Food Reactivity - Testing & Treatment

Did you know that our clinic specializes in food sensitivity testing and treatment? Erin Peisach, the clinic’s Registered Dietitian, is a Certified LEAP Therapist (CLT). What is LEAP? Quite simply, it is a diet program designed to help people suffering from food sensitivity symptoms. Symptoms can range from bloating, diarrhea, and excessive gas, to eczema, chronic migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic muscle and joint pain. The tricky part is trying to identify the food sensitivity that may be provoking these symptoms. Food sensitivities are dose-dependent, meaning small amounts of the food may not cause a problem, but larger amounts will. They can also have a delayed response in the body, meaning symptoms may not be experienced immediately after ingestion, but anywhere from 4 to 96 hours later. Because of these two factors, food sensitivities are extremely difficult to diagnose.

In the past, clinicians have helped patients try to identify food sensitivities by using a food elimination diet followed by a food reintroduction challenge. We call this the “guess and check” method because there is no sure-fire way to know that the diet is void of all reactive foods. For instance, one person may be sensitive to dairy, gluten, fish, peanuts, and citrus, some of the most common food triggers, while another person may be sensitive to rice, pears, lamb, and olives, some of the least common food triggers. Essentially, there is no perfect hypoallergenic diet for the entire population because each person’s body is unique.

Alternatively, some clinicians have used blood tesing to help diagnose food sensitivities, including ELISA IgG and ALCAT. While these tests can be helpful in identifying food triggers, they also have flaws. In particular, the IgG test exclusively quantifies the IgG response to specific foods and does not measure all of the other ways the body may react to a trigger food. Because of this limitation, the test results may show you that unsafe foods are actually safe.  As with any diagnostic test, it is important with food sensitivities to use a sensitive and specific testing method to guide therapy.

The LEAP program utilizes a test called Mediator Release Test (MRT).  Rather than relying on IgG, it measures the release of chemical mediators of food sensitivity symptoms by immune cells.  MRT is becoming the gold-standard test in the industry, with studies supporting its accuracy and reliability.

Erin uses the results of the MRT to put together an individualized eating program to improve your symptoms, heal your gut, and improve your health. Contact the clinic today by calling 410-448-6361 to schedule an appointment and find out if this is the right program for you.