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John Hamblett practises Allergy Testing in Bournemouth, Dorset |
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Allergy Testing
Headaches? Tiredness? Joint Pain? Indigestion?
...Maybe you have had all the normal tests and they've shown nothing.
You are puzzled and so is your doctor...
The logical step now may be to consider the possibility of testing for food allergy or intolerance.
Why a test?.... because these reactions cannot otherwise be diagnosed.
An efficient way of detecting allergy or intolerance is with the Vegatest. Up to 150 substances ranging from cereal and dairy products to pets, pollens and chemicals can be tested for. Even drinks such as coffee, tea and fruit juice may provoke hitherto unsuspected reactions.
No injections, no patch tests are needed!
The test unit (above) measures the body's reactions to potential allergens. The test is totally painless and involves a probe which lightly touches a fingertip or toe.
What is the difference between food allergy and food intolerance?
Allergic reactions are caused by the proteins in foods, which may resist cooking, stomach acids and digestive enzymes. They may then enter the bloodstream and cause reactions throughout the body. These proteins may stimulate the production of antibodies specific for each particular protein. Every time the protein is eaten it triggers this antibody to release histamine and other substances to produce localised inflammatory reactions.
Many different symptoms may then occur such as hives, eczema, nausea, asthma, headaches, etc. The most common foods are shellfish, nuts, eggs and peanuts. In children, allergies also occur in fish, soya and milk. Remember, of course, pollen reactions which produce hay fever.
Food intolerance is more difficult to detect and occurs when a component of a particular food or drink irritates the digestive system so that the body is unable to digest or break it down. It is far more frequent than allergic reactions and may be produced by many foods we are in daily contact with.
Those reactions then closely resemble those of an allergy. Cheese, wines, and certain fish are frequently responsible. Monosodium glutamate, tartrazine and even caffeine are other causes, as are components of wheat, corn and yeast. Spray-on preservatives and fertilisers also affect seemingly normal foods, which may then trigger intolerance reactions. Lactose (milk) intolerance may also produce reactions such as abdominal pain and diarrhoea. As many as one person in ten may suffer from this.
Please call for further details - +44 (0) 1202 549123.
