Food Allergy Panel

As the Western diet changes, people are becoming more and more sensitive to food allergens. This is not surprising considering increased food processing, the use of chemical additives, and the increased consumption of animal produce. Reactions to food allergens can be immediate or delayed. Immediate reactions are typically easy to identify, for instance, a skin rash that appears hours after eating an apple or a headache twenty minutes after drinking a glass of wine. Delayed reactions, however, can occur days after the reactive food was consumed. After the food is digested, food particles in the blood combine with antibodies forming “immune complexes.” These “immune complexes” cause inflammatory reactions in the tissues and can affect any part of the body. The chronic health complaints that can result include:

• Asthma
• Bedwetting
• Recurrent Bladder Infections
• Bronchitis
• Bursitis
• Canker Sores
• Depression
• Diarrhea
• Chronic Back Pain
• Edema
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Gastritis
• Headache
• Hives
• Hyperactivity
• Itching
• Joint Pain
• Hypoglycemia
• Skin Rash
• Proteinuria
• Irritable Colon
• Nephrosis
• Seizures
• Malabsorption
• Recurrent Infection
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Eczema

A New Leaf’s Meridian Valley Laboratories (Link: www.meridianvalleylab.com) Basic Food Allergy Panel measures the serum antibodies of 95 commonly eaten foods using a technique called Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). This test detects both immediate and delayed food reactions.

Because at A New Leaf, our approach is very patient-focused, as soon as we have received the Food Panel results, we meet with our patients to discuss how they can adapt their diet according to their unique food sensitivities. Typically this involves eliminating the reactive foods from the diet for about one or two months and then reintroducing them at a later date when the digestive tract has healed and the immune system is no longer reacting to the antibodies.

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