Understanding Food Sensitivities
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In recent years, food sensitivities and intolerances have become more common. However, if you bring up the topic with your doctor they may, at best, test you for food “allergies.” If you have food sensitivities, allergy testing is unlikely to benefit you, and your symptoms won’t be resolved.
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Signs of Food Sensitivity
Irritable bowels—including diarrhea and constipation—acne, auto-immune disease, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, headache, including migraines, skin rashes, eczema, joint aches, a runny nose, fatigue, and brain fog all point to food sensitivities.
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Sensitivities to foods can disrupt normal digestion, lead to inflammation, and put you at risk for intestinal permeability or “leaky gut,” a condition where undigested food particles permeate the intestine and enter the bloodstream. Leaky gut can lead to stronger reactions to food and, in some cases, autoimmune diseases.
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Many people with food sensitivities are surprised to learn that even healthy foods can cause issues. Removing foods that you are sensitive to (at least temporarily), and then healing the gut can help greatly.
Getting Tested for Food Sensitivities with Dr. Attar
Following a thorough intake of your medical history, Dr. Attar will perform an IgG food sensitivity test in his office. This blood test will detect any food that causes you to have an immune reaction. The test differs from a food allergy test, which looks at IgE, not IgG, reactions. True allergies cause immediate reactions whereas IgG food sensitivities are delayed responses that are more difficult to connect with the foods you eat and with the symptoms they cause.
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Additionally, Dr. Attar will run several standard lab tests to measure inflammatory markers, hormones, nutrient markers, cholesterol, metabolic markers, and blood sugar.
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After running these standard tests, as well as the test for IgG food sensitivities, Dr. Attar will recommend a personalized diet plan. Removing foods that are problematic for you may well relieve your symptoms immediately. Dr. Attar will help you to heal your “gut” and reduce inflammation so that your body can better tolerate all the foods you eat. Your original complaints may well disappear altogether. Once you have a healthy digestive system, you can reintroduce previously triggering foods without experiencing your original symptoms.
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Research Shows the Value of IgG Sensitivity Testing
Though your allergist or general practitioner may tell you that IgG food sensitivity provides no benefit, research has shown IgG food sensitivity testing provides great clinical benefits.
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In a randomized controlled trial, patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), who eliminated IgG sensitivity foods (following IgG food sensitivity testing), had a 10 to 20% reduction in their IBS symptoms as opposed to those following a sham diet—with the more compliant patients benefiting most. When patients reintroduced IgG food sensitivities, their symptoms increased 25% over those patients on a sham diet.1
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In a double-blind study using a cross-over diet with a sub-population of Crohn’s disease patients, IgG testing revealed that approximately 80% of these patients had food sensitivities to processed cheese and yeast. After following a specific diet this population experienced reduced stool frequency and less abdominal pain. Scores indicating their general well-being also improved.2
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In patients with migraines and IBS, the elimination of IgG food sensitivities lessened pain, frequency, and discomfort scores for both conditions.3
1 W Atkinson, T A Sheldon, N Shaath, and P J Whorwell. Food elimination based on IgG antibodies in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Gut. 2004 Oct; 53(10): 1459–1464. doi: 10.1136/gut.2003.037697
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2 Bentz S, Hausmann M, Piberger H, et al. Clinical relevance of IgG antibodies against food antigens in Crohn’s disease: a double-blind cross-over diet intervention study. Digestion. 2010;81(4): 252-64. doi: 10.1159/000264649.
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3 Aydinlar EI, Dikmen PY, Tiftikci A, et al. IgG-based elimination diet in migraine plus irritable bowel syndrome. Headache. 2013 Mar;53(3):514-25.doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2012.02296.x
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A systemic review found that “among modalities used by many conventional and alternative practitioners, immunoglobulin G (IgG)-based testing showed promise, with clinically meaningful results. The testing has been proven useful as a guide for elimination diets, with clinical impact for a variety of diseases.”4
4 Mullin GE, Swift KM, Lipski L, Turnbull LK, Rampertab SD. Testing for Food Reactions: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2010 Apr; 25(2): 192-198. doi:10.1177/0884533610362696.
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Here’s an example of a food sensitivity report:​
