Approximately 8% of all children suffer from food allergies -- and even more experience various symptoms after eating certain foods that may or may not represent food allergies. Parents of these children want answers, and when they don't get the answers they want from their regular doctors, they may turn to "alternative practitioners" for answers. These practitioners may order a multiple of "alternative" tests to evaluate for "food allergies", including IgG RAST, provocation-neutralization, applied kinesiology, and body chemical analysis.
Unfortunately, none of these tests are valid for the diagnosis of food allergies, and more often than not lead to inappropriate elimination diets resulting in possible nutritional deficiencies. This has become such a problem in the United Kingdom that the National Health Service issued a warning about these useless tests, and initiated an education program to teach doctors and parents about the appropriate evaluation for food allergies.
In my opinion, only board-certified allergists are truly qualified to evaluate, diagnose and treat food allergies, particularly in young children.
Read more:
- Basics of Food Allergies
- Types of "Allergy Tests" to Avoid
- What To Do If Your Child Has Been Diagnosed with Food Allergy
