Food Allergy Testing

[Legmaker72]

I've been on a strict gluten-free diet for many months now and still have some pretty consistant symptoms and some really bad days. SO I thought maybe it's something else I'm allergic to. I was thinking of going to an allergist and having some food allergy testing done. How common is this to have done? Has anyone else had good results from getting these types of tests done?

I Eat alot of Soy and Corn, Rice etc.. Just wondering if anything else is the culprit. I'm getting tired of feeling so bad even on a gluten-free diet I put myself on.

On a side note...can someone develop a Gluten allergy late in life or is it something you should have had symptoms all of your life with?

Thanks all,

Christopher

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Christopher,

I went to an allergist (an osteopathic doctor) with complaints about digestive problems. My son's digestive system can't handle cow's milk... after I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started reading about the suspected causes of autoimmune disorders it dawned on me that maybe I was having a reaction to one or more foods too. Nothing turned up on my skin test, but I learned a few important things:

1. A food allergy (IgE mediated) is not the same thing as a food intolerance (IgG or IgA mediated). Allergies cause problems like hives and wheezing (or worse) within 24 hours, usually right away. Intolerances can also do a lot of damage to your body, but the problems... diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, weight fluctuation, autoimmune flares, mental disturbances... take longer to show up.

2. You can test for allergies with a skin test. You can test for intolerances with a blood test or a stool test, but I think you have to know what you're looking for (like running a celiac panel).

3. If you think you have a food intolerance, try eliminating it from your diet (my reaction to gluten elimination was so fantastic I don't ever want to go back!). If you're not sure the elimination did anything for you, try re-challenging by eating a lot of that food for three or four days.

You CAN develop allergies and intolerances later in life... they don't always show up in childhood. From what I've read, your immune system might be able to adapt until it gets overloaded by something else (hormones, severe stress, physical trauma, etc...) and then bam... the intolerance becomes noticeable.