A Look at the Benefits of Food Sensitivity Testing

It can be very frustrating if you are putting all of your efforts into trying to get healthy and seeing minimal results. If you are eating well and yet still having problems losing weight, adding muscle mass, or clearing medical issues and unwanted symptoms, you may benefit from doing food allergy and sensitivity testing.

Food Sensitivities vs. Allergies

It is completely possible to have a reaction to a food without having a genuine allergy to it. This is what is known as intolerance or sensitivity. They occur when your immune system reacts to a particular food. These reactions are sometimes delayed so something you ate yesterday may bother you today or tomorrow.

A true allergy uses only one pathway of the immune system. A sensitivity can use two different pathways to cause symptoms. These are known as type III and type IV reactions and involve antibodies (IgA, IgG, or IgM) or white blood cells.

With all food sensitivities, the end result is the release of immune chemicals known as mediators from your white blood cells. This release is what causes the unwanted symptoms.

How do you tell if you have a food allergy?

A food allergy is marked by an abnormal response to a food eaten that triggers your body’s immune system.

In adults, the foods that most often trigger allergic reactions include:

• Fish
• Shellfish
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Eggs
• Gluten
• Dairy

Common Health Problems Caused by Hidden Food Allergies

A multitude of health problems have been linked to food allergies and food intolerances.

• Migraines and other types of headaches
• Joint pain
• Body aches
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Eczema
• Hives
• Hyperactivity
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Brain Fog
• Depression
• Auto-immune flare-ups

If you suspect that a certain food or foods may be causing or worsening your symptoms, you may want to consider food sensitivity testing.

MRT – Mediator Release Test

The MRT food sensitivity panel is the test. It’s a blood test that is drawn which analyzes your individual response to 170 different foods and chemicals. Your blood samples are sent to Oxford Labs, which then uses a device to expose your blood cells to each freeze-dried food or chemical antigen.

Each individualized response is recorded by measuring the size of your white blood cells before and after exposure to each tested food or chemical. The food sensitivity reaction is based on how much your white blood cell shrinks. The more they shrink, the more pro-inflammatory chemicals they have released.

MRT measures your body’s reaction to foods at a cellular level as the white blood cells are exposed to the foods or chemicals. Your MRT results are reported as a color-coded bar graph which makes it easy to see the magnitude of your individual response to each food or chemical.

Why Choose MRT?

The MRT panel stands out as the best option for testing food sensitivities because it captures ALL types of food sensitivity reactions (type III and IV) by indirectly measuring the release of inflammatory chemicals called mediators. The release of these mediators is what causes the symptoms of food sensitivities.

Most other food sensitivity tests look at one potential pathway of food sensitivities, known as IgG antibodies. Looking at only this pathway doesn’t give us the complete picture.

IgG antibodies can increase with normal consumption of certain foods. A positive result on an IgG food sensitivity test may simply indicate that you have recently eaten that food or that you eat it frequently.  You may not necessarily have a negative reaction to it!

In our opinion the biggest factor that distinguishes MRT from other food sensitivity tests is the elimination diet protocol that is included with it, it’s called LEAP.

Leap Elimination Diet

LEAP stands for (Lifestyle Eating and Performance). At Vitality Health South Florida we use the MRT panel in conjunction with this elimination diet protocol. Our training allows us to interpret the MRT food sensitivity panel and help guide patients through the LEAP elimination diet.

Treating food sensitivities entails more than just avoiding your reactive foods. We work with you to develop a personalized food sensitivity elimination diet based on your MRT results. Wondering if what you are eating is helping or hurting you? Find out! Stop guessing. Feed your body what it needs and eliminate the rest! 

HOW LEAP WORKS

The protocol is normally broken into phases over a 2 to 3-month period. Your list of reactive foods will have a green, yellow, or red color next to it to determine the severity of the sensitivity. For the first two weeks, you will try to eat 30 of your lowest reactive “green” foods. During this time, many people can experience a reduction of 50%-75% in their symptom frequency and/or severity.

LONG-TERM HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Once you begin feeling better and more stable, we slowly add one food at a time into your diet. We also monitor for any reactions that may occur and set you up for long-term success. Just because you test as sensitive right now doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime “You cannot eat that” sentence. Treat your body well and let it go through this healing phase.

Don’t Wait – Stop Suffering!

We have your answers and are just waiting for your call to get you back on track today.
Fill out the form above for a no-obligation consultation and get your life back again! Give us a call at 1-833-4LOWTEE or email kurt@vitalityhealthsfl.com

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FDA Disclaimer: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.