Many people contact us stating that they've been following a highly restrictive diet for some time but now just want to "know for sure" what their reactions are. This is a very normal desire, and is the most appropriate way to heal and reach full recovery. After all, most food intolerances do not require life-long elimination.
A blood IgG test will assess your antibody response to all foods included in the test package. At Food Intolerance Australia we offer 3 high sensitivity screening packages. These tests offer the highest level of accuracy due to being collected by trained medical professionals, appropriate storage of your sample, and a high sensitivity screening procedure in a specialised laboratory.
I've been gluten/dairy etc free for 3 months or more. Will testing work for me?
If you have eliminated the food for more than 3 months then your antibody response to this food has likely reduced. This is a part of your body's natural healing response and is the reason that we can reverse food intolerance over time.
However, if you have not healed your gut during this time, and if you are continuing to eat other foods which you are reacting to, then your antibodies will quickly rebuild following reintroduction and you'll be back to square one.
What do you recommend?
At Food Intolerance Australia we recommend a 3 step process to managing food intolerance;
Step 1: Testing to confirm what needs to be removed or reduced through high sensitivity testing. Choose your test here.
Step 2: Recovery stage - Rebuild and recover. Support all digestive and healing processes. Minimise all factors which inhibit recovery. For this stage we have our food intolerance recovery program which can be supplemented with one on one Nutrition Consultations as needed.
Step 3: Reintroduce and determine new level of tolerance. Our experienced Nutritionists are here to assist you through this process, which is also outlined in the food intolerance recovery program for those who prefer to self-manage.
For those who have eliminated for a while prior to the test the step by step process is as follows:
Step 1: Testing - this will confirm any foods which remain to be a high priority for elimination and any additional food reactions previously unknown. This reduces the chance of you accidentally inhibiting your recovery by continuing to include foods which you are intolerant to throughout.
Step 2: Recovery - we would recommend that you continue to avoid previously eliminated foods while completing your recovery program, in addition to any other foods identified in your test. This ensures a higher likelihood of a successful elimination on completion of the program.
Step 3: Reintroduce - here we will begin with reintroducing those foods previously eliminated, but identified as low antibody response in your test. This reintroduction may happen as early as 12 weeks, where other foods identified as high response in your test would continue to be restricted for the indicated period of time.
Can I just do the recovery program without the test?
Of course you are welcome to go ahead and follow our recovery program and then move on to the reintroduction phase at the end.
However, as we will not know for sure your reactions, there is no way that we can truly know that you are following the best recovery diet - free of any further irritations. This may mean that you are in the recovery stage for a longer period, or that your reintroduction stage is unsuccessful. For this reason, while we have the program ready and available for you to use any time, we generally stick to our 3 step process as our recommendation.
It is important to us that you get the best possible results. We want to see you eating a healthy balanced diet free of restrictions as soon as possible. Our 3 step process is our tried and tested way of assisting patients to reach full recovery. We've helped thousands of people to rebuild their health, and their diet, and return to a full life free of unnecessary restrictions. We'd love to help you do the same.
Book your test today and begin your healing journey!