Can Your Child Be Suffering from Food Intolerance?

        I'm pretty sure you all know my husband, The Pickiest Eater. When he first started thinking about making a food blog to write about his food adventures, he asked me for my thoughts. And somewhere in the middle of conversing, I chuckled thinking (and saying out loud)... "...but how can you put up a food blog when you're the pickiest eater in the world?" And then boom! That's where he got his blog name. 

        It's true though. Although Richie loves eating out and trying new stuff, he's actually very picky. But his picky-ness is not entirely because of his personal preference. Sure he's not a fan of veggies and tofu, no sugar and low fat stuff etc., but a huge chunk of reason is actually due to his hyper acidity. Every time he eats anything with tomatoes or anything citrus, anything at all, his stomach acts up. Tomatoes and citrus-y stuff are his kryptonite!

        He's lucky that he knows well enough that those food give his body a bad reaction. While I, on the other hand, have never had any food allergy or intolerance.... that I know of.... so far. But maybe I do have... I just don't know it yet. For all I know it could be the one triggering my sudden attacks of migraine, or the itchy skin problem I started having recently. (I don't want to talk about it.Sniff!...)  But I will know in 2 weeks time. How?

        Thanks to Cambridge Nutritional Science or CNS (the premier provider of food intolerance testing or FIT, who has recently made world-class food intolerance testing available here in the Philippines. The first and the only one available in the country. And I was lucky enough to try this test!

        So imagine if you could find out the specific food that your body cannot tolerate, you can better manage what you eat and in the long run, eliminate the usual sickness you have been feeling that just cannot seem to leave you alone. That would be so much helpful!

        But you might also be wondering... what's the difference between food intolerance and food allergy anyways? 

Food intolerance Vs. food allergies

(information source from Medical News Today)

        Food intolerance means your body cannot properly digest a substance in certain foods, which is quite often because you lack enzymes. While food allergy does not have anything to do with enzymes It involves an immune body response.

        Symptoms of food allergy appears very quickly. Almost immediately after intake. Food intolerance symptoms takes its sweet time and appears later. That's why it's hard to detect just by guessing.

        In food allergy, no matter how small the amount of that food you intake, it will always trigger a reaction. In food tolerance, a little intake may not give you any reactions at all. 

        Food allergies can be life-threatening. (I remember being on a lobster buffet event, one of our friends had to be rushed immediately to the hospital after his eyes puffed up and he almost couldn't breathe after eating one too many lobsters in one sitting). 

        While food intolerance can also get severe, unpleasant kinds of intestinal gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, sudden bad headaches and more (as seen above), but not really life-threatening. (I vividly remember just last weekend, I ate out with my cousin and sister, and while driving home, I very suddenly felt an unsettling feeling in my tummy. It's like all of a sudden something wanted to come out from the north and at the same time, the south if you know what I mean. I checked with everyone else if they were feeling same symptoms, worried it might have been food poisoning. But thank God everyone else was fine. It was just me. That was probably the loooooongest drive home I ever experienced. Plus the universe thought it was funny to add a little traffic on the way home.)

        So in order to eliminate unpleasant situations like these, one can take 2 kinds of tests by CNS that can help detect your food intolerance. Starting with the Food Detective Test.

Food Detective Test

        The Food Detective Test is basically a test to detect which food your body is intolerant to. It's actually a qualitative DIY test that you can do at home, and then get the results in only 40 minutes (Amazing!) To see the instructional guide of how to conduct this test, click here  . Moving on to the 2nd type of test...

The Food Print Test

        The Food Print Test is a more detailed report on specific food that is hindering you from achieving good health. This is a laboratory test which I was able to try last Thursday. This needs to be done in LifeScience Center's clinic. But don't worry. They will only need a few drops of your blood and that's it. One quick prick of your finger is all they need to detect the presence of Immunoglobin G food specific antibodies in what we eat. The benefits? This:

        Above is the sample report that is the outcome of a Food Print test. See how detailed it is. The color labels are much like street stop lights:

Green means "It's okay, you can eat it (but like anything else, in moderation please)

Yellow means "Ooops! Don't overdo it!"

Red means " STOP EATING THAT!!!"

       Notice that there are numbers inside the colored boxes. And notice that the red boxes have higher numbers. Because the higher the number, the higher your body will have a not-so-good reaction to that certain food. That's how detailed the report is.

        This is the very chair I sat on when they pricked my finger. After the finger pricking, I was told that the results will be ready in 2 weeks and they will inform me when I can go back and claim it. I'm quite excited to get my result. But until then, all I'll keep thinking is....

PLEASE LORD DON'T LET THEM TAKE AWAY MY HOT DOGS, BACON, SPAM, EGG, RICE..... OH MY RICE!!!!!

        Half-kidding aside, in the long run, the report can serve as my guide to help me change my lifestyle. It can help reach health goals and make weight management a lot more manageable. Why? Because you'd be eliminating food that gives you unpleasant symptoms anyways. So you will be a bit more willing to give them up. 

        My little Rainbow, as far as I can tell, have no reactions to food whatsoever. But I could be wrong. Can test this be done to kids? YES! This test can be done on kids ages 2 years old and up. By doing this, us moms can find the right fuel to support our children's development. Physically and mentally. And since every child is unique, this detailed report can really help us avoid giving them the specific food that they are intolerant to, and at the same time, we can make sure that we can properly give our kids the vitamins they are unable to get from certain food due to intolerance. A healthy baby is a happy baby!

        The good thing is that CNS Philippines partnered up with Hi-Precision Diagnostics Center. All their 27 branches help make these 2 food tests easily accessible and available to a wider variety of clients. Staff of Hi-Precision Diagnostics Center can go to your door step to help you conduct and get the results almostimmediately. But to get a more in-depth interpretation of your results, you need to head down to LifeScience Center at Bonifacio Global City and consult with their qualified nutritionist.

Rates: Food Detective Test is P6,580 while Food Print Test is P15,500

        Thanks again to Health on a Platter session for this eye-opening event! And wish me luck on my Food Print test result! Will share with you once I get it!

LifeScience Center is located at...
8th floor AccraLaw Tower
2nd Ave. corner 30th st.
Bonifacio Global City
Official Website: www.lifescience.ph

And for more info on CNS Food Intolerance Tests, go to www.gmtmanila.com