I Was Diagnosed With Food Allergy By A Naturopath/Homeopath. Should I See An Allergist Before I Start Avoiding Foods?

Dr. Long answers the question: 'Naturopath/Homeopath Vs. Allergist?'

ByABC News
March 25, 2008, 12:17 PM

— -- Question: I was diagnosed with food allergy by a naturopath/homeopath. Should I see an allergist before I start avoiding foods?

Answer: So there's really two answers to that question. It gets back to an earlier question we reviewed it which is, "How do you accurately diagnose food allergy?" And at this time the only meaningful modalities for diagnosing food allergy are the skin test or the IgE RAST test.

Other methods that may be used by naturopaths or homeopaths have not been validated.

The second part of the question is, "Should I avoid these foods?" Avoidance, there's several ways that foods can cause problems, one of them is allergy. If food is causing clinical symptoms then it makes sense to avoid it so long as you maintain a balanced diet.

The concern about allergy is that if you truly are allergic and ingest the food that may be potentially dangerous, harmful or perhaps even life-threatening for you.

Next: Is There Currently Any Way To Treat Food Allergies?

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