If you suffer with a chronic condition, whether it be an autoimmunity, chronic fatigue, inflammation, fibromyalgia, gastro-intestinal dysfunction, and many more, then it’s very important to incorporate gluten and food sensitivity testing into a functional integrative medical approach.
I can’t tell you how many patients that I consult with that tell me they have never been told the importance of avoiding harmful environmental, inflammatory proteins (like gluten, egg, dairy, soy, corn, yeast, etc).
Or worse, they were falsely told based on an incomplete food sensitivity test, that they do NOT have a food allergy or food sensitivity. When in fact, they really do.
So they continually consume these foods. What happens as a result is chronic inflammation, which in turn results in pain and suffering.
Another problem I come across with food sensitivity testing is when a patient tells me that they have already had “Allergy Testing” and they are not allergic to any foods.
Realize that “allergy testing” is different from “food sensitivity” or “food intolerance testing”. Allergy testing is done on the skin, and measures your IgE response to an allergen. This response is an immediate anaphylactic response, termed an “allergy”.
However, with a food sensitivity or intolerance, your immune cells don’t produce an IgE response. Rather, your immune response is an IgA, IgM, or IgG mediated response. Not a true “allergy” per se, but a reaction to antigen nonetheless.
Meaning, just because you weren’t allergic to a skin fold allergy test, does not mean you won’t or don’t have a delayed, food sensitivity or intolerance reaction.
And when you eat the foods that you are intolerant or sensitivity to, gut inflammation is the response.
It is estimated that 70-80% of your immune system is in your gut. As well, your immune system is the bodies way of creating an inflammatory response to fight off harmful toxic agents that stress the body.
So it stands to reason, because all chronic illness stems with uncontrolled, sustained, and prolonged inflammation, then the cause of that inflammation and the effects of that inflammation on the immune must both be addressed.
Thus, gut health must also be the focus if you stand any hope of recovering with your chronic problem.
Food Sensitivity Testing:
The father of medicine, Hippocrates, said ” …look to the gut. There you will find the origin of almost all human illness ”
Research confirms that the root cause for many undesired immune reactions originates in the gastrointestinal tract.
Leaky gut or intestinal permeability, food sensitivities, bacteria infections, viral infections, parasitic infections, fungus, molds, mycotoxins, heavy metals toxicities, environmental toxins, pesticide exposures, pollutants, and chemicals can all ravage our gut health.
The best way I explain this is image a fine metal strainer that drains pasta. With repeated uses, the fine metal strainer begins to break down, and resembles more of a colander.
With Intestinal permeability aka “Leaky gut”, the intestinal lining has become perforated on a microscopic level. Usually, the cells lining your intestine are packed closely together and allow no room for food molecules, such as proteins, to leak out in the circulation.
The reason it is bad for the large molecules such as proteins to leak out of the gut is that the body will not recognize these molecules and assume they are foreign invaders, or germs!
This will cause the body to create defenders called antibodies whose job is to attack these molecules. There are three antibodies that this test looks for in the blood in order to determine if someone has leaky gut: Occludin/Zonulin IgG, IgA, & IgM Actomyosin IgA and Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) IgG, IgA, & IgM. Leaky gut can and does lead to autoimmune disorders.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR TEST
Your test demonstrated increased permeability of the intestinal barrier or “leaky gut syndrome”.
Again, there are several different ways leaky gut can occur:
- Breakdown of intestinal cells (Actomyosin IgA)
- Opening of the junction between cells (Occludin/Zonulin IgG, IgA, & IgM)
- Bacterial infections (Lipopolysaccharides [LPS] IgG, IgA, & IgM)
This can cause systemic (whole body) inflammation, which can then sustain itself by its ongoing effect on the gut. The target tissue damage (area of internal damage) is primarily determined by genetics and exposure of environmental factors.
If the gut lining remains damaged and untreated, this can lead to various clinical conditions including: • Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac disease
- Food Allergies
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease)
- Numerous autoimmune diseases (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriasis, Type 1 Diabetes,Spondylitis, etc.)
- Neurological conditions (Multiple Sclerosis, Guillain Barré Syndrome, etc.)
- Cognitive Dysfunction (depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.)
- Others
This is very important to note: These junctions are the same for your brain barrier. If damage is demonstrated in any of the above, then you also have a breech in your blood brain barrier. Leaky gut = Leaky brain. This test will also be used to monitor the intestinal support used during your program of care.
As the leaky gut improves, you should see a improvement in your test results. file: Cyrexarray2HO SCREEN TEST- ARRAY #2 : Explained Occludin/Zonulin IgG, IgA, & IgM Occludin and zonulin can be thought of as the bridges between the cells of your gut.
Although the cells sit together very closely in a tight junction, they still leave a small space between them, which is bridged and defended by occludin and zonulin. If your body is making antibodies to these two very important proteins, the bridges have broken down and large food molecules and foreign invaders can escape from between the cells of your gut and into your blood stream.
Actomyosin IgA Testing positive for this antibody marker leads to a severe leaky gut diagnosis. If you are positive for actomyosin IgA, your intestinal cells themselves have begun to break down. Your immune system has damaged these cells to the point that large food molecules are able to plow directly through the cells themselves into your blood stream.
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) IgG, IgA, & IgM Lipopolysaccharides are the waste that accumulates in the gut due to an over-abundance of bad bacteria. This waste can create a thick film, or sludge, lining the intestine and will make it very difficult for the body to absorb nutrients. If you have an accumulation of LPS, and leaky gut, some of this sludge may have made its way into your blood stream and your body has formed antibodies against it. (An equivocal result represents the range between the negative and suspicious low positive result)
