FOOD ALLERGIES & SENSITIVITIES
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FOOD ALLERGIES & SENSITIVITIES
Uncovering Hidden Sensitivities In Your Body Through ALCAT Testing
At Riversedge Chiropractic, we go beyond assuming the cause of your symptoms. As part of our process, we focus on allergy and sensitivity testing, if and when indicated, to determine if you're presenting with a food sensitivity.
By utilizing ALCAT sensitivity testing, we're able to definitively identify many food sensitivities that may be contributing to your poor health and a direct cause of your aches, pains, and overall fatigue.
Allergies effect more than 50 million Americans. Food allergies are estimated to affect 4% – 6% of children and 4% of adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food allergy symptoms are most common in babies and children, but they can appear at any age. You can even develop an allergy to foods you have eaten for years with no problems.
Acquired food sensitivities and intolerances have risen steadily in the past 20-30 years as a result, among other things from the alarming increase in processed foods loaded with synthetic, toxic chemicals we consume on a daily basis. These sensitivities contribute to lethargy, skin rashes, urticaria, eczema, irritable bowel, migraines and more.
Food sensitivity symptoms often involve the GI tract but can also be systemic. Related symptoms may be delayed and can occur hours or even days after exposure, making the primary “trigger” difficult to identify. In addition, “biochemical individuality” can influence how one reacts to a certain food or food component. This individuality may be influenced over time by many factors including the health of the gastrointestinal tract; the diversity of the GI microbiome; stress and psychological factors; physical activity; and even hormonal changes.
With a simple test, you have the power within your hands to transform your health and take your life back with the results from our ALCAT testing.
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Common Food Reactions
Symptoms of a food allergy can range from mild to severe. Just because an initial reaction causes few problems doesn’t mean that all reactions will be similar; a food that triggered only mild symptoms on one occasion may cause more severe symptoms at another time.
The most severe allergic reaction is anaphylaxis — a life-threatening whole-body allergic reaction that can impair your breathing, cause a dramatic drop in your blood pressure and affect your heart rate. Anaphylaxis can come on within minutes of exposure to the trigger food. It can be fatal and must be treated promptly with an injection of epinephrine (adrenaline).
While any food can cause an adverse reaction, eight types of food account for about 90 percent of all reactions:
● Eggs
● Milk
● Peanuts
● Tree nuts
● Fish
● Shellfish
● Wheat
● Soy
Certain seeds, including sesame and mustard seeds (the main ingredient in the condiment mustard), also are common food allergy triggers and considered a major allergen in some countries.
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Allergic Reaction Symptoms
Symptoms of an allergic reaction may involve the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, the cardiovascular system and the respiratory tract. They can surface in one or more of the following ways:
● Vomiting and/or stomach cramps
● Hives
● Shortness of breath
● Wheezing
● Repetitive cough
● Shock or circulatory collapse
● Tight, hoarse throat; trouble swallowing
● Swelling of the tongue, affecting the ability to talk or breathe
● Weak pulse
● Pale or blue coloring of skin
● Dizziness or feeling faint
● Anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction that can impair breathing and send the body into shock; reactions may simultaneously affect different parts of the body (for example, a stomachache accompanied by a rash)
Most food-related symptoms occur within two hours of ingestion; often they start within minutes. In some very rare cases, the reaction may be delayed by four to six hours or even longer. Delayed reactions are most typically seen in children who develop eczema as a symptom of food allergy and in people with a rare allergy to red meat caused by the bite of a lone star tick.
Another type of delayed food allergy reaction stems from food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES), a severe gastrointestinal reaction that generally occurs two to six hours after consuming milk, soy, certain grains and some other solid foods. It mostly occurs in young infants who are being exposed to these foods for the first time or who are being weaned. FPIES often involves repetitive vomiting and can lead to dehydration. In some instances, babies will develop bloody diarrhea. Because the symptoms resemble those of a viral illness or bacterial infection, diagnosis of FPIES may be delayed. FPIES is a medical emergency that should be treated with IV rehydration.