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 There are a few things that you can do to try and figure out what foods are causing you to have an allergic reaction. Food allergy testing is a proactive way to take back control of an allergy that can be a big problem in your life.
One type of food allergy testing that you can try is an easy and quick method which will help you better narrow down which food or foods are causing you to have a reaction. The first step you take is to eliminate any food you suspect may be causing your reaction for a week to ten days. Include in your list of candidates for food allergy testing the nine most common reaction causing foods. They are dairy products, soy, egg whites, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, citrus fruits, shellfish, food additives During those days when you are fasting the suspect foods eat the least allergen causing foods that you can, such as: apples, bananas, avocados, rice, barley, poultry, and lamb. Also, try to eat purely organic food during this period because those foods will be free from food dyes, additives, and colors. It is smart to include those additives in your food allergy testing strategy. Once first week to ten days of food allergy testing is up, start introducing the foods you suspected one at a time. This does not mean to add back a new food each meal. Add a possible food allergy suspect to your diet no sooner than once a week.
For example, if the suspects you cut out of your diet were beef, cow’s milk, eggs, and wheat, your food allergy testing plan will mean that you will fast for seven to ten days from these foods. After the allotted time your will introduce beef for the next week. Stick to eating organic food only with the beef if possible, so that you will not accidentally introduce another allergen without being aware of it.
This method of food allergy testing does require some commitment and some financial cost. But it is a way for you to conduct your own food allergy testing to figure out on your own which foods are causing your reactions. The extent of your food allergy testing is your choice. Even if you do this food allergy testing experiment all out, the results may not be one hundred percent. If you can isolate a food allergen that is causing you to have an allergic reaction, though, you can stop eating that food which may get rid of your reactions.
If you prefer to have your doctor conduct scientific food allergy testing to see which foods are causing your to have allergic reactions, there are two main tests that can be done. The first food allergy testing method is a skin test.
A food allergy skin test is very good at finding hidden food allergies. But skin tests often have many false positives, which can result untrustworthy results. When skin test form of food allergy testing is used, your allergist will inject or insert a small amount of an allergen under the skin.
If a reaction occurs, which generally means a red bump will appear, and then you could be allergic to that allergen. If there is no reaction you are not allergic to that allergen. As was stated, though, many times people can have a false reaction to the skin test.
The second type of food allergy testing that your doctor can do is a blood test. The test is called a Radio-Allergo-Sorbent-Test, or RAST. In this test they check how many antibodies are in your bloodstream that correlates to certain food allergens. This test often has many false negatives, which means it misses allergies that you can actually have.
Your doctor may choose to use both types of food allergy testing. If the skin test and RAST test match up on their results then you can assume you are allergic to what they say you are, but you may not want to trust everything in the results. These tests are often very faulty. An elimination type of food allergy testing that we discussed earlier is often the most reliable test you can do.
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