I recommend everyone get food allergy testing. I recommend a company called Immunolabs. They use your blood to test weather or not you have a delayed allergic response to a range of foods.
My wife and I did it and found we both had a long list of allergies and had no idea.
My response to when I eat these foods is they make me tired, stressed, irritable and gassy. I admit it is difficult avoiding these sometimes the benefit to avoiding them is worth it.
Most of these are low on the reaction scale (1-6) but still make a noticeable difference when I eat them.
Almonds
Avocado
Banana
All Gourds
All Melons
All Peppers
Cashew Nut
Cinnamon
Clove
Corn
Cranberry
Egg
Ginger
Nutmeg
Oat
Oregano
Pineapple
Safflower
Sage
Sunflower
Tomato
Baker’s Yeast
Brewer’s Yeast
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:34 am
Very cool! I can’t find any prices on their site though. Also, do you think I could use HSA money for this?
Along the lines of testing, I also recommend 23andme.com genetic testing (spit test):
https://www.23andme.com/
It’s a good idea to know what you are susceptible to and make health or diet changes.
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
@Andrew
It’s over $900 if you just pay out of pocket. I went through a health care provider and they offered a discount and paid under $300. You should check with your insurance to see if it is covered. I don’t know if the HSA covers it.
Thanks for the link. I will check it out.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm
I’m not sure if it works because I have not tried it but I have read in many books that an alternative to something like this is to eat the food in question and then check your pulse. Supposedly your pulse rate changes when you eat an allergen. Another clue would be if your blood sugar drops noticeably an hour or two after you eat a food. This is an area I have done much research in. I have found that if I stop eating a food that I’m sensitive to for a while and then have it, I see it in my face the next day, I get dark circles under my eyes. Takes a while to figure out what you are sensitive to but usually it is what you crave, i.e. your favorite foods, but not always.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:47 am
@Angelique
I am not sure I would trust the pulse thing. You could easily change your pulse with a stress response or sub consciously.
You might be able to test foods individually but I think it would be less accurate and much more time consuming. The test I took covers about 150 foods if I remember.
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:01 am
@Dave
Cool. I hate to reference it, but WebMD states that “blood tests are not as sensitive as skin tests”. I’ve had a skin test with a dozen or so popular allergens (luckily I’m only allergic to dust). I understand that blood tests can quickly test hundreds of allergens, which is why they’re attractive. Still, it looks like they are correct only about 72.6% of the time based on the summary of a peer-reviewed research on Wikipedia (2nd link). But, I’m not dissuaded. At $900 and with my good health, I’ll probably wait a while if I can’t use my HSA
I still haven’t paid for the full results on 23andme (just the $99 package).
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-tests
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy#Blood_testing
I’m a big fan of taking advantage of cutting edge tests, even if they aren’t 100% accurate.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:14 pm
@Andrew
I believe one difference is the blood test is looking for delayed food reaction while skin looks at immediate reaction.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
@Dave
Yep, that is true.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:01 am
Do any of you people spend time in the field? Out with herbs god has placed everywhere for our use? My grandma, who lived to be 96, quit smoking when she was 90. From that point on she chewed. She had her own yarb (herb) garden and dosed us with sulfer and molasses. Her understanding of the bible was that god placed everything around us for our use and by exposing ourselfs to small amounts the body built up a tolerance “..like jesus tolerates sinners..” she would say. Her father was friends with Jethro Kloss. Check his book out “Back to eden” great home remedies and will teach some of you city folk what the country folk have known. god has given us everything for our use now! Web MD HA!
February 25th, 2010 at 10:41 am
@Liam
What if going into the field kills you almost instantly because you develop a severe allergic reaction to something?
There’s a place for both home remedies and testing.
In general, humans spend most of our days inside now, so we need to either get outside more, or try to adjust by using “green” household products, opening windows more often, and having houseplants that reduce toxins in the air we breathe. I recommend “Squeaky Green: The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home” by Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry (Method). Don’t worry, they are the founders of Method but the book is far from an advertisement for their products.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:09 am
My dear brother in christ. If going into the field kills you that is the field where Jesus will be met. “For yourself know perfectly that the day of the lord so cometh like a thief in the night.” Thessalonians 5:2. Christians should spend as much time in the field as they can. Working with the poor, the sick and hopeless in the field not in the temple! Praise be to God!
February 26th, 2010 at 9:48 am
@Liam
I think times have changed a bit since the Bible was written, though I don’t disagree with helping the needy, of course. But, I don’t think they’re in the field. Statistically, most homeless are in cities
Modern medicine did not exist when the Bible was written. We have learned so much since then… not embracing its benefits is ludicrous.
February 26th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Oh yea of little faith who do not know the methaphor. Being in the field means being out there with the people its a military term dear Andrew meaning away from headquarters, or not being in the rear with the gear. Oh medical treatment has changed since the bible was written and one should embrace all the knowledge given by god. Troubling if all systems break down and this precious www would not be available. As Mother Teresa once said: “If you want to help me go out in the early morning hours, find someone who is hopless and convence them there is hope (sic)” Thats being in the field!
February 27th, 2010 at 11:05 am
@Liam
Good, I was hoping it was a metaphor.