What is the difference between allergy and intolerance?
A food intolerance can occur when the body has difficulty digesting certain foods. When this occurs over time, large food particles (proteins) may enter the bloodstream and this can cause inflammation. Both my allergy tests and food intolerance tests use a small amount of blood to detect the antibodies. This is far more precise than hair or bioresonance (energy wave) testing, which has no clear evidence to back its claims.
When foods and drinks are digested, the proteins within them are broken down into smaller fragments for easy absorption into the body.
Larger fragments can pass through without breaking down, and sometimes the body reacts by attacking them using antibodies
called Immunoglobulin G’s (IgG).
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A food-specific IgG reaction should not be confused with food allergies,
nor other types of food intolerances.
These include:
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Enzyme deficiencies e.g. lactose (milk sugar) intolerance
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Coeliac disease; requires lifelong avoidance of gluten
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Chemical sensitivities e.g. histamine, tyramine, sulphites etc
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I offer a range of tests to enhance the nutritional consultation, including Food Intolerance, Allergy Testing, gut repair, as well as diagnostic Health Tests.
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If you have ongoing gut issues, I highly recommend booking a consultation to discuss. You can also book a free 15min chat if you are not sure of your options.
Food intolerance can cause a wide range of disruptive symptoms such as digestive problems, eczema, migraines and headaches, fatigue, depression and low mood, joint pains and sinusitis.
It is always recommended that any concerns are discussed with a doctor first, before taking a food intolerance test. This is to fully investigate the potential causes which may include investigations for coeliac disease and/or lactose intolerance and provide the medical follow up required. It is a fact of life, however, that in many cases there is no medical explanation for symptoms such as these.
For example, medically unexplained symptoms or ‘functional symptoms’ where doctors can’t find a problem with the body that might be the cause, account for up to a fifth of all GP consultations in the UK¹. These include symptoms such as tiredness, chronic fatigue (ME), depression, anxiety, IBS, fibromyalgia, headaches and migraines, skin rashes and joint pains, runny nose and sinusitis.
Many people with these problems will be given the all-clear by their doctor and strongly suspect that food is the root cause of their problems.
Working with me, a nutritional therapist, we can get the results from a food intolerance test to identify food triggers and work together to produce a dietary plan to balance existing problems along with an elimination diet.
I can offer a range of tests to suit the individual.
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These tests can be performed in my clinic with a simple finger-prick blood test.
Allergy Testing & More
I can offer a range of blood tests to test for allergies, but also other gut tests including comprehensive stool testing,
lactose intolerance, H Pylori, Coeliac testing and more.