230 Diet Wise
Modern test systems, such as the ALCAT or Nutron test claim to
get round this element of observer error by using mechanized counting.
My experience is that there are still far too many false negatives.
The LEAP Test
The latest incarnation of cytotoxic testing is the LEAP test (lifestyle
eating and performance). It is said to be more accurate because is measures
volume changes in the white cells, rather than a 2-ddimensional microscope
image.
Probably the main drawback of the cytotoxic test method is that
it needs intelligent and knowledgeable back-up by a competent doctor.
Otherwise the patient is left avoiding certain foods indefinitely, with no
clear place in mind, struggling to keep up an adequate diet n a selection of
things to eat that may be pitifully limited.
Unfortunately, this after-care is not always readily obtainable and
the laboratories themselves often duck the issue.
Applied Kinesiology and Related Methods
This method of testing for allergies usually raises a few medical
eyebrows. AK testing is a kind of body dowsing.
It has its origins partly in chiropractic and partly in acupuncture
and was first described and developed by George Goodheart in the USA.
As its name suggests it is primarily concerned with the dynamics of posture
and movement. Although it has no proven scientific basis it does seen to be
founded on a certain body wisdom. A simpler version for the layman, called
Touch for Health, was developed by California practitioner John F. Thie.
Allergy testing is only a small aspect of this discipline. Applied
kinesiology is based on the discovery that if the body is subjected to
adverse influences, certain muscles go weak. No-one pretends to know the
physiological basis of this effect, simply that it can be shown to exist.
The kinesiology practitioner gauges the strength of a group
of muscles (techniques exist to improve the tone of weak muscles and
generally balance the body’s dynamic status before starting). Then, by
putting a sample of food under the patient’s tongue and retesting, he or she