IgG/IgE Combo Explorer

Overview:

What is IgG Food Explorer™?

The IgG Food Explorer by Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory is an Elisa-based multiplex food sensitivity test measuring total IgG antibodies to a plethora of foods. IgG Food Explorer evaluates over 250 food antigens using a simple at-home collection. Results help practitioners personalize diet and lifestyle guidance for their patients to reduce and eliminate symptoms related to adverse food reactions.

What are Food Sensitivities?

Food sensitivities are an adverse immune system response to ordinarily harmless foods. These food sensitivities are highly individualized, and symptoms are subtle and often delayed. Adverse reactions can occur from 3 to 72 hours after ingesting the offending food.

Why Test for Food Sensitivities?

Elevated IgG antibodies can promote systemic (whole-body) inflammation, leading to a variety of unwanted symptoms.

IgG Food Explorer tests immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies to a variety of common foods. This extensive food sensitivity test can help practitioners pinpoint which foods may be driving symptoms and best prioritize and individualize a diet and lifestyle plan for patients.

Usually, eliminating foods that promote an IgG antibody response can reduce stress on the immune system, lower whole-body inflammation, and help heal the gut. An antibody-guided elimination diet is more reliable and preferable than generalized diet plans or exclusion diets based on food journaling and diet history alone.

IgG Food Explorer provides in-depth insight into adverse food reactions and the symptoms they create.

IgG Food Explorer Tests Antibody Response to Over 250* Food Extracts.

Molecular antigens for wheat gliadin and cow's milk are also included for enhanced insight into the sensitivity of those two potentially immunogenic foods.

Understanding Food Sensitivities vs. Food Allergies

Food sensitivities and food allergies are not the same. Different arms of the immune system facilitate both conditions.

Food sensitivities are delayed reactions and elicit IgG antibodies, while food allergies are immediate, potentially life-threatening, mast-cell mediated, and often involve IgE antibodies.

It is best practice to measure IgG and IgE antibodies together as they independently create inflammation and play key roles in symptoms driven by food. A food can elicit an IgG sensitivity response, and an IgE antibody response, or both.

By understanding a patient's food sensitivities, practitioners can tailor dietary protocols that can help resolve uncomfortable symptoms.

Food Sensitivities and Gut Health

IgG-mediated food sensitivities are often a consequence of poor gut health, poor digestion, dysbiosis, and inflammation – all of which can result in intestinal permeability or "leaky gut." If the gut barrier is permeable and or digestion is suboptimal, maldigested food proteins can leak across the intestinal barrier.

Since gut permeability is not normal physiology, the immune system may detect food protein molecules as foreign or antigenic. T cells then become sensitized and begin the immune response to produce antibodies against these foods. This phenomenon is called the loss of oral tolerance to a particular food.

Food sensitivities and loss of intestinal barrier function is a well-understood connection in functional medicine. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that the intestinal cell barrier is made up of highly interactive layers, including the following:

• Microbiota/Bacteria
• Mucous layers
• Epithelium (includes tight junctions)
• Immune system

A compromise to any of these layers can propagate intestinal permeability. Tight junctions are an important but are not the entire picture when considering a compromised gut barrier.

IgG Food Explorer testing for food sensitivities can not only help pinpoint trigger foods that may be exacerbating a patient’s symptoms but can provide essential clues about gut dysfunction, digestive insufficiency, and intestinal permeability.

If a patient has a highly reactive food sensitivity test, GI-MAP follow-up testing is warranted.

Methodology: Elisa-based multiplex food sensitivity test

IgE Allergy Explorer
- Evaluate Over 150 Foods and Inhalants

What is IgE Allergy Explorer™?

IgE Allergy Explorer is a comprehensive blood test measuring IgE antibodies to a plethora of foods and environmental allergens. The IgE Allergy Explorer tests over 150 allergens at the extract and component level, making it the most extensive and affordable functional medicine allergy test available. Plus, the entire panel is a simple at-home collection using just a few drops of blood.

What Is an Allergy?

Allergic reactions occur when the immune system has a misguided reaction what should be a harmless substances leading to symptoms ranging in severity from mild to severe. In some cases, allergies can lead to anaphylaxis, which is potentially life-threatening.

Allergies affect approximately 25% of the population, and their incidence is very much on the rise. Additionally, allergies can be difficult to pinpoint and diagnose, especially since the immune system can change over time. For this reason, allergy testing with the IgE Allergy Explorer is essential for effective allergy identification and management.

Blood Testing for Allergy Using IgE Allergy Explorer

IgE Food Explorer is an allergy blood test (also referred to as a specific IgE test). It measures the concentration of specific IgE antibodies in the blood to different antigens, including foods, pollens, mites, insect venom, and more. The detection of IgE indicates SENSITIZATION to a specific allergen. It is important to understand that being IgE sensitized and having positive IgE antibodies does not guarantee a clinical response. In fact, patients with positive IgE test results for a specific antigen fall into two categories:

1. IgE sensitized and allergic
2. IgE sensitized and non-allergic

Extract-level IgE testing alone may not distinguish between these two patient groups. Component IgE testing with IgE Allergy Explorer can provide additional insight and help practitioners narrow in on a clinical diagnosis in context with patient history and symptoms.

Understanding Extract and Component Testing in Allergy Testing

1. Whole allergen (extract) tests that can help rule in or out the specific type of allergy sensitization
2. Allergen component tests that drill down into the exact allergenic protein driving symptoms

Methodology: IgE Allergy Explorer is a microarray assay that evaluates extracts and molecular allergens to provide a clearer picture of patient sensitization status. The microarray technology allows every allergen (extract or molecular allergen) to be individually quantified in a single sample.

 The IgE Food Explorer integrates a powerful inhibitor of IgE antibodies directed against cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs) to provide specific IgE results. This technology reduces the interpretative burden for practitioners with patients who have CCD-positive patients and increases the specificity of our test results.

**Not suitable for children under the age of 2 years old**