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  Allergy Matters: New Approaches to Allergy Prevention And Management
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 If you think you might have a food allergy then taking a food allergy test is a practical way of finding out which foods you may be allergic to. Bear in mind that none of the methods available are 100 percent accurate, perhaps 60-70 percent accurate, but they can help in finding allergens you may react to.
Some methods of allergy testing are conventional and some are non-conventional and the method you choose is up to you and depends on what you can afford and what is available to you.
Before taking a food allergy test you should try and compile as much information about your symptoms and suspected food intolerances before taking the test.
Elimination Diet
An elimination diet is a very reliable way of detecting a food allergy. It involves taking one or more foods out of your diet for at least five days, and then reintroducing the eliminated foods, one at a time, into the diet to see if there is an adverse effect.
If a food has been eliminated from your diet and your food allergy symptoms improve then you can be fairly sure that you have a food allergy and the food in question is the cause.
A difficulty may arise if you eliminate a food, your symptoms improve, but it was not the whole food that caused your food allergy but a component of the food, such as yeast, that could occur in many other foods. Watch out for this during an elimination diet and take appropriate notes.
Elimination diets take a lot of commitment and you need to be very thorough and regimented, however it can be a great achievement to identify a food that is the cause of your allergy.
RAST Test
RAST stands for radio allergo-sorbent test and is a method of identifying specific blood antibodies to certain foods and other substances. It is a conventional test and identifies true food allergies where the immune system is involved and therefore can be limited when trying to pick up intolerances or sensitivities.
Skin Prick / Scratch Test
A common method of food allergy testing is to see how the skin reacts to a suspected food substance. A small amount of prepared food is paced on the arm and then a scratch is made in the skin at that spot. If you are sensitive to the food your skin will flare up and produce a weal. The bigger the flare-up then the greater the sensitivity.
Once problem foods have been identified you are given an injection of initially low doses of allergy foods until you can tolerate strong amounts - a process known as desensitization.
The Skin Prick / Scratch type of testing has a low success rate and rarely produces a permanent cure.
Cytotoxic Allergy Test
A Cytotoxic allergy test is carried out in a laboratory by a technician who exposes live white blood cells to a range of foods and sees whether the cells become damaged, to what extent and to which level of food.
A problem with this test is the results can be difficult to interprete and quite hit-and-miss with same samples providing different lists of foods to avoid each time!
Coca Pulse Test
The Coca pulse test simply measures your pulse rate to see if you are allergic or sensitive to a type of food. it was invented by Dr Arthur Coca who noted that pulse rate increased by ten or more beats a minute following eating a certain food.
The test can be carried out at home but it is important to note that many things can increase your pulse rate.
Hair Analysis
Hair analysis for food allergy testing has become popular but has not been proven to be entirely accurate.
Hair analysis involves breaking down the protein element in your hair to determine its mineral content and detect any deficiencies.A lack of certain vitamins and minerals will cause health problems, but is not very useful at determining a food allergy.
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