Are hidden food allergies making you fat?

July 1, 2010 Norman H. Rappaport M.D.

Have you been doing everything you can to lose weight, but it just isn’t working? The culprit could be hidden food allergies.

“If you eat the same foods every day, you can develop a sensitivity to them,” explains Deborah Hartman, RN, MSN, CNM, of SUBTLchanges. “You also could be sensitive to the additives in your food.

“A lot of patients who have food sensitivities will tell me they don’t have any food allergies—meaning that they don’t have any immediatereaction to the foods they’re eating,” says Deborah.

But food sensitivities can cause many chronic conditions, including:

Weight gain	Thyroid disorders
Aching joints	Eczema and other skin conditions
Chronic fatigue	Depression & anxiety
Osteoarthritis	Migraine headaches
Chronic cough	Bloating and abdominal pain

Identify your food sensitivities with ALCAT testing

If you want to take charge of your health and find out the foods, additives and medications you’re sensitive to, SUBTLchanges offers ALCAT testing. ALCAT stands for Antigen Leukocyte Cellular Antibody Test. Unlike standard allergy tests, ALCAT testing measures the reactivity of your white blood cells.

“When you eat foods you’re sensitive to, your white blood cells go on the attack,” Deborah explains. “There has even been a connection found between food sensitivities and autoimmune disease. Essentially, your body is attacking itself when you eat these inflammation-causing foods.”

ALCAT test results identify your safe foods, as well as your mild, moderate and severe intolerances. You also get a plan to gradually reintroduce most of those foods.

You could be allergic to ingredients in your health supplements

“A lot of people are taking health supplements—and they could be allergic to them,” says Deborah. “I was taking a supplement with aloe vera in it for four years—and it turns out I have a moderate reaction to aloe vera.

“I probably sensitized myself to it by taking it twice a day for so long,” she admits. “Often, the very thing you’re eating a lot of is the thing you’re sensitive to. That’s why it’s important to vary your diet; don’t eat the same things every day.”

ALCAT tests for more than 200 foods and substances

“The platinum-level ALCAT test, which most of my patients choose, measures sensitivity to 200 foods, 20 food additives and colorings, 20 molds, 20 pharmaco-active agents, 10 environmental chemicals, 10 antibiotics and 10 anti-inflammatory agents,” Deborah explains. “This will tell you whether you’re allergic to, for example, ibuprofen, aspirin, ampicillin—even fluoride.”