Allergies and intolerances
Food allergies are common. We regularly meet people who cannot eat nuts or strawberries, for example, without an allergic reaction in the form of an asthma attack. Some foods, however, can cause harm without obvious signs. We may struggle for years with bloating, eczema, psoriasis or headaches, unaware that our daily wholegrain bread at breakfast or a glass of apple juice could be behind our symptoms.
“Intolerance to certain foods is a frequent cause of unexplained, long-term health problems,” confirms Dr Monika Golková, Medical Director of A2C Anti-Aging Clinic. “Food can be both medicine and poison. The intestine is not just a digestive organ; it is also part of the immune system, a place where harmful substances are intercepted. It is involved in the absorption of nutrients as well as in the body’s detoxification processes.”
Food intolerance versus allergy
Food intolerance is not a food allergy. An allergy produces immediate and pronounced symptoms following contact with an allergen, making the culprit easier to identify. Food intolerance is much more difficult to detect. It involves different immune cells and is less obvious, so symptoms may not appear until several days after the offending food has been eaten.
How does food intolerance work inside our bodies?
Food substances, proteins, fats, sugars, toxins, colourings, E-number additives, preservatives, moulds and medicines activate the immature immune system. Immune cells called neutrophils detect a potentially harmful food and trigger a full cascade of immune responses. A polymorphonuclear cell, such as a neutrophil, first changes shape, increases in volume and then, once damaged, dies. Before doing so, however, it releases inflammatory mediators into the surrounding area, including IL-1, chemokines and lytic enzymes. A “hostile environment” develops outside the cell, and inflammation spreads through the body.
In dietetic practice, an elimination approach is used to identify a food that causes intolerance. For example, you eat rice for two weeks, then add beef, followed by an egg—a lengthy and imprecise process. At A2C Clinic, we use a different method. With a single blood sample, we test more than 450 types of food substances and identify the substances that cause intolerance precisely. The test covers not only foods but also the various chemicals unfortunately present in our diet: preservatives, colourings, artificial sweeteners, flavourings and moulds.
The examination is called theALCAT testand is the only internationally recognised test for food intolerances, originating in the USA.