Okay so I feel great most of the time but I really am sure I have food allergies. Where do you go to get tested for food allergies?

I guess it's a dumb question but I really don't know.

Most people around here goto Allergists for Food "allergies"  But I've discovered with my son and myself, there is a very big difference between food allergies and food sensitivities.

And the "allergist" didn't help us at all...  If you can find someone that tests both, you may have better luck. But depending on your symptoms, we ended up doing better with an elimination diet and then figuring out what was OK from there.  Instead of the other way around.

I went to an allergist and had a skin test done for all these things and he said that I have no allergies to anything but my cat.  When I told him I flared up when eating certain nuts, he just shook his head and said to moisturize constantly and admitted that none of these tests are really conclusive!

On the flip side, naturopaths can do food sensitivity tests.  I tracked my food intake for 2 months and made a list of food that I had bad reactions to (I have eczema).  I went to a naturopath and selected 90 foods to be tested and strangely enough, most of the food I listed were on the highly reactive list.  I eliminated them for a month and one by one re-introduced the food and I was fine for a long time. 

I highly recommend a food journal where you input everything, including what you drink.  Through process of elimination, you'd be surprised at what you might be reactive to.  Tests aren't always accurate but the body doesn't lie!

Okay so I guess I need to find a naturopath. Any of my Altlanta buddies know of a good one? Or anyone for that matter as long as they are in Atlanta. Thanks.

Hi Tigs,
I noticed you said you have eczema.  I also have a form called dyshidrosis. I've seen from research that this may be from a nickel allergy, have you had any experience with a nickel allergy?  Sometimes I am really confused what I should eliminate from my diet.  It seems like everything I eat is on the high nickel lists.  Plus they don't know what causes this condition, so not even sure if I do indeed have a nickel allergy, i just don't know what else to try.

I've been to an allergy specialist who conducted the skin prick test on me and I came up allergic to lots of grasses, pollens and plants as well as mildew/mould but the allergist didn't test me for any foods.
A few years ago I went to a newer place that uses a different method and I came up sensitive to gluten, soy, corn and LOT of other things! I was treated for a few of the worst ones ( yeast, mould/mildew) but I never went back for the foody ones.
The best way is to note how you feel after eating and try eliminating the food you think you are reacting to. Re-introduce it and notice if you react again. 

I usually have  oatmeal for breaksfast, but today I had an oatmeal waffle that also had whote flour in it. Now I have a headache that is really annoying....could it be the white flour in the waffle? That's the only thing I can think of...is it common for people to have sensitivities to flour? Is it the wheat or the gluten (are they the same thing???)  Just trying to figure out what I need to avoid in the future...  Thanks for any help you can give me!

I went to an allergist and tested allergic to everything.  Literally.  Badly deathly allergic.  And I don't think the tests were wrong - I've gone into anaphilactic shock.  But here's what I learned: some foods, when cooked, are just fine.  So even though I'm allergic to every fruit and vegetable ever, I can eat cooked foods.    Cooking changes the protein structure, and could eliminate the protein that you're reacting to.

I've also noticed that I have really allergic days and I have days when I'm fine.  Example: I've fainted from the smell of peanuts.  I've also had a drink that I found out too-late was peanut-juice (mixed with rootbeer and licorice - it was actually good), and had no reaction.

There are also foods I'm intolerant of, in a non-allergic way.  Like cashews make my body do something gross that I've read is only a reaction to a certain fish (that I obviously don't eat).  Not allergic, but I'm still gonna skip them.

I would say....get tested if you want, but really the tests get you only so far.  Pay attention to what you eat and how it makes you feel.  Isolate foods if you're not sure which you're reacting to, and start to keep a sense of which allergies are worst and which you can push a little for nutrition/variety sake.

I'm allergic to soy, but I eat it all the time.  I think by the time it becomes soymilk or tofu, whatever caused the allergy has been cooked out.

Soy milk ironically is one of the things I have the biggest problems with so I just don't use it. Otherwise I really don't know but I am extremely curious because Justin talks about food allergies and sensitivities and acne. If I don't use certain skin care products my skin is a mess, so I'm wondering if this is what it is.

Brigid, my son has reaction to Cashews (severe stomach cramps and bathroom business) also almonds.  But no other nut or tree nut causes him problems.  Docs have said that is "nonsense" you either are allergic to nuts or your not.  And I've learned that is Soooo not the case.  He had the pricker tests and blood work, to find no allergies AT ALL.  And yet, there are at least 10 different foods that he can NOT have without gut issues or migraines.

 I have horrible flu like symptoms from Eggs.  Almost Anything with Eggs...But if I should eat a cookie with eggs, I have no reaction.  So something about baking makes it OK.  I just avoid them though wherever possible.

Very interesting how all our bodies react differently to different things.

I have issues with eggs as well, Vegmom.  Even when they are baked in something, so my family just never put them in foods if I was going to eat them.  And I also have issues with nuts, but not all of them.  I cannot eat Cashews, Almonds or Walnuts, but don't have problems with any other nuts.  Although my doctor (when I was very young and found these allergies out) did tell my family that it's very normal to only have type-specific nut allergies.  You should look into finding a specialist for your son...no offense, but your doctor just doesn't seem to know what he's talking about!

http://veganrockergirl.blogspot.com

Danielle, thanks for your input.   My son was hospitalized because he was keeping no food down .  He saw GI doc, allergist, 3 pediatricians, invasive procedures, XraysSinus specialist...  blah blah blah...

They could find nothing wrong with him and he became a human pin cushion.   I finally took things in to my own hands by doing elimination diet and figuring out what was wrong with him.  I discovered, He had Abdominal Migraines and Cyclical vomiting, and all food triggers that we figured out together (him and me). 

Needless to say, YES,  I could have used a specialist that actually knew what they were talking about :-)  So no offense taken.

Hi Minnie,
Thanks for letting me know about dyshidrosis.  I never heard of it until now...

I got eczema for the first time 5 years ago when I lived in Japan for 2 years.  I lived in the countryside, teaching English.  All the farms there practice heavy pesticide use and then some.  There are no natural flowing rivers left in Japan or any lake whose bottom is not covered with cement if that says anything about the environment there.  I eventually got eczema like most of the children I taught.  I didn't get better until I returned to Vancouver and that was when I had to start detoxing, which also involved removing food I had become sensitive to for a month before reintroduction.

Now, I got the eczema bug again, 5 years later.  My problems started out with my sinuses, then vaginitis, then eczema, then impetigo, then eczema.  So why now?  MY TOXIC COUCH.  We just purchased it in January and that signified the start of all my problems.  Once we made the connection (and this was only recently) we got rid of the couch.  Now I'm trying to recover from the eczema. 

If your allergy is nickel, mine is couches being made in China that use DMF.  We now have a couch on order from a place that makes entirely natural couches.  Can you believe it?  A 100% biodegradable couch!

Thanks for the input!

Hi Michelle, I tried the elimination diet and found that wheat and dairy seemed to be causing problems which were itchy, itchy hives and altered digestion.  Then I went to an allergist for testing and he found that wheat and dairy were hightly allergic so I definaelty should not be eating them.  I think combining both methods may give you a firm confirmation!

Have a great night!