[LindaR322]

I have seen an advertisement for taking a blood test that would determine all your trigger foods for IBS. I wanted to know if anyone has tried this and did it work? I think I know what triggers my IBS but maybe there is something else.

 

[flux]

No such test exists (or probably could ever exist). There is no specific documented connection between food and IBS in general.------------------I am not a doctor, nor do I work for profit in the medical/pharmacological field, but I have read scientific and medical texts, and have access to numerous sources of medical information that are not readily available to others. One should always consult a medical professional regarding advice received.

 

[LindaR322]

Thanks Flux for the input. I asked my GI Doctor this morning about it. He did not think it would work. Why are they advertising for IBS then? I did not see the ad my husband did. When I get home I'm going to find it and call them. I'm very curious about it.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

LINDA:The reason "it" is advertised for IBS is because it does work IF one is speaking of the MRT test used in the LEAP protocols.Contrary to what you are being told, there is over 30 years of published information concerning the role of diet in IBS symptom sets. And thousands of beneficiaries world over who are leading more normal lives as a result of identifying and removing foods and additives from the diet which provoke the abnormal humoral and cellular responses which elicit symptoms associated with IBS.Unfortunately some physicians are not that familiar with it, hence the "doubt". NONE of my GI docs were ever familiar with the work, and so I suffered until I met doctors who WERE knowledgeable on the subject. Hence my immediate remission once I sought them out. Problem is Much of it is not in GI journals, but allergy, immunology journals, European journals etc. and is published from the viewpoint of causal investigation not symptomatic empirical diagnostics. You have to do broader study to grasp the subject. This can be difficult. However, several authoritative books on the subject from doctors who are qaulified to speak authoritatively have been published...I cannot speak to the efficay of other tests, nor should anyone who clearly has no knowledge of the subject matter. It is not only inappropriate but unethical.To learn about the role of diet in the health of all body systems including the gut the place to start is with an authority on the subject.Here is the worlds leading authority on the subject and the latest of his books on the subject. I recommend it to you as a starting point to learn about how diet will affect yout bwel and total body function: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...r=2-1/102-64875 08-3420903[/URL] LIST OF ALL BOOKS WRITTEN OR EDITED BY JONATHAN BROSTOFF STILL IN PRINT http://www.greenleaves.com/bookcat/by_brostoff_jonathan.html Any post which states flatly that no such connection exists is just flat wrong. It reflects a lack of awareness of the subject as a whole. More extensive reading might help. Fortunately there are actual doctors all over the world treating people who know this subject, so I do not have to dedicate every waking moment to refuting bad information. I can point to where an authoritative source (see above) is and if one wants to seek it out it can be found.Eat well. Think well. Be well.MNL______________ www.leapallergy.com [This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 05-30-2001).]

 

[Kathleen M.]

Here is one of the most recent review articles on food and IBS from MEdlineAuthorsZar S. Kumar D. Benson MJ.InstitutionDepartment of General Surgery, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.TitleFood hypersensitivity and irritable bowel syndrome. [Review] [115 refs]SourceAlimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 15(4):439-49, 2001 Apr.Local MessagesHSL currently receives; holdings are incomplete.AbstractIrritable bowel syndrome is a common condition but its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Many irritable bowel syndrome patients give a history of food intolerance, but data from dietary elimination and re-challenge studies are inconclusive. Multiple aetio-pathological mechanisms have been postulated. The gut has an extensive immune system but current understanding of processing of food antigens in health and disease is limited. There is no clinically useful marker available to test for food hypersensitivity in irritable bowel syndrome. Researchers have employed both skin tests and serum immunoglobulins (IgG and IgE) as markers of food hypersensitivity in various disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, but published data are equivocal. In this article, the evidence for the role of food hypersensitivity in irritable bowel syndrome is reviewed and, based on the available data, a possible pathophysiological hypothesis has been formulated. [References: 115]------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

Comment: ------------------------"Researchers have employed both skin tests and serum immunoglobulins (IgG and IgE) as markers of food hypersensitivity in various disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, but published data are equivocal" ------------------------Skin testing and IgE/IgG were shown a decade ago to be of little use, as the emchanisms involved are not immunoglobulin mediated. Old info rehashed again. These methods are doomed to being equivocal as you can only reveal the subpopulation with comorbid IgE/IgG medtaied reactions AND SPT and RAST are only about 50% or so positive preditive. Must be confirmed with blind oral challenge. This is as old as dinosaur dung.Recent work shows there is, however, mucosal mast cell involvement problem is that IgE and SPT negativity puzzles the investogators...and cellular mediators are present not just mast cell mediators. And it is clear that what this article rehashes is true:*multiple etiologies*the immune system of the gut is way more complex and fully itegrated than is understood and this understanding will be helped by the combination of jejunal isolation techniques with multiple in vitro techniques in assaying localized immune response to diet. Coming soon to t theatre near you...well, okay not that near to everyone but coming.New publication of old info. as the definitive study with the newest technology is in the protocol development and funding stages so it has not been seen by the reviewers.Repetition, time and bandwidth can be saved by noting comments I have posted in this thread: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/020790.html Off to the world of work.Eat Well. Think well. Be Well.MNL________________ www.leapallergy.com [This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 05-30-2001).]