Question:
Has anyone had this & found out you were allergic to a food that doesn't even
bother you? This test said I am allergic to corn, but I don't get sick when I
eat it & don't understand why it says I had a strong reaction to it. If anyone
has had the same test, please share experiences.
Answer:
I did a lot of looking into the ACT and other blood allergy tests a few years
ago. I read a lot about allergies and food intolerances and I can tell you
that you certainly can't tell right now if you have a food intollerance to
corn, because you can bet your system is chock full of it right now-- you
probably have little corn protein particles swishing all through your body.
But if you have gone to the time and effort and cost to get a food allergy test
done, you might as well go to the little extra effort to actually take
advantage of the results. :) Here's how you test if it really IS a problem.
Avoid it fully for at least two weeks. That includes avoiding all corn starch
and syrup, maltodextrin and dextrose, hydrolyzed "vegetable" protein or
vegetable broth, etc. These things are derived from corn or could include it,
so if you're not avoiding them you're not avoiding corn. And then avoid all
obvious forms of corn too.
As people with classic food allergies can tell you, it's just about impossible
to avoid corn or wheat or egg in American precooked foods, so you're kind of
limited to fresh foods you cook yourself--- even tuna fish usually has the
"vegetable protein" in it!
After you have avoided it diligently for two weeks, then you can eat it. Here
are some common reactions that might tell you if you have a problem:
Sudden sweating (I hate this one). Hives. Difficulty breathing. Suddenly
gaining a lot of 'water weight' (eg, going up 2 lbs on the scale in 2 days when
your weight has been steady.) Sudden mood swings or anxiety attacks (like my
panic attacks after eating popcorn.) Sudden wild fluctuation in blood sugar
levels, not in line with the amount of carbohydrates in the food. (Eg, your
blood sugar level jumps up to 300, when eating a whole pound of taffy only puts
you up to 180.) Joint aches.
And, unfortunately, these results are not necessarily immediate. For example,
for me if I eat popcorn, I have a serious sweat attack in about half an hour,
and then a really serious anxiety attack within about another 2 hours. But if
I eat peanut butter, it's usually about 3-4 days before my wrists and knees
start aching so badly I can hardly walk or type.
Additionally, sometimes food intolerances are *cumulative* only. That is, you
can eat a little bit of it every few weeks with no problem. It's just when you
eat it several times in a certain period that it becomes a problem. Example
there-- I'm fine with pistachios, even a lot of them, once in a while. But
when I'm silly and start eating them 2-3 times a day over a week's time like I
did this last week, I start breaking into a heated sweat every time I eat some.
LOL. I had forgotten I am allergic to them, or I wouldn't have done that.
Anyway, you should note that the ACT test and others may not pick up some foods
you're really allergic to if you didn't eat them recently, because the
immunoglobin markers it measures won't be as strong if you haven't had the food
in a while.
And, for those of you who didn't notice, some of those symptoms are some of
those we FMS people get a lot-- increased joint pain, sweats, mood swings, what
have you. So I think this question is on topic. :)
