Many people are not even aware that they are dealing with a food allergy. Food allergy testing is the surefire way to get the diagnosis you need to start feeling well again. You may not realize that food allergies, or food sensitivities, are triggering many of your symptoms. Classic food allergies cause an anaphylactic reaction of hives, difficulty breathing, or in severe cases death. These are mostly associated with peanuts, crab, strawberries, etc , and people usually realize what triggered their reaction. Food sensitivities on the other hand are hard to diagnose. They can cause a variety of symptoms – the most common ones being migraines, headaches, joint pain, chronic ear infections, eczema, and digestive disturbances. The range of symptoms from food allergies can be from mild conditions to life threatening conditions. Pinpointing if what you are eating is causing your ill health can change your level of wellness significazntly.
Misdiagnosed
Understanding the symptoms of food allergies can help you to understand how easily you might be misdiagnosed. Often food allergies are masked by their symptoms. If you experience:
- Frequent headaches or migraines
- Stomach upset or intestinal upset – IBS, colitis
- Skins problems like eczema
- Chronic ear infections or sinusitis
- Joint pain
All of these symptoms, and others as well, might be caused or aggravated by food sensitivities. Getting to the root cause of these problems can make an enormous difference.
Get Tested
If you have been dealing with these symptoms or some mystery illnesses, getting tested for food allergies may put an end to the mystery. Testing for classic food allergies with an anaphylactic reaction is done by testing IgE antibodies and is what most physicians or allergists will test. Testing for the food sensitivities that can cause a wide array of symptoms is done by testing for IgG antibodies, and many physicians don’t do this testing. Naturopathic physicians often do. Make an appointment at Seattle Naturopathy and Acupuncture Center and find out if what you are eating is causing your health concerns.
