My friend Kevin, the General Manager of ALCAT, just sent this nice summary detailing the difference between the two oft confused entities:
Food allergy is mediated by an immune response that requires prior exposure and occurs immediately after subsequent ingestion of the food. It has a very specific trigger (antigen) and antibody response (serum IgE). The RAST technology measures the amount of antibody the body makes against the offending food.
Food Intolerance, Food Additive and Coloring Sensitivities are very different. When the body doesn't digest foods well, they tend to "leak" into the bloodstream in large macromolecules. This can trigger a Cellular Inflammatory Response by the body. White blood cells (WBCs) produce chemicals that break down foreign matter to eliminate from our body. However, a by-product of the process is inflammation. Over a long period of time, inflammation can create a lot of degenerative
diseases.
Chronic inflammation has been linked to digestive disorders, obesity, migraine headaches, Attention-deficit disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and many others. The ALCAT test measures how your body's WBCs respond to the foods. If the WBCs release the chemicals when exposed to foods, then eliminating the food from your diet can reduce the inflammation in your body and thereby reduce or eliminate the symptoms of chronic inflammation and disease.
We believe that because ALCAT measures the cellular response which encompasses both the antibody (requiring prior exposure) and general inflammatory response (no prior exposure necessary), it is the best methodology for food intolerance and chemical sensitivity testing.
Food allergy is mediated by an immune response that requires prior exposure and occurs immediately after subsequent ingestion of the food. It has a very specific trigger (antigen) and antibody response (serum IgE). The RAST technology measures the amount of antibody the body makes against the offending food.
Food Intolerance, Food Additive and Coloring Sensitivities are very different. When the body doesn't digest foods well, they tend to "leak" into the bloodstream in large macromolecules. This can trigger a Cellular Inflammatory Response by the body. White blood cells (WBCs) produce chemicals that break down foreign matter to eliminate from our body. However, a by-product of the process is inflammation. Over a long period of time, inflammation can create a lot of degenerative
diseases.
Chronic inflammation has been linked to digestive disorders, obesity, migraine headaches, Attention-deficit disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and many others. The ALCAT test measures how your body's WBCs respond to the foods. If the WBCs release the chemicals when exposed to foods, then eliminating the food from your diet can reduce the inflammation in your body and thereby reduce or eliminate the symptoms of chronic inflammation and disease.
We believe that because ALCAT measures the cellular response which encompasses both the antibody (requiring prior exposure) and general inflammatory response (no prior exposure necessary), it is the best methodology for food intolerance and chemical sensitivity testing.
No comments:
Post a Comment