A Summary of the Gold Standard in Diagnosing Hidden Food Allergies*
I. Elimination:
Choose the allergy food you primarily suspect first. Usually this is dairy or wheat/gluten, but it can also be corn, eggs, nuts, etc. Note: Sugar and (unfermented) soy are more toxic to the body than allergenic. Be sure to eliminate all forms of this chosen allergen food completely from your diet for 2 weeks (5 to 7 days for children).
II. Challenge:
A. Day 1 – Eat a moderate amount of this suspected allergy food with each meal. (Note that if you get an immediate unpleasant reaction from minutes to hours afterwards, stop this challenge. This is clearly indicative of a positive food allergy response.)
B. Day 2, 3, and 4 – On these 3 days do not eat the suspected allergy food. Continue to monitor yourself both physically and psychologically for symptoms arising from a delayed allergy reaction from eating this suspected allergy food on Day 1. If you do experience any unpleasant signs or symptoms during these 4 days, then this indicates that the suspected food is indeed an allergen.
III. Next Suspected Food:
If there are more suspected allergy foods you want to test, repeat this test with the new food, waiting approximately 1 week after Day 4 of the last food challenged.
IV. Avoidance:
If the food(s) you challenged has tested positive, then avoid it for 2 to 6 months before re-challenging it. As you get healthier, you should be able to “V & R” it at some point.**
*For more in-depth information on the Elimination-Challenge test, see chapter 6 in Radical Medicine. **Variety and Rotation = Don’t eat your allergy food every day and also vary the type of allergy food you intermittently eat. For example, don’t eat the same brand of yogurt or spelt or kamut bread every day; change brands frequently and eat it only 1 to 3 times a week.