So much is still to be learned and understood about food intolerance. While food allergy has proven testing methods, albeit with some false positives and negatives, food intolerance testing is elusive. This article from the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics addresses that no solid test for intolerance exists and therefore many patients are left with self-diagnosis and even fear that is impacting their daily lives.
This is a hot-button topic for me as I am one of those patients who tested negative for numerous food allergies, yet I have the medical records and pictures of my reactions to support that when I eat a list of foods, my face swells and becomes covered in an itchy, burning rash, and I am a miserable mess of a person. I don’t much care what the allergy tests say when the elimination and challenge results are so stunningly clear. I often long for definitive tests to make my multiple intolerances much more definitive and less mysterious, but the bottom line is if I react to it, I don't eat it, and I don't need a test to provide that information. Still, the issue of mis-diagnosis and the resulting negative impact on quality of life for some will continue until researchers can unlock an accurate test for food intolerance that rivals the relatively reputable results of true allergy testing. While I can absolutely see the side of self-diagnosis being unnecessary and having psychological impact, I am firmly planted on the side of food intolerance being a very real experience and desperately hope researchers will continue their quest for clear testing methods. Where do you stand? Overly diagnosed and self-diagnosed, or understudied medical field that just doesn’t have clear answers yet? http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/yjada/article/S0002-8223(09)01608-3/fulltext
1 Comment
Davina
11/13/2013 08:32:45 am
Tami this is a great post about a very topical issue in today's society. I've found that more and more people (especially young children) are becoming lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, fructose intolerant... how many more could there be! As someone who has no tolerances, I cannot talk from experience, but I am shocked at how often I hear of someone who has become food intolerant and to be honest, it does make me question the integrity of their new diagnosis. Clearly, you have a strong reaction to certain foods and you can eliminate those foods from your diet. But some of my friends seem to self-diagnose and I wonder why so many people are all of a sudden lactose intolerant, when 20 years ago it would be hard to come by lactose free products at a supermarket. My point is, this is a very grey area, and I can't wait for the day where there is an accurate medical test for food intolerances.
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