Re: Blood test for food allergies?

[Guest guest]

The Meridian food panel is from blood, is reasonably

priced, and what Dr. Goldberg orders for his patients.

--- nancy ballard <atlantickayaker@...> wrote:

> Is there a blood test for food allergies any of you

> had run that is reliable. How do they do that? I am

> curious to see if like in another post mentioned

> allergies to Soy. I use alot of Soy, and wonder if

> there are other food allergies I am not aware of.

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get

> pricing, reviews, & more on new and used cars.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

Barb Katsaros

barbkatsaros@...

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Like Barb said, there's the food panel, and there is

also the CBC w/differential, which lists eosiniphils,

and eos's can usually give you a general idea.

Usually used to identify parasitic infections when the

results are really high, they can also be affected by

(according to my local pediatrician but I don't know

if Dr G agrees??) by inhaled allergies, although I

have not seen that affect my children's results, but

other parents on the list have been certain that they

do (possibly because the inhaled allergies are also

swallowed and pass thru the digestive tract??). I have

also seen my son's go up when his antifungal wears

off, maybe 'cause food isn't getting digested properly

then. The target for eos levels is under 1.5%. When

they are over this, then diet tweaking is needed.

It's the first step I would take to see how allergies

are doing.

The food panel Barb listed runs approximately $100, at

least it was 3 yrs ago, and is not covered by

insurance. It is paid for at the time the blood is

sent in. There is a phone # to call (perhaps listed

on his lab workup) to get a proper kit for the lab to

use and mail back to the lab. (It may be by Quest

now.) You may also call Dr Goldberg's office and ask

the office how to obtain it.

It can't be considered totally reliable, but can be

very helpful in finding unknown reactions. Overall,

Dr G's primary use for it is to determine how reactive

a child is overall, meaning if there are lots of foods

in the middle to high range, it does indicate a highly

reactive system. I don't know if it coincides with

elevated eosiniphils or not. My kids were very low,

even the dairy didn't really show up, although that

isn't free reign to give dairy. But even though many

things didn't show, they were still reactive to them

found by rotation diets, but those reactions may have

simply been affecting behavior and not necessarily

having a direct effect on the immune system? Don't

really know. Peanut butter was on there, and when I

removed it, whallah! I hadn't noticed problems with

it until I removed it. So yes, it can be quite

helpful.

Sometimes kids are super-reactive across the board.

Dr G does not always eliminate every food on the list

when they're high. Sometimes just following the Do's

and Don'ts of Diet for a period of time can help cool

down without eliminating every single thing listed. A

few have had to, though, and I sure feel for them.

Again, it's not totally reliable, but it is one of the

best available. In combination with rotation or

elimination diets and monitoring eosiniphils on CBCs

(has to be specifically ordered), you could get a good

picture. All that being said, that did not identify

soy sensitivity in my son. I wonder if there is a

difference between having an immune reaction to

something and having sensitivity to a protein that

isn't being completely broken down.

Hope that helps.

--- Barb Katsaros <barbkatsaros@...> wrote:

> The Meridian food panel is from blood, is reasonably

> priced, and what Dr. Goldberg orders for his

> patients.

>

>

> --- nancy ballard <atlantickayaker@...> wrote:

>

> > Is there a blood test for food allergies any of

> you

> > had run that is reliable. How do they do that? I

> am

> > curious to see if like in another post mentioned

> > allergies to Soy. I use alot of Soy, and wonder if

> > there are other food allergies I am not aware of.

> >

> > Thanks

> >

> >

>

__________________________________________________