By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

April 3, 2015

• The probable cause of your joint pain, headaches and fatigue
• This could be the most important lab test you’ll ever get
• Put an end to inflammation and food intolerance

I find that a lot of people think food sensitivities and allergies are the same thing. If you know the difference between the two, good for you. But if you don’t, let me clear a few things up.

If you’ve ever seen anyone react to a food allergy – or if you have one yourself – you know that it’s usually an immediate reaction to something that’s been eaten. It’s actually the result of an overactive immune response. Harmless foods like shrimp or nuts are seen as enemies and your immune system launches an attack when you consume them.

Some of the most common symptoms of allergies include swelling, rashes, hives, difficulty breathing and anaphylaxis. So it’s an immediate and apparent reaction.

Food sensitivities are much sneakier. They tend to creep up on you over hours, or even days. And you can have them, even if you’re eating a very healthy diet.

Here’s how it works: When you eat any food you’re sensitive to, healthy or not, it won’t digest well. And those undigested particles can permeate your gut. This allows them to enter your circulation, where they don’t belong, and triggers an inflammatory response.

Once this occurs, it produces symptoms that are all over the spectrum. They could manifest as joint pain, migraines, fatigue, irritable bowel, mood swings and more. Inflammation brought on by food sensitivities also cause you to swell up, and make it very difficult to lose weight.

There are also two physical attributes that are a dead give-away for food sensitivities. But not everyone experiences them.

The first is a scalloped tongue. This is when you can see indentations from your teeth embedded in the outer edges of the tongue. It’s a sign that inflammation is swelling your tongue, so it doesn’t quite fit in your mouth properly. The second sign is dark shadows under the eyes. This darkness occurs because the skin under the eyes becomes inflamed.

There’s one more difference between food allergies and food sensitivities that you should know about. While less than 5% of the population experiences food allergies, a whopping 80% of the population is affected by food sensitivities. And that high percentage shows it’s quite likely you will have some exposure to this growing phenomenon.

So even if all the symptoms aren’t obvious, whenever I hear a myriad of health problems that are affecting a patient’s quality of life, I immediately run the most accurate food sensitivity test at my disposal.

If you’ve ever suspected food allergies or sensitivities, your doctor may have run an IgG Food Tolerance test. It measures the level of certain immunoglobulins, or antibodies, in the blood.

But there’s another test that’s much more accurate, and it can quickly produce results showing you exactly which foods you’re sensitive to. It’s called the ALCAT test.

Let me explain how these two tests differ.

The IgG test is run using dead blood cells to measure existing IgG antibody levels. These antibodies have a 30-day half life, so if you haven’t eaten certain foods recently, you won’t get a reading on them. Additionally, if you regularly eat mild sensitivity foods, they can show up as a severe sensitivity. That’s because high exposure to these foods produces high levels of IgG antibodies.

In other words, IgG testing doesn’t produce the most accurate picture when it comes to measuring food tolerance.

ALCAT testing, on the other hand, uses live blood cells to measure how your white blood cells react to different substances. First, a baseline measure is developed. Then the blood cells are separated and incubated with each of the foods or chemicals being tested.

In the case of sensitivities, the white blood cells will increase in size in order to defend the body. They’ll show a very definite shift away from baseline.

However, if there is no sensitivity, the blood sample will match the baseline measurement.

You can see how much more complete and effective the ALCAT testing is.

But it’s not just the test itself that’s superior. It also gives you everything you need to help overcome food sensitivities with clear and easy-to-use results and recommendations.

Once your ALCAT test results come back you’ll get an entire list of foods that you’re sensitive to. It specifically identifies those that produce mild, moderate and severe sensitivities – and also shows all of the foods you have no reaction to.

But it doesn’t just test the foods you eat. Depending on how extensive you want your test to be, you can also get a list of drugs, food additives, herbs and other substances you might be sensitive to.

Plus, you’ll receive a 4-day rotation diet showing you exactly which foods are best to eat on which days. Rotation means you’ll eat foods of a particular family on one day, and then avoid them over the next three days. This helps prevent a cumulative sensitivity effect.

During the first week, you might experience a few detoxification-like effects as your body rids itself of inflammation. But once you get past that, you’ll feel better than you have in years. Plus, you’ll drop excess water weight right off the bat. And you’ll probably continue to lose weight as your body heals itself.

Now, you might be worried that you’ll be sensitive to some of the foods you like. Well, here’s the best thing about it. Once you’ve been off of sensitive foods for around three to six months, you may be able to add some of them back into your diet. So don’t let this scare you away.

If you have multiple health issues – like fatigue, headache, arthritis and bloating – taking an ALCAT test may be one of the best things you can do for yourself. And remember, chronic inflammation – like that which occurs with food sensitivities – is the root of most health problems today.

So if you have heart disease, diabetes and other inflammatory conditions, this test is an absolute must.