Testing For Food Allergies

[imagine22]

what is the best way to test for food allergies such as soy, dairy, corn, tomatoes etc etc I have biopsy proven celiac but i think there is somehting other than gluten affecting me as im still tired with headaches after being gluten free (apart from inital improvement then declined again).

are skin prick test useful for finding these other allergies/intollerances?

thanks very much.

[Ursa Major]

In my experience skin prick tests are pretty useless with a lot of those. Really, an elimination diet is the most useful tool in finding food intolerances.

[kbtoyssni]

You can do an allergy test, but if it's an intolerance like celiac, you won't get a positive. My doctor recommended not getting an allergy test because sometimes certain foods just don't agree with certain people even though there isn't a true allergy. She recommended an elimination diet. I prefer the kind where you eliminate everything and then add things back one at a time, especially if you think there may be more than one food causing a problem. You could also do intolerance testing through enterolab, but they only test for gluten, soy, egg, dairy, yeast and not citrus, tomatoes, etc. I ended up going this route because dairy was the only thing I suspected and I was too impatient to do an elimination diet (not to mention I hate food journals with a passion!)

I'd say an allergy test is a good starting point because if it is an allergy at least you'll find out quickly. Good luck!

[ravenwoodglass]

what is the best way to test for food allergies such as soy, dairy, corn, tomatoes etc etc I have biopsy proven celiac but i think there is somehting other than gluten affecting me as im still tired with headaches after being gluten free (apart from inital improvement then declined again).

are skin prick test useful for finding these other allergies/intollerances?

thanks very much.

You should look for an allergist that will guide you through an elimination diet after they do the skin prick testing. The skin testing will show any true allergies but not intolerances but it is helpful and a valid first step in the elimination diet process. I would be dead if I had not found an allergist who would help me with this. the elimination diet literally saved my life as I did not show up on blood test so I am a big fan of them when done properly.