[Kir's Mom]

Hi everyone,My daughter has IBS. She is almost 18 and has had it for almost 2 years.Recently we visited a chiropractor who focuses on the whole body and underlying problems of illnesses. He came highly recommended by two close work associates.He is the first person who told us, "I'm confident that I can make you feel better."His first step was to draw blood for a very comprehensive allergy test... the ALCAT test.We learned some very stunning information. She is highly allergic to white rice. This has been the main component of her diet ever since she began having symptoms. She is also allergic to sugar. Fructose is the only sugar she is not allergic to (no honey, no cane sugar, no maple syrup).There were other allergens like calcium propionate which is a food preservative found in breads and other baked goods to inhibit mold, phenol, chloroform, and a few others.She was also diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease, which is a thyroid disorder. Has anyone else done any of this kind of testing? Have you had any success?

 

[BQ]

Welcome sorry your daughter is feeling ill. You can do a search here on all of our forums for the ALCAT. About the Hashimoto's Disease.. Here some info:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hashimoto...s-and-diagnosisIf you want to be sure about her allergies you can get a second opinion from an allergist. And if she has Hashimoto's.. you might want to see an endocrinologist to be sure.Otherwise have her stay away from the items she reacted to and see how she does.

 

[TirNanog]

Welcome sorry your daughter is feeling ill. You can do a search here on all of our forums for the ALCAT. About the Hashimoto's Disease.. Here some info:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hashimoto...s-and-diagnosisIf you want to be sure about her allergies you can get a second opinion from an allergist. And if she has Hashimoto's.. you might want to see an endocrinologist to be sure.Otherwise have her stay away from the items she reacted to and see how she does.

 

[TirNanog]

I am very interested in reviews of the ALCAT or LEAP or other allergy testing that people may have done and if they were helpful. Please reply or perhaps start a new thread and i will find it. Thank you all in general for this very helpful support group

 

[Jen37]

I also had the extensive allergy testing done through my blood. I came back allergic to yellow#5 brilliant black, crabamates, lemon, and grapefruit. I avoided all these things for at least 6 to 8 months and I still am sick... so I am not sure what to think. I did eat some things with lemon in them and I really could not tell a difference at all, I was no worse for wear. My friend also had her blood tested as well and she came back allergic to all forms of sugar as well as beef and a couple other things. She avoided these things as well but also did not get any improvement in her health. She repeated the blood test again and funny thing is the second time around she was no longer coming up allergic to beef, but now it is saying she is allergic to almonds where her first test did not show this. I myself am very leary of these blood allergy tests. I guess you could have your daugther avoid the items that she came up allergic to according to the test and see if she notices any improvement. This is the only way you will be able to tell.

 

[TexasMom]

I also had the extensive allergy testing done through my blood. I came back allergic to yellow#5 brilliant black, crabamates, lemon, and grapefruit. I avoided all these things for at least 6 to 8 months and I still am sick... so I am not sure what to think. I did eat some things with lemon in them and I really could not tell a difference at all, I was no worse for wear. My friend also had her blood tested as well and she came back allergic to all forms of sugar as well as beef and a couple other things. She avoided these things as well but also did not get any improvement in her health. She repeated the blood test again and funny thing is the second time around she was no longer coming up allergic to beef, but now it is saying she is allergic to almonds where her first test did not show this. I myself am very leary of these blood allergy tests. I guess you could have your daugther avoid the items that she came up allergic to according to the test and see if she notices any improvement. This is the only way you will be able to tell.

I am a dietitian and have been using LEAP in my practice for about 7 years now and would be happy to answer questions about food sensitivity testing and elimination diets. In response to your concerns above, this is probably the reason you or your friend didn't see improvement: It's impossible to test for all foods in our food supply, so a test can never identify all of your triggers. You can react to anything except salt and baking soda, so there are no universal safe foods. If someone avoids the few foods that show up reactive on a blood test, but continue to eat foods that were not tested, then they are probably continuing to eat reactive foods. Therefore, what I do with the LEAP test results is to find out which foods were non-reactive, and the person eats ONLY those tested & non-reactive foods for 4 weeks. This becomes your safe list. If you stick to a safe list, then by default, you will also avoid all of the foods that we didn't test for and could be reactive. If the gut, i.e. the immune system, is not exposed to any unknown and untested foods, then it "calms down" very quickly. No exposure = no reaction. It's a simple concept but it works extremely well.