IGGBLOODTESTThislooksat
levelsofIgGantibodiesinthe
bloodtoindicateanintolerance.
There’snoevidence to support
itsaccuracy.
LEUCOCYTOTOXICOR
CYTOTOXICTESTAbloodtest
wherewhitebloodcellsaremixed
withthesuspectfood. It has no
scientificbasis.
KINESIOLOGYThisis basedon
theideathatcertainfoodscause
anenergyimbalanceinthebody,
whichis detectedbytesting
muscle response. Research showsCASESTUDY❛Anunseeningredientata
work buffetsentmetoA&E❜
SandiCharlesworth,an
opticianwholivesnear
Coventry,discoveredshewas
allergictolupin,aningredient
commonlyusedinpastries,
whenshesuffereda severe
reactioninher50s.
I’dneverhada problemwithallergiesuntilsix
yearsago,whenI was51.I wasata workdoand
hadeatena fewbuffetbiteswhenI suddenly
noticedthebackofmythroatwasburning.I
rushedtothelooandstayed there for ages,
vomitingrepeatedly.
MyfacewaspuffyandI wascomingoutinitchy
redhivesallovermybody,sosomeonedroveme
toa pharmacytobuyantihistamines.WhenI
walkedin,thepharmacistinsistedoncalling999.
TheambulancearrivedwithinminutesandI was
givena shotofadrenaline.Atthehospital,they
checkedmybloodpressure,gavemesteroidsto
dampendownthereactionandmonitoredmeon
anECG.I hadsufferedananaphylacticreaction.
IsawmyGPthenextdayandtookalonga list
oftheingredientsinallthefoodsinthebuffet. He
prescribedtwoEpiPensincaseofanother
reactionandreferredmetoa consultantallergy
specialist,whocarriedoutskin-prickteststofind
outwhatI wasallergicto.Unfortunately,thetests
weren’tconclusive,althoughI’dhada mild
reactiontosoya.Mydoctorsaidit couldbe a
one-offandmightneverhappenagain.Discoveringtheculprit
Unfortunately,two-and-a-half-yearslater,I had
anotherveryseverereactionata workdo.Mylips
weretinglingasI atea starter,thenI started
vomiting.I wastakentoA&E and treated with
adrenalineandsteroids.
Thistime,I discoveredlupinflouramongthe
ingredientslist– it hadbeenusedinpastrycases
thehotelhadboughtin.Skin-pricktestsconfirmed
thatI wasallergictolupin.I hadn’tpreviously
heardofit,butit’susedinpastries,pizzabases
andevenburgers,aswellasgluten-freefoods.It’s
hardtoavoid.Often,peoplethinkI’msayingI’m
allergictoglutenratherthanlupin,andgive me
gluten-freefoods,whichcontainlupin!
NowI nevergotoa restaurantwithoutemailing
inadvancetofindoutif theyhavelupin-free
foods.Luckily,I’veneverhadanotherreaction,
but I’ve had to be incredibly careful.Tests you can trust...offera similarbloodtestcalled
MAST(Multi-AllergenScreening
Test),butwon’tbeabletoassess
a patient’sdetailedclinicalhistory
foranaccuratediagnosis.
FOODCHALLENGESAsuspect
foodis eateninincreasing
amountstocheckforsymptoms.
Medicalandresuscitation
facilitiesmustbeavailableonsite.
FOODEXCLUSIONAND
REINTRODUCTIONThesuspect
foodorfoodsareexcludedfor
a periodwhilesymptomsare
recordedbya registereddietitian,
thenreintroducedif symptoms
improve.If symptomsreturn,it
indicates a problem with the food....and to steer clear ofresultsarenobetterthanchance.
HAIRANALYSISAlockofhairis
scannedtotestitsenergyfields.
Itsusefulnessis unproven.
PULSETESTThepulseis taken
before,then 15 minutesafter,
eatinga suspectfood.Research
showsnoconnectionbetweena
raisedpulseandfoodintolerance.
ELECTRODERMAL(VEGA)TEST
Thismeasurestheelectromagnetic
conductivityinthebody,whichis
purportedtodipif a suspectfood
is eaten.Again,researchshows
results are no better than chance.HFGnutritioneditorAmandaUrsellsaysthesearethe
evidence-basedtestsperformed by professionals
SKIN-PRICKTESTAsmall,diluted
amountofa suspectfoodis put
onprickedskin.If a swellingor
‘weal’appears,thismeansthe
immunesystemhasreleased
ImmunoglobulinE antibodiesto
causeanallergicreaction.Taken
inconjunctionwitha detailed
clinicalhistory,anIgE-mediated
foodallergymaybediagnosed.
BLOODTESTA RadioAllergo
SorbentTest(RAST)measures
theamountofIgEantibodiesto
a suspectfoodintheblood.The
resultsareinterpretedalongwith
a detailedclinicalhistorytogive
a diagnosisofIgE-mediatedfood
allergy. Commercial companiesThesearenottoberecommended as they have little,
if any, scientific basis
MAY 2019HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 29Health