Food sensitivity testing--ALCAT

Lovee_Dove7

I just sent off a blood sample for ALCAT food sensitivity testing.
Have you done this? What did you think of it? Thanks!

emhunter

I have not done it but it seems like it could be useful!

What made you decide to get this done? What are you hoping to find out from others on mfp?

Lovee_Dove7

Thanks. I have done food allergy testing; it was all negative. Yet I seem to react to foods (digestion not quite happy) particularly wheat. If I'm sensitive to some foods, I can avoid them, follow their rotation plan for foods and overcome the sensitivity. A higher quality of life.

cmtigger

I found this. https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/igg-food-intolerance-tests-what-does-the-science-say/

caffeinatedcami

cmtigger wrote: »

I found this. https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/igg-food-intolerance-tests-what-does-the-science-say/

Very good article. OP, I wish you luck in your journey to feel better. I understand how hard it is to deal with chronic digestive issues (IBS, celiac). But maybe take the results you get with a grain of salt.

parfia

Food allergy testing in itself has no diagnostic purposes without a medically interpreted clinical history of allergy

Kalikel

I never did a food blood test. Many years ago, I had a series of scratch tests and there was literally not a single thing that didn't show up as me being allergic to it. The test was wrong. The test was dumb. I never wanted it and didn't change a single thing after getting the results. Bread! It said I was allergic to bread, which I ate every single day of my life with nary a problem.

I know what I can't eat based on the fact that it makes my mouth and throat itch or makes me sick or whatever. I didn't eat those things before the test or after, lol. It changed nothing. All it did was make my back itch like crazy every Thursday for five or six weeks, then make me sleepy because I'd get a shot and a pill that made me sleepy, to offset the itchiness and hives on my back.

I'm am confident that the tests they do today have to be more accurate than those scratch tests were!!

I hope you get your answers.

WBB55

My digestive issues didn't turn out to be an allergy, but I can relate to the desire to solve the issues causing you issues. I hope it leads to something you can use to improve things for you. Good luck, update is if you can.

Lovee_Dove7

Okay, I'll update!
Test results were a big surprise to me.
I tested the largest profile, which included foods, herbs/spices, supplements, molds, and medications.
Reactions are considered intolerances and are rated as Severe, Moderate or Mild
Of the foods tested, I had NO severe intolerances. Only 4 moderate, and 24 mild intolerances.
I thought I would be intolerant to wheat/gluten. Nope! I'm only reacting to millet! It's in multi-grain foods.
I thought I would be intolerant to milk/whey. I'm not!
Many foods that I eat continually I am not intolerant of. But of those 28 that I don't tolerate, I'm eating a lot of those! It's no wonder I am often sort of uncomfortable in my gut.
I'll take the next few days to weed those out of my diet and supplements....I'm supposed to avoid them completely for 3-6months. I can then re-introduce those items (Or re-take test, which was expensive).
My practitioner also suggested glutamine to heal the gut lining.
She also said I was the first person she tested who was not reacting to gluten and dairy!

Lovee_Dove7

Update.
I've stayed off the un-tolerated foods for the last week and a half. I really did not know if it would make a difference or not, but I have a peaceful gut and no elimination issues now.
Wow.
Like, how would I guess that I'm intolerant to something like olive oil??? or black tea??? Or green-leaf lettuce??? Or nutmeg? I would not have guessed these things. No wonder I was confused as to what I was reacting to.
I'm really glad I took the test. It's worth it so far.
The plan is to avoid these un-tolerated foods for 3-6 months, then add them one at a time to see if I'm okay with them.
I can also take a supplement called L-glutamine to help heal the gut lining, so it's not irritated. I might try that too.

kshama2001

Yay for peaceful gut! Thanks for the update.

Lovee_Dove7

Thank-you!

LastingChanges

@Luvee_Dove5 I followed your link from another post onto here.

How do you take this test? Can it be done at Drs office?

besee_2000

Just out of curiosity, did you cut back on bread and dairy prior to sending in the sample?

