There are two types of food allergy or sensitivity; “immediate” and “delayed”. Not to be confused with food “intolerance” such as lactose intolerance (milk sugar), these allergies are true immune responses with potentially far-reaching adverse effects in the body. The immediate reactions (IgE mediated) are those which people usually are aware that they have. We have all seen this type of reaction in a child getting up from the table showing an entirely different personality from when he sat down. Such allergy symptoms occur within an hour or two after eating the food. It is easy to make a correlation with how one feels an hour or two after eating an offending food.
On the other hand, the delayed allergy reactions (IgG mediated) may not occur for from a few hours to even a day or two after eating the food. For example, it is not uncommon for a person having an asthma attack today as a reaction to the food he ate yesterday, never dreaming of a connection between the two. It is these delayed allergies that go overlooked in medical offices everywhere. They wreck havoc in people’s health and lives for years, sometimes a lifetime, without being identified. When identified and properly treated, food allergies and sensitivities can become a fading memory in a child’s life giving an outcome of freedom from symptoms that may have plagued him/her for years.
The most accurate diagnostic test for food allergies is what is referred to as an “elimination diet”. The problem is that the eliminatin diet is very difficult to accomplish. Fortunately, there is now available a simple blood test which will screen for dozens of food allergies on one blood sample. This is the IgG test mentioned above. There are a few labs that have perfected the test to within acceptable tolerances of accuracy and the results they are providing us are truly fantastic. Blood tests are available for both IgG and IgE mediated allergy thus eliminating the need for the skin scratch testing. Visit our Food Allergy pages for all the details.
Related Articles
Allergy and Allergy Symptoms Relief
Tags: allergies
