This disorder, which is ever increasing in today's environment, is treated differently at TIFM than just about anywhere else!
We look at the underlying malfunction that may cause your body to react in an inappropriate manner, and often find that the immune system is at "full alert" hyper-reacting to everything.
We can easily pull the latest allergy panels so that you will have a list of foods that you need to avoid. But there are a lot of foods that have a delayed reaction.
For example, your body may not react until 3-4 (or more) days after you eat a meal that contains something you are allergic to or that you have a stressor for. By then, you would probably never think to associate a meal you had nearly a week before with how you are feeling today! Obviously, this can make it very difficult to manage your diet. But we can help!
While it is critical to determine and eliminate foods that cause immediate reactions, it is also important to determine and eliminate foods that cause delayed reactions as well.
Foods that cause an allergic reaction will signal the body to send antibodies down to the GI tract. This often leads to more serious problems; including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn's Disease, exhausted adrenal glands, and other diseases and disorders.
The difference between a food allergy and an intolerance is how the body handles the offending food. In a true food allergy, the body's immune system recognizes a reaction-provoking substance (an allergen) in the food (usually a protein) as foreign and produces antibodies to halt the "invasion." As the battle rages, symptoms appear throughout the body.
The most common places for symptoms to appear include the mouth (swelling of the lips), the digestive tract (stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea), the skin (hives, rashes or eczema) and the airways (wheezing or breathing problems). People with severe food allergies should avoid the offending foods altogether.
Electrodermal testing has proven to be an excellent tool in testing for food allergies. We have found that if you eliminate the top stressful foods from your diet for approximately 3 months, many of your food allergy symptoms will be alleviated. This food allergy test is fast, easy, painless and — best of all — we can do it for you at no charge! Just ask about it at your next appointment.
For more information or to get a FREE phone consultation and setup an appointment, please contact us online or call our Patient Care Coordinator at 972.239.6317 x134. |
