Food Intolerances Testing

At The London Clinic of Nutrition, our functional medicine and nutritional therapy specialists may recommend food intolerance or allergy testing after your initial consultation.

The main difference between an allergy and a food intolerance is that an allergy is a severe almost immediate reaction to a food with symptoms that can range from difficulty breathing, rashes, swelling, runny nose and in some cases, a life- threatening anaphylactic shock.

Please note that food intolerances tests are only available as part of our consultation package. They are required to help our nutrition experts support you in getting to the root cause of your health concerns.

Intolerances on the other hand are characterised by a delayed response which will normally be a few hours but in some rare cases can take up to a week. Various studies have shown that allergies only affect about 3% of the population whilst food intolerances can affect 40% of the population at some time in their life.
A person can be intolerant to multiple foods and experience a number of symptoms such as:

• Bloating, constipation
• Fatigue and brain fog
• Asthma
• Sinusitis and Rhinitis
• Irritable Bowel  Syndrome (IBS)
• Fluid retention
• Migraines and headaches
• Eczema, rashes and other skin disorders.

Normally when someone has a food intolerance, this is down to the underlying poor health of the gut. The gut lining is only a few cells thick and is easily damaged; creating erosion that increases the permeability. Partially digested food particles are then able to pass through the barrier into the blood stream and are recognized by the immune system as foreign invaders. This process is know as leaky gut and can be the root cause of chronic inflammation and autoimmune responses in any organ or tissue.

A food intolerance test will allow a person to identify and eliminate key allergens, so that inflammation can be reduced and the gut lining and body can be given the opportunity to heal.

However, it is important to understand what has caused the damage to the gut lining in the first place. This could be due to poor diet, stress, excess alcohol, antibiotics and bacterial and viral infections such as E. coli, H. pylori, SIBO, yeast and parasites. There are other tests around gut health that will help you determine this. If the underlying gut health issues are not resolved then a person may become intolerant to more foods and chronic health problems will persist.

How to Book a Food Intolerances Test with the London Clinic of Nutrition

As functional medicine and nutritional therapy experts, we may use food intolerances tests to help identify the root cause of your health concerns. As such our market leading tests are only available when we're consulting you. Your practitioner will advise you if and when you need to access these tests. If you've got concerns about your health and think a food intolerance may be a part of the cause then please get in touch to book a discovery call.

About Food Intolerance Testing

There are three major antibodies that are produced in food sensitivities and food allergies – IgE, IgG and IgA.

The IgE antibodies are normally produced in an allergic reaction. These are the antibodies normally screened for by conventional medicine and will not show if you have a food intolerance.

Testing for adverse food reactions is useful for individuals who suspect that a food is responsible for causing their symptoms, but can't quite identify which food(s). The presence of circulating antibodies may affect each patient differently. Circulating IgG food antibodies are not diagnostic for a specific condition, but indicate an immune response to that food. The immune response could be a normal response that would not necessarily cause symptoms.

Food Antibodies tests

At the London Clinic of Nutrition, we provide food intolerance testing as part of our consultation service. These tests will be recommended as required by your functional medicine practitioner, naturopathic doctor or nutritionist.

These tests measure the most commonly found antibodies in food intolerance. Their presence indicates that the food particles have passed through the gut lining and are causing systemic inflammation and/or autoimmunity.

Cyrex Tests & Arrays

The cyrex food sensitivity test uses advanced lab techniques, producing the most accurate results available on the market. The test involves a full blood test and looks for IgA and IgG antibodies in combination.

IgA antibodies are involved in the defense of the mucosal membranes and their presence indicates inflammation in the gut; helping to identify food sensitivities before they become more systemic.

IgG antibodies, are the most common antibody found in a food intolerance. Their presence indicates that the food particles have passed through the gut lining and are causing systemic inflammation and/or autoimmunity.

Cyrex also tests food in their raw and cooked forms; reactivity to common food combinations; and reactivity to gum molecules and binding isolates.

Cyrex arguably provides the world's most advanced immunological testing services, which include markers for gluten, gluten-linked food intolerances and multiple food sensitivities, "leaky gut", IBS, SIBO, auto-immune disorders, pathogens such as parasites, moulds, viruses and bacteria, blood brain barrier breakdown and other neurological disorders for example those arising from viral infection and/or toxins, as well as those relating to Alzheimer's Disease.

• Food Intolerances
• Coeliac Disease
• Relentless Fatigue
  Autoimmunity
• Neurological Issues
• Chronic or Latent Infections
• IBS
• Skin Complaints
• Mood Issues
• Inflammation
• Chemical Sensitivity
• Migraines
• Joint Pain
• Memory Problems
• Alzheimer's Disease

Please find detailed information on the Arrays here.

Sample requirement: Blood (phlebotomy required)

Considerations: Please note that the enquiries team are able to guide you in the right direction with Cyrex testing but cannot choose which Array is best for you. These tests are complex so we would advise that you see a practitioner for an initial consultation first to ensure you are doing the correct Array for your health concerns. Get in touch today.

*Please be advised that this is only a small range of tests available. We would generally recommend the most appropriate testing following an initial consultation.