Raw Vs. Cooked: Why Allergy Testing May Miss The Culprit.

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I just found a fascinating study on the effects of raw vs. cooked food on the body’s antibodies.

For those happy campers who have never had a food allergy, typically blood is tested against food antigens.  I lost faith in the testing when I tested a very allergic patient for three hundred and fifty foods and she came back only mildly allergic to one.

But we have various permutations on the testing.  Whether you like the standard blood test, the scratch test, the LEAP variation (which has variable results), or even the Vega testing done with the electro-acupuncture needle, all the tests are based on the raw food.

So they all may be equally right or wrong.  If you are testing against the raw food instead of the cooked food, you may miss the allergens.  We all know that cooking breaks down and alters the chemistry of food.  It also evidently produces a whole new batch of allergens.

The study is below.  I remember now that applied kinesiology used to use a bit of the food on the tongue.  Currently it commonly uses closed bottles, which is not better than chance.  But when the food is applied to the tongue, the muscle test is as accurate as a blood test.  With the difference of raw vs. cooked added in, the muscle test may yet win.

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2009 May 12;6:22.

Detection of IgE, IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against raw and processed food antigens.

Vojdani A.

Source

822 S, Robertson Blvd, Ste, 812, Los Angeles, CA 90035, USA. drari@msn.com.

Abstract

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND:

Despite the first documented case of food allergy to cooked food in 1921 by Prausnitz and Kustner, all commercial food antigens are prepared from raw food. Furthermore, all IgE and IgG antibodies against dietary proteins offered by many clinical laboratories are measured against raw food antigens.

METHODS:

We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the measurement of IgE, IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against raw and processed food antigens. Sera with low or high reactivity to modified food antigens were subjected to myelin basic protein, oxidized low density lipoprotein, and advanced glycation end products (AGE) such as AGE-human serum albumin and AGE-hemoglobin.

RESULTS:

Compared to raw food antigens, IgE antibodies showed a 3-8-fold increase against processed food antigens in 31% of the patients. Similarly, IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against modified food antigens overall were found at much higher levels than antibody reactions against raw food antigens. Almost every tested serum with high levels of antibodies against modified food antigens showed very high levels of antibodies against myelin basic protein, oxidized low density lipoprotein, AGE-human serum albumin and AGE-hemoglobin.

CONCLUSION:

We conclude that the determination of food allergy, intolerance and sensitivity would be improved by testing IgE, IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against both raw and processed food antigens. Antibodies against modified food antigens, by reacting with AGEs and tissue proteins, may cause perturbation in degenerative and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, inflammation, autoimmunity, neurodegeneration and neuroautoimmunity.

PMID:

19435515

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