Healthway Medical launches test to detect food intolerance

Reactions to certain foods are quite common. However, some reactions go unnoticed until certain abnormal manifestations occur—internally (physiological) or externally (physical, i.e. on skin). Where food allergy has almost an immediate reaction, food intolerance, on the other hand, does not immediately manifest. Sometimes, it takes as much as several months or as short as days for symptoms to be obvious.

According to nutrition and lifestyle counselor Ginny Sinense-Marksl, RND, food intolerance often occurs in people who eat normal or even very common food substance (rice, egg, dairy and wheat) that they are highly sensitive to. These foods cause inflammations in their body that could manifest as allergy-like reactions such as diarrhea, bloating, stomach cramps and at times, skin rashes that almost never seem to subside. Also, it could be one of the major reasons why it is difficult to manage any weight problem.

Food intolerance may involve some or all the same symptoms as food allergies. “While food allergies are acute reactions to a particular food substance and can cause life-threatening symptoms, food intolerance is chronic and less severe but nevertheless aggravating to optimum health,” said Marksl.

A number of reactions surface when a person is found to be intolerant on a specific food item. However, some people could still eat small amounts of food they are “intolerant” to without any immediate physiological or physical reaction.

Though minimum to no immediate reaction occurs, chronic exposure to a food substance a person is intolerant to can be potentially hazardous to health due to constant presence of inflammation in the body as Marksl further explained.

Food intolerance is a type III food item that occurs when the body produces immunoglobulin (IgG) as a reaction to allergenic food.

Immunoglobulin is a class of proteins that function as antibodies produced by the immune system in response to foreign bodies that enter the body. Various studies reveal that if food with high IgG levels are eliminated from the diet, symptoms can be reduced.

“Not knowing where you’re intolerant to could lead to chronic diseases such as abdominal bloating and fluid retention, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine and asthma,” said Carmie De Leon, vice president for sales and marketing of Healthway Medical. “This makes a Food Intolerance Test (FIT) all the more important.”

Healthway Medical, the most trusted and preferred mall-based clinic in the country, recommends every children and adult alike to undergo a FIT or Food Print Test to identify which food groups are safe to eat.

FIT is the most advanced and comprehensive laboratory service that detects the presence of IgG-food specific antibodies to a wide range of food people consume every day.

Healthway’s FIT is inclusive of a consultation with nutritionist to guide you through the FIT service and to explain the findings of the test.

“Not having your test now can be potentially dangerous since some people have high IgG levels but do not experience the symptoms,” De Leon said. “There are others who even feel better short after they eat food at which they are intolerant to, but continuing to take these food groups may regrow the symptoms to much worse cases. Still, once symptoms occur, it is recommended to avoid all other members of that food group unless tested negatively.”

De Leon concluded: “Early detection of food intolerance will go a long way in ensuring one’s optimum health. If you want to achieve a quality life, make sure to add sleep, right food intake, exercise and de-stressing as part of your daily routine. When you start living a healthy life, everything else will follow.”

If you think you have the symptoms of food intolerance, visit Healthway Medical Clinics at the Alabang Town Center, Edsa Shangri-la, Market! Market!, Festival Mall, Healthway Manila, SM The Block and Greenbelt 5.