Article anti-food intolerance testing

[Zizzle]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/17/2 ... rance.html

Mostly anti-IgG testing, but it mentions a couple of tests that look at 150 or 157 foods, maybe MRT?

The prices seem outrageous.

[Deanna in CO]

This article is just strange. They start out saying the testing doesn't work, then describe a person for whom it clearly did work, then go back to saying it doesn't work. On top of that, they criticize IgG testing and say that no reputable medical organization thinks it's reliable - but they don't tell you that the celiac testing all our GI docs use (the tissue transglutaminase one) is based partly on IgG level.

I agree, though, about the outrageous cost of the tests cited in the article.

Deanna

[mbeezie]

Here is a quote from the article

The best way to test for the problem is to eliminate various foods from the diet until the symptoms clear, then reintroduce them one at a time, experts say.

"The Experts" make it sound so easy . . . . As we all know it is not easy and tests like Enterolab and MRT have their utility. There are many ineffective tests though, and IgG is of very limited utility and not recommended. MRT/LEAP IS and elimination diet of sorts, just with a guided approach.

Mary Beth

[Deanna in CO]

Yes, Mary Beth, that's exactly what I was thinking. Sure, if you have only one or two things you're reacting to, it might be easy enough - although we had trouble even identifying my daughter's single sensitivity to corn when she was little. Skin testing was enough to reveal that was the cause of her headaches. And with the multiple food sensitivities we face with MC, it's almost impossible. One of my first thoughts reading this article was, "I'll guarantee this reporter has never tried the 'simple' elimination diet he proposes, or he wouldn't think it's so simple!" After all, all you have to do is "eliminate various foods from the diet until symptoms clear"!

He also doesn't seem to be aware that there are various immune reactions involved. He mentions IgE, but in spite of the primary way drs test for celiac, he ignores both IgA and IgG (not to even mention other immune issues like mast cell involvement). I frankly know only the tiniest bit about all this, but even I know enough to know there's a LOT more to this whole thing than the seemingly simple solutions he suggests. (And let's not even talk about how much the GI docs he refers to know - or don't!)

Arrgh!

Deanna