Scientists estimate that approximately 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies. A food allergy or sensitivity is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific antibodies to it.
Two major types of food reactions involve antibody production in your body:
1. Immediate Reactions to Foods (IgE)
Classic allergic reactions occur within 3 hours after eating. They are usually caused by high IgE antibody blood levels that produce an immediate allergic response. This allergic reaction may appear as a rash after eating foods like strawberries or crabmeat. The potentially fatal but very rare "anaphylactic" reaction after eating foods like peanuts or shellfish is another example of an "IgE" reaction.
2. Delayed Reactions to Foods (IgG4)
These reactions are much more difficult to notice since they can occur hours or days after consumption of an offending food. Yet, this "delayed" type of reaction is far more common than the immediate IgE type. In some cases, you may eat a food for several days before developing a reaction to it, so you may not realize the link between the food and your symptoms. These delayed reactions to food are often referred to as "hidden" food sensitivities. They are caused by increased IgG antibody blood levels in reaction to specific foods. Often, the offending foods are hard to avoid and frequently eaten, such as milk, corn, and wheat.
IgG4 antibodies are associated with delayed hypersensitivity reactions, which are the most common--yet most difficult to detect-- type of food reaction. These delayed or "hidden" food reactions can cause a variety of chronic symptoms. Since IgG4 reactions occur several hours or even days later, there may be no obvious association between consuming a food and an adverse reaction. Food IgG4 levels increase in response to the presence of the food antigens that penetrate a weakened intestinal barrier and enter the bloodstream,particularly with commonly eaten foods (e.g., corn, wheat, dairy, and egg). IgG4 antibodies combine with specific food antigens to form food immune complexes, which cause the problems associated with delayed allergic responses. The complexes can cause inflammatory reactions at various sites in the body, including the small and large intestines, skin, kidneys, ears, sinuses, head, lungs, and joints.
Eating foods that you have any level of allergy to can cause any of the following:
Inflammatory bowel disease
Gas/bloating
Fatigue
Mood swings
Anxiety
ADD/ADHD symptoms
Headaches/migraines
Skin problems
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sinusitis
Recurrent ear or other infections
Your test results will show the total amounts of IgG4 antibodies that react to each food measured in the profile. The relative degrees of IgG4 present for each food are reported as mild, moderate or severe, in addition to the quantitative levels. The results are ranked in classes of negative (blank "response" column) or +1 to +5. Foods sensitivity reactions may have one of several mediators, so it's possible for you to react to certain foods even with low or negative levels of IgG4.
A report with many foods showing moderate or severe total IgG4 elevations may reflect a chronic intestinal permeability problem. Progressive loosening of the junctions between intestinal cells can produce a "leaky gut" situation where undigested particles of food enter the blood in higher amounts. The solution for such problems is to eliminate highly reactive foods while rotating all other classes of food so that new food reactions do not appear, and the tight junctions of the intestinal cells can be restored.
Avoiding reactive foods may not completely heal the leaky gut because antibodies to whatever foods are consumed are formed at such high rates. Sometimes additional nutritional therapy is needed to improve the integrity of the intestine. This is where following the supplementation guideline from a HAIR TISSUE MINERAL ANALYSIS test is also essential!
The "leaky gut" phenomenon causes food antigens to permeate into the bloodstream where the immune system generates IgG4 antibodies to protect against more dangerous types of reactions. The process of antibody production and removal causes a metabolic stress. Complete elimination of all highly reactive foods for one month, and rotation of ones with low levels, can relieve symptoms related to this type of food reaction. Avoiding reactive foods in this way will prevent IgG4-food antigen reactions that cause symptoms. This literally buys your body time to heal and rebuild with correct supplementation: (
ALIVE, BUILDER, PRO-ACTION, and our various additional supplements specifically designed for ease of absorption and utilization in YOUR body.
All our programs are designed specifically to each individual and no two programs of supplementation are necessarily alike... they are all based on testing your body thoroughly with standard blood tests, FOOD ALLERGY TESTING, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and Blood-spot or Saliva Hormone testing)
When numerous foods are taken out of the diet because they show significantly elevated total IgG levels, there is potential for protein deficiency, which is known to have a negative impact on the immune system and may, in turn, make symptoms worse. Protein deficiency may be avoided by using a pure free-form amino acid blends such as our BUILDER.
To learn more about all our new products and services... go to our PRODUCT ORDER PAGE
NEW BROCHURE
Give us a call and we'll send you our brand new brochure that explains all the new supplements we have and their new names and prices... I think you'll be quite impressed.
Return to Archive
.jpg)
