Use the Precision Point Diagnostics P88 DAT for a more successful elimination diet

Elimination diets are considered essential as a way to check for food allergies and sensitivities. By eliminating certain foods and tracking well-being and symptoms and reintroducing foods and noting any changes, it is often possible to pinpoint which foods are causing reactions. I say “often possible”, because sometimes foods are missed, or symptoms are seemingly unrelated to the food allergy or sensitivity. Food sensitivities in particular (IgG reactions) may take up to 72 hours to manifest symptoms, and even then, the symptoms may include things like brain fog, skin conditions, tiredness, and general inflammation that not only may not be initially thought of as related to food sensitivities by a patient but may take even longer to manifest as they require chronic exposure. Eczema, for instance, could take months or years to develop, but may very well be triggered by food sensitivities. A general elimination diet might very well miss long-term sensitivities. 

Comprehensive dietary antigen testing like the Precision Point Diagnostics P88 DAT can accurately assess IgE (food allergies), IgG (food sensitivities), IgG4 (food allergy tolerances), and C3d (Complement- a measure of whether a specific food sensitivity has triggered a complement cascade in a given patient and magnified the inflammatory effect of the sensitivity). When an elimination diet is crafted based on the results of the P88, that elimination diet can be targeted in a way that a generic elimination diet cannot be. The list of foods to be eliminated can be prioritized based on the results of the test rather than as a blind stab in the dark. Not only does this mean that foods that are causing the most reactivity are being targeted for elimination first, leading to quicker and more accurate relief of symptoms, but many other foods may not have to be eliminated at all, unlike an untargeted elimination diet. Let’s face it- there are plenty of patients who become tired of elimination diets or aren’t careful to follow them perfectly. Having a targeted list of foods to eliminate that came from test results can help a patient be more committed to following the diet accurately. Seeing more immediate results can help a patient feel more invested in their health and stick to a long-term plan for recovery. 

Food sensitivities and allergies are no joke. They can rob a patient of enjoyment of life, or at least dull their perceptions of it. They can cause chronic pain and inflammation that can become systemic. They can be at the root of some autoimmune diseases. They can damage the microbiome and make it more likely that food allergies and sensitivities then proliferate, leading to a much more limited diet as one ages. With proper identification, elimination, tracking, and intervention, however, foods that were once eliminated can be reintroduced and enjoyed again in the future. The gut can be healed. Inflammation can be brought under control and even largely eliminated. Focus and clarity can be restored, and life can be enjoyed again.

Dietary antigen testing is sometimes attacked from various angles as being unnecessary or harmful. More conservative members of the medical community will go so far as to attack elimination diets as harmful as well, arguing that they cause unneeded stress in patients and risk patients not having a proper diet and getting enough nutrients. This is far more likely with an untargeted elimination diet. In addition, since the harm of food sensitivities and allergies are real, NOT trying to eliminate them in a patient is likely to cause far more harm- including less absorption of nutrients from a damaged microbiome and inflamed gut. Some critics (including some of the dietary gurus and influencers on the internet) take the opposite approach and argue that dietary antigen testing isn’t necessary, and you should skip them and just do an untargeted elimination diet using their method. Lab-run dietary antigen tests that are comprehensive (like the P88) are accurate. They use controls and have to be validated. They give very good results and have helped thousands of patients live better lives. An elimination diet should be combined with testing to give the very best results. Not every patient always has symptoms from every reaction, and an elimination diet can be helpful in correlating symptoms to specific foods. An elimination diet should be seen as an extra layer to help fine-tune patient response to craft the most effective long-term plan for them.