Weight Management Program

The "finger-stick" 96-Food IgG ELISA Food Intolerance Test and metaSCAN Metabolic Analysis Self-Test is a winning comination for anyone looking to manage their weight in a safe and healthly manner.

If you've tried to lose weight without success, consider the possibility of hidden food allergies and improper metabolism.

Many people find that eliminating allergens from their diet is the missing link to weight loss, and research has been revealing why.

Researchers believe delayed-onset food allergies (IgG-mediated) can contribute to weight problems in several different ways. First, they can cause water retention and water weight gain. In virtually all hidden food allergy cases, partially digested food compounds pass through a compromised intestinal lining into the bloodstream and eventually travel to tissues, where they cause irritation and inflammation. The body tries to reduce this irritation by retaining water, which dilutes the concentration of the offending material. As long as people consistently eat food allergens, they often hold on to water weight. 

Inflammatory substances released during allergic reactions to food also affect weight control. Some chemicals involved in food allergies may inhibit metabolism, and prostaglandin E2, which is also released, inhibits the body's ability to burn fat stores. Food allergies may therefore diminish the body's ability to burn fat, a process known as lipolysis. 

Food allergies often lead to food addictions, which further sabotage weight control in a variety of ways. One study found that partially digested compounds in common food allergens act like morphine-like opioid drugs (Lancet, Oct. 27, 1979). This means that eating food allergens creates a temporary "high," but when that feeling wears off, we crave our allergens again to get another euphoric "fix."  Eventually we eat our food allergens so often that we become physiologically and psychologically addicted. If we try to eat less of the foods we're addicted to (as we usually do when we restrict calories), we often develop such uncontrollable cravings for our favorite foods that we end up bingeing on them. Binge eating, in turn, encourages weight gain. 

New research suggests the opioid chemicals found in partially digested food allergens also may increase appetite and decrease metabolism when produced in excess (New England Journal of Medicine, 1997, vol. 337). In other words, the more we eat food allergens, the more likely we'll overeat. Even if we use willpower to ignore our increased appetite and eat fewer calories, we still can gain weight if we continue to consume our food allergens. That's because the body's calorie-burning efficiency could be diminished, and when excess calories aren't burned off, they're stored as fat. 

Eliminating food allergens can therefore conceivably offer many benefits: It can alleviate bloating and water retention, help overcome food cravings and addictions, and boost metabolism and fat-burning lipolysis in some people.

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