Where to get a food intolerance test?

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

If anyone wants to send me €135 to send them made up test results with no level of accuracy whatsoever then I'm open for business! I'm now accepting credit cards at Ican'tbelievepeoplestillbelievethiscrap.com.:P

Just remember to tell people they are allergic/intolerant to wheat, IIRC 7/10 people are and its in everything so they'll have eaten some recently.

SineadPh wrote: »

Maev Creaven from the Galway Nutrition Centre in Galway tests for food intolerances. www.nutritioncentre.ie There are no needles used.

How does it work?

Might get one of these tests done for the craic, fingers crosses I'm allergic to vegetables and have to substitute them for steak cos I'm protein deficient.

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

Ive got Ankylosing spondylitis, which affects my back and stomach.
I discovered that there is a diet for AS where you cut out all starches from your diet and my spondylitis goes away. It seems a bit like the paleo diet.
Obviously that diet is very difficult to stay on, so I was hoping there was a way to figure out if could eat some foods that are starchy? Would an allergy test do?
I know when i eat brown bread i always get bad heartburn indigestion so would that mean im wheat intolerant or possibly more likely celiac?
Maybe I should really just talk to a specialist consultant for a proper test?

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

You'd really be better off discussing that with your doctor, especially if you suspect coeliac (which is associated with AS).

I did get a blood test for coeliacs disease before, but I never heard back.
I'll have to ask my doctor for the full proper test so.
it would be good if there was an easy to do test for food interolerances because when i cut out starch, I end up eating loads of dairy, eggs and nuts to compensate!

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.

I'm looking for an intolerance test too, I'm reacting really badly after eating some foods, and I'd love to determine exactly what it is that makes me feel unwell

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.

There was a time when people believed the world was flat. When first proposed, the theory of gravity was denied. Despite all the evidence in support of IgG food intolerance tests, some people continue to deny them.

It was back in the year 2000 when Dixon and his team published his scientific paper on IgG food intolerance tests. At that time, these tests were only in their infancy and have improved spectacularly since those early development days. At that time Dixon and his scientists conducted a study on 100+ patients to assess the benefits associated with the IgG food intolerance test.

That study concluded:
1. That 70% of the trial patients experienced a 75%+ improvement
2. That of those studied, 25% had incapacitating symptoms and this group achieved 80%+ improvement

Study Conclusion: “Elimination of positive IgG foods is successful in significantly decreasing symptoms”

That publication is available on a Google search:
“Treatment of delayed food allergy based on specific immunoglobulin G rast testing” by Dixon