Food and Environmental Allergy Testing

Proper nutrition is pivotal in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Healthy people should aim to eat a balanced diet, taking in enough nutrients from a wide variety of foods. This allows their bodies to perform at an optimum level while reducing their risk for disease. Yet foods affect people differently; what may be a tasty treat for one person may be toxic for another. At the Health & Vitality Center, a noted center for natural medicine in Los Angeles, holistic doctor Shiva Lalezar has helped countless patients with a myriad of conditions by using food allergy testing to discover hidden causes of disease.

Types of allergic reactions

If you are allergic to a substance, your body’s immune system responds by producing antibodies to it. Allergic reactions are often grouped into two main categories: immediate and delayed. Immediate allergic reactions are often severe, ranging from skin eruptions like hives to trouble breathing and anaphylactic shock. These allergic responses are manifested by sharply increased levels of an antibody called IgE. Delayed allergic responses - including digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are more subtle and therefore may be less obvious. These delayed responses are associated with higher levels of a different antibody, called IgG or IgA.

How is food and environmental allergy testing performed?

First, Dr. Lalezar will perform a simple blood draw. The serum is then separated from the blood. A plate with 96 small wells, each containing a different allergen, is then prepared. We will then add a few drops of your blood serum to each well to look for a reaction of IgG and IgE antibodies to the different allergens.

How is Dr. Lalezar’s food allergy testing different from that performed by most doctors?

At the Health & Vitality Center, we test for both types of antibodies: IgG and IgE - rather than the IgE-only tests performed by most conventional doctors. This lets Dr. Lalezar identify more subtle cases of food allergies or food intolerance that may be causing troublesome symptoms.

Which medical conditions may be associated with food allergies?
Many different conditions have been linked to food allergies. The following represents only a partial list:

Treatment Options:

Based upon the results of food allergy testing, Dr. Lalezar may recommend the following treatments:

How do I find out more about food and environmental allergy testing?

Call the Health & Vitality Center at 310-477-1166 or click here to schedule an appointment. We are one of the leading centers for natural medicine in Los Angeles. Holistic doctor Shiva Lalezar, D.O. utilizes food and environmental allergy testing to pinpoint the root cause of your medical condition instead of merely treating the symptoms. Our practice uses an integrative approach, combining the best conventional therapies with the latest techniques and treatments in Functional Medicine for optimal results.