When people complain of symptoms such as headaches, bloating or mouth ulcers after eating, it can often be a sign of food sensitivity. A food sensitivity or intolerance does not cause a severe allergic reaction to food – known as anaphylaxis. Sometimes substances within foods can increase the frequency and severity of allergy symptoms and inflammation in the form of migraine headaches, rashes (such as hives) or the stomach upset of irritable bowel.
The best approach is to first consult your healthcare professional to:
1. Determine whether dietary (or other) factors play an aggravating role
2. Identify individual triggers to be avoided.
Food sensitivity testing
IgG or food sensitivity testing is meant to work as a simple means to identify food sensitivities or food intolerances. The test checks a person’s blood for immunoglobulin G (IgG), an antibody created by the body to fight a certain allergenic food. Drawn blood is exposed to a panel of foods and food components. The degree of total IgG antibody binding to each food is measured to determine if any of the foods create an immune response. The degree of sensitivity is then graded by a classification scale.
This provides a guide on which foods you may be more sensitive to and therefore to be avoided as part of the elimination or rotational diet to reduce your symptoms. This can help to eliminate the uncertainty and narrow down what might be the cause of you symptoms for faster results.
It is important to note that this does not test for food allergy and anaphylaxis reactions.