Where to get a food intolerance test?

Hey.... I had a food intolerence test done there back in April- was really good.

The guy took a sample of blood from me, sent it off to be tested( for around 250 foods or so), I got the results in about 2 weeks.

Then he went through the results, gave the level of intolerence for whatever food I was intolerent to (Milk and Eggs)- and he went through alternatives.

Felt great anyway when I stayed away from the food he mentioned. He emphasised staying well away from the food when I was under any sort of pressure or stress as the digestive system is more sensitive to these foods at those times.

The test was around 200Euro. It was an IGg test (IGg tests for intolerences and IGe is for allergies as far as I remember).

He's based in Rialto and he has a book on the basics of food intolerences, if you're interested?

I've just had a test done for our 2 and half year old who was suffering from severe exzema. Our Naturopath suggested

www.camnutri.com

who do the same test as York but at nearly half the price.

He turns out to have intolerance of some really basic stuff (milk, wheat, soya). As we're on a low income any advice out there on how to source cheap alternatives would be very welcome.

Accurate information on the subject of testing for food intolerances and allergies can be read here;

http://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/AllergyTesting.pdf

I don't know about other intolerances, but I'm lactose intolerant, don't know how it happened as I wasn't as a kid, also managed to develop hay fever the same time. I went to my doctor, he told me about the test he could do, but that just keeping a food diary and looking at the results myself is enough. I'd recommend that if you suspect dairy anyway.

Dapos wrote: »

Ok i got one done on saturday. It's a place called "Down to Earth" on George's St. 40 Euro. Intolerant to a few things, i'll give it a go for a few weeks and see how i feel. For future reference some of the Nature's Way stores do the test but u would have to book a few weeks in advance, 65 euro with a 20 euro deposit. La Sante in Dun Laoghaire do them too for 40 euro (10 Euro deposit). From wat i gather they all seem a similar test, no blood, no needles.

Hi i went to the Down to Earth shop yesterday to get an allergy test.
They said i am allergic to Dairy products and Sugar.
Did many come up that you were allergic to im not sure whether i believe its true as ive been eating this stuff all my life and ive never had any problems. if you could reply to me that would be great.

El Dangeroso, i really agree with you. I did the Galway one mentioned, real GOBBLEDGOOK. Reams paperwork i needed a degree to make out.

An Elimination Diet is the standard for diagnosing - and treating - food intolerances. The reason why the various blood tests for food intolerance have become popular is that they shortcut the fairly arduous task of eliminating food ingredients one by one and subjectively judging whether you feel better without them.

I use IgG blood tests (I've used York Test and, more recently, Food Detective professional) for this purpose. Combined with the pre-test interview - and I emphasize that it is important to collect this dietary information and confirm whether that the person is aware that their symptoms are food-related - I've found testing very helpful. But it is the Elimination Diet, guided by the test scores and interview, that gives the results, not the test alone.

Even armed with a black-and-white report of your results, it's still not easy to change the food habits of a lifetime. For this reason, I'd advise working with a professional who can advise on dietary change, such as a nutritional therapist (www.ntoi.ie).

If you ask me have I seen variation between the different tests available, I have, but I found them pretty close. They do different numbers of foods and use different test panels - for example, one combines egg white and yolk, the other tests them separately - but the overall picture is still pretty clear since the tests generally test not for just one but several members of each food family (e.g. not just for wheat, but also gluten, rye, oats and durum wheat).

I find testing a big advance over a blind Elimination Diet. Many people I've tested had previously carried out Elimination Diets of sorts - for example series' of magazine-article-driven Elimination Diets - but have either not been thorough enough, or carried out change for long enough, to be sure of a link. However, in the hands of an experienced practitioner, a structured Elimination Diet and interview will give excellent results.

The tests are not really tests of food intolerance, even if that's how they are marketed. What they can do is help identify the most likely culprits in people who have symptoms of food intolerance. The studies that show them to be useful also used them in that way.

There still isn't an international standard for the different companies to compare their tests to, so they use their own panels of people with positive results. I'd guess that the variability comes more from that than from the technology itself, which is the same as that used for many very commonly used diagnostic tests.

But - especially at this time of year - even before going to the expense of a blood test - there is one thing you could eliminate and likely feel a difference in a few weeks: try cutting out sugar (and sweet things).

There are many "food intolerance" or "food allergy" tests available. I would opt for an antibody blood test as the best researched. And those tests don't actually diagnose "food intolerance" but instead show whether there are foods against which your body is reacting (by making antibodies).

And the test result helps you design a specific food elimination diet - 3 months avoiding the strongly reacting foods - followed by controlled re-exposure to learn what the individual foods do to you. And then you can both follow your new diet, while - generally - being able to occasionally take the foods you react to.

You can do blood tests for around 50 items, 112 items and up to 200 items. In the end, it's usually down to a few foods covered in all of the tests, including dairy and gluten and most of the other foods are in the test to show you how many options you still have.

Getting the results in D2 is the easy part - you can get a 50+ item test done in Trinity Pharmacy near Tara St Station, or a 100 item test from the Fitzwilliam Clinic in Fitzwilliam Square.

The key thing is what you do with the results. If you have a straightforward result you may be well able to manage the elimination diet yourself using the information in your report. If not, you will want to work with a nutritionist (list of practitioners in D2 on http://www.ntoi.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:find-a-practitioner-near-you&catid=38:practitioners-all-regions&Itemid=62). They can help with the questions like: what can I have for breakfast? More importantly, they help you avoid getting your new diet half-right, which is nearly as bad as not at all right. I've done the change. It was well worth the effort, but it wasn't easy. And remember that sugar (natural or other) isn't in any of these tests, nor does it need to be - it aggravates symptoms.

RedMen15 wrote: »

Pat Boyd based in Sligo does food intolerance testing and is excellent. Does regular clinics around the country. Can find her details with a quick google.

Hi do you have a number for pat Boyd by chance.