive food. Watch out for cross-reactivity (aka reactions to foods which are genetically similar to something you tested positive for). Don't eat anything on your reactive list (test results) for 3-4 months, if at all possible. Keep adding things back in as tolerated.

[Sara-UK]

Hi

I also had about 15 come up with the York Test that I should avoid, and another 10 or so I should rotate. So far I'm cutting out the highest (wheat/gluten, egg and milk) - def feel a bit less bloated, and not had a migraine since I started (was getting them everyweek til I came off the pill and stopped with these foods..very inscientific, but think it's a combination of both as to why I've not had a migraine). Went on holiday last week and was fed up with everyone stuffing their face with dessert, so tried some choc blamanche on 2 nights, and had upset stomachs the following mornings, so I'm starting to believe it now! Don't want to give up garlic and ginger yet though..still making life worth living!

kinda makes sense to me - I#m not a celiac, but the woman said it sounds like I have a leaky gut, so if that's true, then I guess you'd expect lots of foods to come up - if bigger bits of food are getting through into the blood and triggering release of specific IgG antibodies, then it makes sense that you have a lot. have now got some good probiotic tablets (keep forgetting to take them though!)

not missing bread etc as much as I was when I first stopped eating it..so that must be a good thing!

also thinks i may have a yeast overgrwoth, but think that at the moment is too much for me to deal with!

Woulnd't have thought it was a quality control issue -as far as I've read york are supposed to be one of the best, and surely they'd think something was dodgy if every test in a batch came up with almost all positives?

Sara

[covsooze]

Umm...I reacted to about 100 of the 113 In fact York phoned me and arranged for me to provide another sample as they couldn't believe i reacted to so many foods. This result is that other sample. the only veggie i didn't react to was mushroom, which isn't a veggie anyway. That's why i'm struggling so much with this whole food intolerance thing. Am posting at work but when I'm at home tobight, I'll post the name of the book I've got on food intolerances 9recommended by acousticsmom). it's very helpful - very balanced - and outlines a good strategy for an elimination diet. I might have to go on a lamb & pears diet and add one thing in at a time, but the thought freaks me out

[sspitzer5]

I did food intolerance testing through York. Only a few things came up and it seems pretty accurate for me. What I've heard is that if you haven't been gluten free for very long, your system is pretty out of whack and will react to many things. My doctor said to wait 6 months after being gluten-free before doing the test to avoid false positives.

S

[covsooze]

Thanks S. I did wonder if that might be the reason.

The book if anyone is interested is The Complete Guide to Food Allergy and Intolerance by Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamlin. It's v comprehensive and deals also with allergies in general and candida etc.

[jenvan]

I had similar results to Susie. IMO, from leaky gut due to Celiac...so technically, some of those should go away as the gut has healed. As Patti suggested, I'd couple this with a food journal/elimination diet. I wouldn't live and die by the IgG testing b/c no one is really sure what eating foods you have an IgG response to actually does or doesn't do. I used my IgG results to guide me into an elimination diet and I confirmed foods to elimination based on symptom from there...ie. dairy.

[covsooze]

Well, I sat down iwth the Brostoff book yesterday evening and decided to go straight to stage 3 of his elimination diet given that I know I'm sensitive to loads of stuff - it's basically a rare/few foods diet. i think I might start a blog here to record my progress, in the hope it might be helpful to someone, given that so many of us have sensitivities other than gluten. I need to plan some menus first before I launch into it, otherwise it just won't work.

[jenvan]

Good luck Susie ! Planning ahead does definitely help...

[CantEvenEatRice]

Anyone try the Optimum Resource Lab finger prick food allergy tests? I was just reading their website and it looks interesting. My ped wanted to run a food intolerance panel on my son, but how do you know if the lab will be accurate? I always have to go to Quest and Quest is never that great. I would also like to have some food intolerance testing. I just don't know how you decide which lab is the most accurate?!

[JenKuz]

Anyone try the Optimum Resource Lab finger prick food allergy tests? I was just reading their website and it looks interesting. My ped wanted to run a food intolerance panel on my son, but how do you know if the lab will be accurate? I always have to go to Quest and Quest is never that great. I would also like to have some food intolerance testing. I just don't know how you decide which lab is the most accurate?!

I think it's so important to contact the lab directly, ask them a lot of questions. The manner of their response is just as important as what they actually say. I decided to trust enterolab, because I sent them a bunch of questions and they gave me straightforward and sensible answers. When I contacted a "nutritionist" in Atlanta, she obfuscated about the nature of the test, saying "why don't you do this research on your own." I decided, if she didn't know the answers to that stuff herself, then why should I trust her recommendation? Especially because her hourly rate was sky-high ($155) and she refused to release results without an hour long consultation! Hah! I say, if I'm footing the bill, and it's my blood, my antibodies, my body, I *own* those results and nobody but nobody can tell me when or how I can access those results. So. Yeah. Don't trust her worth a darn.

It's so hard to know. I know it's frustrating when conventional Drs suggest it's all nonsense, when they're so close-minded, but it's true that there are a lot of predators and hucksters out there. Just as there are a lot of people like Dr. Fine who seem to really be offering a cutting-edge service.

My personal view on IgG is that it can't be taken at face value; it can serve as a guide to elimination, but is not a very specific test. And if you do it, it should be through a lab with a track record. Ask them what their rates of positivity are, how they've determined normal ranges. Pay attention to what advice they give along with results. They should have answers, and if they don't they're probably selling snake oil, taking advantage of sick people desperate for an answer that allows them to be proactive.

[happygirl]

I don't have any advice, but the companies that I know of include:

enterolab (gluten, soy, eggs, casein, yeast)

optimum health -which used to be York Labs- (96 foods)

Lame Advertisement (a variety of tests, including food and chemical sensitivity)

I'm sure there are more, those are just the ones I know of.

[jerseyangel]

I contacted Immuno Labs--they had a nurse call me and ask if I would like more info sent to me in the mail. They sent a nice packet explaining how and what they do. (They test for food intolerance)

[AndreaB]

The doctor I see for allergy/intolerance testing uses US Biotek. They test IgE and IgG.