Getting Help
Help is at hand, with the identification of the food trigger or triggers and a sensible management plan life can be very different for the intolerance sufferer. The problem is knowing how and where to get that help and not fall into the hands of questionable practices and tests. There are many tests on the internet seeming to offer solutions to the problem. Health food shops on the High Street offer ‘allergy’ tests, advertisements appear in newspapers and magazines for nutritionists without any clear indication of training or expertise. So just how does a sufferer find their way through this maze and get on the right path.
The first question that you should ask when contemplating taking a test or treatment of any kind should be
‘Is it clinically proven?’ There is a very high chance it won’t be but should there be any suggestion that the test / treatment has undergone clinical trials, the sufferer should not hesitate to ask for details, such as where the clinical trial was carried out and who the trial was conducted by. There should be no hesitation in checking with the hospital and/or medical expert named.
If going to a nutritionist it is vital that the qualifications of the person are checked out. If the person holds a degree or equivalent level qualification in nutrition from a recognised university or is a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists then generally the sufferer will be in safe hands. You may even be lucky enough to strike gold in that your General Practitioner or practice nurse has an interest in food intolerance. In this case look no further! For a registered nutritionist in your area go to www.bant.org.uk
FIA are able to help people with food intolerance by providing a telephone helpline on 01322 619898, factsheets on a wide range of foods and how they can cause reactions, leaflets explaining the difference between food allergy and food intolerance, and very importantly a food diary which is a major tool in helping to identify the food trigger. Also coming very soon will be a video with an expert describing the difference between food allergy and intolerance and what you can do to help yourself.
Food Intolerance Testing
Testing for food intolerance is a difficult area for discussion and one that has created a great deal of anxiety particularly for the medical profession. The role of IgG and the impact of raised levels are still very much the subject for hot debate and scientific argument which places the person with food intolerance in a very difficult position.
There are many different types of tests available through the internet and on the local High Street but the scientific and clinical evidence for these tests vary between those where the company has gone to considerable lengths to validate them in clinical trials through to what can only be described as having no validity whatsoever and are in some cases downright dangerous as they exclude so many foods it places the health of the individual in question.
So just how can the person who wants to have a food intolerance test decide what sort of test they should have and whether the advice being given is safe?
Always keep a Food Diary
Allergy UK ‘s advice is always that keeping a food diary and identifying - with the help of a health care professional - the potential triggers that cause the intolerance and then excluding them from the diet is the ideal.
Blood Testing
We recognise, however, that for many people it is quite simply not possible to keep a food diary. In cases where the person concerned wishes to take a test we refer people to Yorktest. We made the decision to do so for the following reasons:-
- Following a study of 5,200 people by the University of York Healthcare studies department, 70% of people who had carried out the Yorktest and excluded and then re-introduced the identified foods, reported that they were still benefitting one year later. This does not necessarily mean that IgG is involved in food intolerance; the evidence for this is still not clear. However the study did show that people who are suffering symptoms that can sometimes be related to food intolerance, may well get better if they follow the advice based on the Yorktest.
- Yorktest provides, within the price of the test, two telephone consultations with qualified and experienced nutritionists.
- An excellent guide book is also provided to assist in changing diets.
It is important to note that the Yorktest is not cheap as it costs in the region of £265. However the Company does offer an Indicator test for just £10 which can give guidance on whether it would be of value to go to the next step and have the full test.
The aim of this page on the website is not to promote a particular company , but at the present time Yorktest are the only company who have been willing to have their service studied and therefore we are unable to express an opinion on any other food intolerance service that is on the market.
We would very much welcome any of the other companies in the field of food intolerance testing to contact us for further discussion and evaluation of the service they offer.
Other Available Tests:
Listed below are the types of testing you may see advertised. However, appearance on this website does not mean that FIA or Allergy UK are recommending them.
Cytotoxic testing
This involves a blood samples being taken from a vein in a clinic, which sends the sample to a lab to be tested. A lab technician then measures how antibodies produced by white blood cells (lymphocytes) react to a food sample by watching for changes.
Cytotoxic tests Quackwatch, are unproven for measuring food intolerance. Because of the potential for human error, they are never scientifically reproducible.
Vega electro acupuncture test (also known as the Best system)
This is widely used by alternative health clinics. It uses a voltage applied with a hand held electrode over an acupuncture point in the toe while another electrode is held in the had to complete the circuit. No one has ever proven how accurate it is. Southampton University has conducted the most extensive studies so far undertaken on electro-dermal testing machines, and say they have no scientific basis.
Applied Kinesiology (AK)
During a session of this, the client is asked to put a food in their mouth or hold the vial of homoeopathic solution. If they are sensitive to the food or solution, the kinesiologist will report that an arm or leg muscle for example will feel weaker when flexed than before the food was tested. The strength of the muscle corresponds to the health of corresponding organs, believe AK therapists. No study has ever proven that this theory has any basis in fact.
Hair sample testing
This can show a lack of minerals in the diet (not vitamins) – although results vary because of the use of shampoos and hair dyes – but has never been proven to accurately show an allergy or sensitivity to foods.
Despite this, hair testing is routinely offered by complimentary practitioners to people who think they may have a food allergy or intolerance.
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