Testing for food allergies

There is a variety of ways to determine whether you are allergic or sensitive to certain foods. These include blood tests, skin prick tests and muscle testing.  If you want to take one of these tests, I suggest you find a professional holistic or naturapathic doctor who is versed with food allergies.  Each doctor’s approach will be different so it is important for you to ask how they go about testing for allergies.

Keeping a journal:
Did you ever notice that when you’re interested in a certain car, you start seeing it on the road everywhere you go?  Are there suddenly more of these cars or are you just seeing them because you’re looking for them?

Awareness is one of the first steps to discovering a diet that works for your body. There are so many things in our lives that divert our attention away from our bodies and we often end up living in our heads when we are at work or at school.

If you want to start the slow but sure detective work of finding out if the foods you are eating are creating your physical, mental or emotional symptoms, a good place to start is to keep a daily journal of what you eat and how you feel.

Simply write down what foods you eat each day and generally what time you ate them.  Then list any symptoms you experienced during the day.  (Click here to see check list).  Pay particular attention to your emotional state;  this is something that is often overlooked and not generally seen as a link to how our body is processing or reacting to the foods we consume.

Elimination Diet:
Different kinds of allergy tests can be helpful and give you a place to start if you are having a hard time figuring out what may be ailing you.  However, the most conclusive way to test if you are sensitive or allergic to a food is to undergo an elimination diet where you avoid a certain food for at least four days.  It may be helpful to enlist the help of a naturopathic doctor who can help you with this process.  If you suffer from severe depression or another major mental illness, I highly suggest that you find a professional to walk you through this process.

As an example, if you want to know if wheat is a problem for your body, eliminate all foods containing wheat for at least four days.  Remember to read labels closely because wheat is used in many different foods including soy sauce and other sauces in addition to the obvious breads, crackers, cereals, cookies and pastas.

During this time, you may notice a brief withdrawal period where you crave the very thing you are trying to avoid.  It won’t last but it is a sign that your body is “withdrawing” from a possible allergen.

The plus side is that once you walk through this withdrawal period, you may start to feel better than you have for a while.  This is a sign that you found a food that was causing any number of symptoms.  The other plus side is that if you are overweight at all, you may begin to shed some pounds because the body tends to retain water and weight when you’re eating foods you’re allergic to.

Chances are though is that if you are sensitive or allergic to one food you may have sensitivities to others as well.  It is wise to test the other major allergens such as dairy products, soy products, gluten to see if you have reactions to these as well.

Pulse Test:
At the end of the four days of eliminating a food out of your diet, you can perform what is called a “pulse test” to determine your sensitivity to the food.  Sally Fallon from Nourishing Traditions, explains this process:

Eat a small amount on an empty stomach. Test your pulse before and after eating the food. If your pulse rises more than a few beats per minute, or if you have an adverse reaction, you are probably allergic to it (Fallon 57).

Combination Foods
Another aspect of this detective process is that it can be possible for you to be able to eat a food by itself without having a reaction.  However, when you combine it with another main allergen, such as bread and cheese, your body may not be able to handle it and go into reaction.  This again makes it difficult to pin down what is ailing you, but you can determine combination problem foods the same way you figured out individual foods.

Where to start
It can seem daunting to even start this process.  However, you can take small steps by starting with a food you most suspect may be troubling you.  And a good way to figure this out is to start taking note on which foods you consume on a daily basis and which foods you most crave.  (However, a craving for meat because you are simply hungry is another kind of craving).  I’m mostly talking about the cravings for sugar, wheat/gluten and dairy; foods that you may be consuming on a daily basis and would have a hard time avoiding.

Get ready
Another important thing to remember is that once you eliminate foods out of your diet, you need to have a plan as to what you are going to eat.  You will be hungry, maybe even hungrier than normal so it is imperative that you plan ahead and create a menu for yourself.

Another step you can take if you can is to eliminate (even temporarily) all products in your kitchen cupboards and refrigerator that contain the food you are trying to avoid.  If you have a family who isn’t trying to eliminate foods at the same time you are, this might be difficult or impossible.

But at the very least, you could create a section in the cupboards with foods that you can eat while you are on your elimination diet.  That way, when you want your afternoon cinnamon bun, you can reach into the cupboards and find your Pamela’s wheat free cookies (which I highly recommend!).

A few last words?
That is what it can feel like, right?  Like, you’re signing your life away and you’ll never be able to enjoy your favorite foods again.  Don’t worry.  Even if you do discover that what you’re eating is ailing you, you may come to discover that it was the best thing you ever did for yourself.

Yes, life will be different but there is also hope.  It is possible that after you avoid a certain food for up to a year, that you may be able to enjoy it every four days or so.  The “every four days” point is very important though.  It is easy for us to believe that once we’re feeling better that the very thing that was making us sick is okay for us to eat.  And it may be, but probably in moderation.

I wish you the best of luck.  I know this is not an easy process but I will once again say that you may very well begin to feel better than you have in a long time.  Personally, when I discovered a food that was causing my body, mind and emotions distress, I felt like having a party.  But I also wished I had discovered it sooner.

May you be blessed on your journey towards health, wholeness and wellness!