Food Intolerance Testing at Cypress Natural Medicine

Food Intolerance or Food Allergy?

Patients often crave the very foods
that they are intolerant or allergic to

Food intolerance is not the same as food allergy. Currently, we are aware of several different kinds of reactivity to foods. Food intolerance has to do with digestion and metabolism, and is an enzymatic phenomenon which is considered genetically predetermined. Food intolerance means that a particular body does not digest or metabolize a particular food properly. As a consequence, maldigestion and putrefaction occurs which leads to the production of toxic metabolites that create inflammation within the gastrointestinal lining. This constant inflammation can lead to the direct passage of toxic metabolites and food particles into the bloodstream, a change in the pH of the intestines, an imbalance in intestinal flora, and the growth of unhealthy bacteria and yeast in the small and large intestine. This phenomenon is considered “Leaky Gut Syndrome” and can be assessed diagnostically through intestinal permeability testing. The chronic absorption of undigested food particles can lead to allergic reactions to those particular foods. The constant consumption of your food intolerance will interfere with the normal physiological functions of the body, and can become the basis of chronic disease. The symptoms of food intolerance are typically not immediate – they usually a cumulative phenomenon due to the fact that they increase the total toxic load on the body.

A food allergy is different. It is an immune system reaction in which undigested food particles are absorbed into the bloodstream and perceived as if they were foreign proteins. The immune system responds to this situation by attacking the “invading” substance, which can create various symptoms throughout the body. An allergic response can produce immediate symptoms or it can be delayed up to 48-72 hours. Food allergy is often the result of an underlying intolerance, as explained above. There are many diagnostic methods available which have a broad range of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, cost, and comfort. These tests include: ELISA/ACT testing for IgG, IgE, IgA antibodies, RAST testing, RASP testing, EAV testing, Applied Kinesiology, and Oligoantigenic (Challenge) diet method.

Dairy is a common food
allergy and/or intolerance

The most effective method for identifying food allergies is the elimination diet. This diet has the patient completely eliminate the “foods in question” for up to 30 days. The “foods in question” are determined by trying to correlate the consumption of specific foods with the onset of physical symptoms. Foods are eliminated until there is the absence of these symptoms. After this point, the foods are reintroduced to the diet, one by one, and all symptoms are documented. The problem with this method is that it does not deal with the underlying cause of the disturbance. Removing an allergic food from the diet without identifying the food intolerance is similar to using a band-aid to cover a twelve inch cut in the skin – it will help temporarily, but it does nothing to treat the underlying cause. We have commonly found patients who have identified their food allergies and completely eliminated them only to find that other food allergies soon appear. In our experience, it is far more beneficial to identify and eliminate the food intolerance than it is to constantly treat food allergies. By eliminating the food intolerance, the lining of the gastrointestinal system is allowed to heal thereby eliminating current food allergies and preventing the formation of further immune reactions.

Dr. Bryan Skinner, ND and Dr. Destia Skinner, ND are among the handful of practitioners in the United States that have been trained in the diagnostic evaluation of food intolerance. Please contact our office if you would like more information. The doctors also have access to a wide variety of diagnostic tests used to assess food allergy when they are needed.