Nataliegetfit

Has anyone else had this alcaf testing? I think it might be good for my daughter, I will check with the dr. and see what they think about it. I am glad the results you found are really helping you and you're feeling better.

LastingChanges

Nataliegetfit wrote: »

Has anyone else had this alcaf testing? I think it might be good for my daughter, I will check with the dr. and see what they think about it. I am glad the results you found are really helping you and you're feeling better.

Wondering this also

Lovee_Dove7

LastingChanges wrote: »

@Luvee_Dove5 I followed your link from another post onto here.

How do you take this test? Can it be done at Drs office?

You can contact ALCAT to find a provider, or you can have a kit sent to you (you'll have your blood drawn and send the kit back to ALCAT for testing and the results sent to you).

Lovee_Dove7

besee_2000 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, did you cut back on bread and dairy prior to sending in the sample?

I only stopped all supplements several days prior to collecting the blood sample. I was eating dairy prior to the test, and also eating sourdough bread and tortillas.

Colorscheme

I'm not buying into it. Here's why:

The test is not supported by research and is not considered to be a reliable medical diagnostic tool; since it has not been appropriately validated it is not a suitable guide for therapeutic decisions.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In a position statement, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy classified the ALCAT with other forms of cytotoxic tests as inappropriate tests, saying of them

"These results have been shown to not be reproducible, give different results when duplicate samples are analysed blindly, don't correlate with those from conventional testing, and 'diagnose' food hypersensitivity in subjects with conditions where food allergy is not considered to play a pathogenic role."[7]

I actually have food allergies. I don't need a blood test to tell me I am allergic to eggs. Anaphylaxis does that for me as does hives. I'm really wary of a test like this since there's no real medical evidence that it's legit.

Maybe you should see a GI doctor instead if you're having digestive issues related to certain foods.

Lovee_Dove7

@realityfades NOTE that this test does NOT test allergies. In fact, this post is not about food allergies.
Since I've eliminated the foods indicated, my digestion has normalized. I'm pretty happy with that!

Colorscheme

Here's the thing, you have have mild intolerances that never bother you. According to allergy testing, my sister is allergic to shrimp and maple leaves or something like that. But she eats shrimp and it's never given her an issue.

That said, I'm glad you have your issues sorted out but I wouldn't take something with no real scientific evidence as fact. If I was having digestive issues, I'd see a GI doc first.

Lovee_Dove7

@realityfades Since you want to talk about allergy testing, why don't you start a thread?
Lab results are scientific enough for me.
I didn't start this thread so someone could tell me to see a GI doctor.

LastingChanges

Unfortunately a GI isn't always helpful with identifying digestive sensitivities. Always important to see GI first to rule out what they can, but the rest is up to us to figure out.

Colorscheme

LastingChanges wrote: »

Unfortunately a GI isn't always helpful with identifying digestive sensitivities. Always important to see GI first to rule out what they can, but the rest is up to us to figure out.

True, but it should be the first step since the GI doc can test for Celiac, h. pylori bacteria, do scopes, etc.

lyttlewon

I wanted to talk about allergies a little bit , because you may find it helpful. An allergy is simply an immune (igE) response to protein. I'm oversimplifying, but trying to help you understand. There are many reasons an individual will have symptoms, but test negative. For example, when we make allergy extract we target a specific protein, in cat hair it's fel d1. However there are more fel d proteins that an individual can be allergic to. This means while we target the most common protein, there is a percentage of the population who falls outside of this target. In a allergist office they will typically test with the extract made from primary protein. Many Allergists will typically recommend a food log, we offer logs for 14 days, so that they can get an idea of what your body is doing. Additionally many offices keep the actual food itself to do a food challenge, because it is commonly understood that people will react to a food, and not react to a scratch or RAST test.

Now, all of that being said the AAAAI does not recommend treating food allergies with immunotherapy. Food allergies are different from environmental/inhalant/pollen/insect/etc, because they can be avoided. Essentially the diagnostic testing is a screening tool, so you know which food to avoid. Now if you were having symptoms aligned with typical igE response; breathing problems, swelling, hives...knowing the allergen could be a life or death scenario. Essentially the purpose of these tolerance tests is to determine the same thing, a food reaction that is not captured by the typical proteins, whether it's igE or not. The end result is likely to be the same, eliminating the food from your diet.

I don't know the validity of these types of tests you have taken, as they are not as closely studied and controlled as allergy testing. My only real concern would be eliminating a food that wasn't harmful, or paying large amounts of money for tests that don't help you. If eliminating the food helps, then eliminate it within reason.

Colorscheme

lyttlewon wrote: »

I wanted to talk about allergies a little bit , because you may find it helpful. An allergy is simply an immune (igE) response to protein. I'm oversimplifying, but trying to help you understand. There are many reasons an individual will have symptoms, but test negative. For example, when we make allergy extract we target a specific protein, in cat hair it's fel d1. However there are more fel d proteins that an individual can be allergic to. This means while we target the most common protein, there is a percentage of the population who falls outside of this target. In a allergist office they will typically test with the extract made from primary protein. Many Allergists will typically recommend a food log, we offer logs for 14 days, so that they can get an idea of what your body is doing. Additionally many offices keep the actual food itself to do a food challenge, because it is commonly understood that people will react to a food, and not react to a scratch or RAST test.

Now, all of that being said the AAAAI does not recommend treating food allergies with immunotherapy. Food allergies are different from environmental/inhalant/pollen/insect/etc, because they can be avoided. Essentially the diagnostic testing is a screening tool, so you know which food to avoid. Now if you were having symptoms aligned with typical igE response; breathing problems, swelling, hives...knowing the allergen could be a life or death scenario. Essentially the purpose of these tolerance tests is to determine the same thing, a food reaction that is not captured by the typical proteins, whether it's igE or not. The end result is likely to be the same, eliminating the food from your diet.

I don't know the validity of these types of tests you have taken, as they are not as closely studied and controlled as allergy testing. My only real concern would be eliminating a food that wasn't harmful, or paying large amounts of money for tests that don't help you. If eliminating the food helps, then eliminate it within reason.

That's an interesting perspective. I am allergic to both egg whites and egg yolks. As in full blown anaphylaxis. Swollen eyes, swollen lips, swollen airway, head to toe hives, I've had it since I was born. Like you said, the only way to control it is to avoid it completely and carry an epi pen just in case if you're like me.

Funnily enough, some allergies came on as an adult. I am now allergic to all sulfa antibiotics despite taking them for over half my life with no issues. One day I broke out in head to toe hives and the doctor told me I was indeed allergic to the abx.

Lovee_Dove7

@realityfades and @lyttlewon Since YOU want to talk allergies, so go start your own thread and talk about it, Since you like to copy/paste allergy answers. This thread is for those who want to discuss ALCAT or similar, for the testing of food sensitivities, and they do NOT test food allergies. Thank-you!

RalphtheWeber

I've never done ALCAT but it did go to allergists. I am across th the board with food allergies. I do my best with watching what I eat. Sometimes have some issues do to not all the ingredients are listed. But I wish you luck. An allergist and a nutritionist have you done or tried both? Sometimes finding out what's going on at the blood level can answer some things. Again, I wish you luck.

rainbowbow

I say go for it. The other option? Try an elimination diet which takes a few months and seriously disrupts your life....

RalphtheWeber

I am going to look up your test though I want to better understand this.

Lovee_Dove7

T0tem2o09 wrote: »

I've never done ALCAT but it did go to allergists. I am across th the board with food allergies. I do my best with watching what I eat. Sometimes have some issues do to not all the ingredients are listed. But I wish you luck. An allergist and a nutritionist have you done or tried both? Sometimes finding out what's going on at the blood level can answer some things. Again, I wish you luck.

Thanks! If you look above at my previous posts, you will see that I have updated this thread with the results I've had so far from the Food Sensitivity testing, and applying what I learned.