Recently Bex and I have decided to do some more diagnostic testing on ourselves. In our quest for optimal health, today’s growing technology can be used to help us understand the insides of our bodies like never before. Considering we are all such a mixture of different gene lines and cultures these days, food affects each one of us in different ways and food intolerances have become more and more common as our bodies attempt to adapt to nutritional and environmental changes. So we decided to do food intolerance testing.
With food intolerance testing, there are several main stream and ‘alternative’ options. Bex has done both blood and hair testing, and I have done hair testing alone. To learn more about this type of testing, we spoke with Andy Orr, a representative of a hair analysis testing facility, and learned some very interesting things!
Common food intolerance symptoms.
Pic from leakygutcure.com
Q&A with ‘The Intolerance Testing Group’
Your claim as ‘The most comprehensive intolerance test in the world’ is a big thing to live up to! Why do you think hair samples are superior to blood? Can you do a metal toxicity test via hair as well?
We test the hair sample for many reasons, the first being that it is the cheapest, as it does not need to be hygienically stored and can travel easier unlike blood, which is one of the many ways we pass the savings on to the customers.
The second reason we test hair is because we find the results are also more accurate. When you take a blood sample, it starts to deteriorate immediately and only gives you a snap shot of intolerances at that one particular time. With a hair sample it is in the same state at the end of your hair, as it was when it came out of your head. This means that we can see your food intolerances for a longer amount of time, meaning that you get better results. We test the hair to read its bio-resonance, this is stored within the DNA of hair and tells our machines all details of your food intolerances, as well as if your body is lacking any nutrients.
This process takes a few hours to complete, which is why all tests take 7 days to complete, due to the sheer numbers ordered every day. We can also conduct metal toxicity tests with hair samples. This has proven to be very popular.
Are your tests (Bio-Resonance) approved by any agencies to assure their validity?
No, we are not backed or approved by any agencies. We have numerous testimonials from various clients stating that our results have made such a difference in their lives, where doctors could not find an answer. I think it purely depends on whether you are objective in your beliefs and are willing to be open in understanding our results. Bio-resonance technology is widely accepted in Europe and Scandinavia as both a safe, non-invasive and accurate form of assessment of energetic alignments in the human body.
Are there any independent peer reviewed studies to show bio-resonance testing to be superior to blood?
Bio-resonance is a form of holistic therapy, backed by little science, compared to that of the testing field of blood work and drugs. We tend not to promote blood testing or taking drugs as we believe that you can cure a number of things by simply changing your diet to help re-balance the body. The reason the body becomes ill is due to a number of imbalances and these can be addressed by taking our test, to help re-balance these out non-invasively and more importantly, without the use of man-made drugs.
How do you conduct the tests?
The bio-resonance therapy works by scanning the hair sample to create a profile of this particular person’s energy that radiates from the DNA. With this profile, we can then scan all of our items against the hair sample profile (the saved DNA energy pattern). If, for a specific reason, a particular item’s pattern does not harmonise with that of the hair sample of the client, then the energy is distorted and therefore does not co-operate, showing as an intolerance. We measure these intolerances on a scale of 85% or higher. So any items that have caused a reaction on this level or higher are then the ones that are reported back to our clients as their HIGH intolerances.
What can you test?
We provide a full list of items that we test for, so that you can see exactly what types of food and non-food items we test for. There are almost 300 food items, and over 300 non-food items. If the items you want are not on the list, please note that we also offer an additional service for FREE that allows you to enclose up to five extra items in separate bags and we will test them against your hair sample to see if there is an intolerance. We also have a full list of 80 nutrients that we test deficiencies for, and a sample report, so you can see how easy it is to read and interpret your results.
Food Items Tested | Non-Food Items Tested | Nutrients List | Sample Report
How much of my hair do you need?
A small amount; no more than 3-4 strands. When supplying your hair sample, you place it in some sort of small, plastic bag, such as a freezer or sandwich bag, or even cling film (saran wrap), that is clearly labelled or stapled to each test respectively. You can then enclose all of this in an envelope and return it all to us.
If someone’s hair is dyed, can they still do the test?
When we test hair, we test the DNA stored inside the hair which is not altered by the dyeing / bleaching process. We have found that testing hair that is coloured and testing hair that is not coloured (from elsewhere on the same body) gives us no difference in results. If you are still worried about this, then please feel free to enclose hair from elsewhere on the body; we do not need it from the head.
I do not have any hair on my head…can I still do the test?
If you do not have much hair on your head then you can always send us hair from other parts of your body: eyebrows, armpits etc.
Can children have this test?
There is no age limit on our tests, in fact many parents prefer our test to others as it is non-invasive and you can get the results quickly. We find that having the test as an infant is often very beneficial as it helps the parents to hone their diet for the rest of their lives.
I am taking medication…will this affect the results?
Medication will not affect the results as it is treating a condition in your body. What we test for is the energy patterns surrounding the DNA inside your hair, which will be unaffected by any medication.
Can you complete the test on animals?
According to vets, animals especially dogs can suffer greatly from intolerances. Following requests from several vets (and pet owners), we have designed a test specifically for dogs and cats. You can order the test in the normal manner.
Why are my results from a previous test different?
Our bodies will produce different results on different days and this also changes over time. The items shown are the current items your body is struggling to assimilate. There is also disagreement among scientists that some items if not currently included in your diet, will not show up in an intolerance test, such as gluten.
Your body can also have too much of something, so if something is showing as an intolerance that you have had a few days before the test, your body may have had too much and is showing as an intolerance. This can include intolerance to medicines etc. When you eat something or come in contact with something, your body tries to assimilate it and absorb it. If your immune system is low or you are out of balance, this can become difficult and you become intolerant to that item. This is why your intolerances can change and one day an item can affect you and another day cause no problems. The list of nutritional items is important as a good balanced diet along with a healthy lifestyle can boost the immune system and reduce your intolerance levels.
I have had a rash that appeared on my chest periodically. After receiving my list of items I tested them one by one and discovered chillis are my problem. At least now I know and can avoid them.
What should a person do when they receive their results?
First, to not panic! People may see items on the list they have never eaten or come in contact with. Everything found in the test is always included as we obviously do not know what you come in contact with on a regular basis. One of our clients was intolerant to fish food and worked in an aquarium.
The next step is to eliminate and then reintroduce the intolerant foods.
How long do you suggest people stay away from the foods they score a high intolerance for?
The foods and non-food items that have been shown as a problem, should be avoided over the next 14 days. Once you have done this, slowly, one item at a time and in small amounts, start to add the items back into your diet. By adding the items back into your diet one item at a time and in small measured amounts you will be able to notice any differences. If you have a reaction to a specific food item that you are re-introducing, this confirms that you have an intolerance to the item and you should avoid it. Or at least you now know the consequences of having it in your diet if you choose. Remember that intolerances cause many different symptoms, so take note of any changes in your health, including sleep patterns and mood swings. Note: Any major changes to your diet should be supervised by your health professional.
How does hair analysis compare to the skin prick test?
Our test differs to that of a skin prick test because we use bio-resonance therapy. A skin prick test involves the suspected intolerance being ‘pricked’ onto your skin and then observing the reaction, compared to the histamine prick that they should place first on your arm. This gives the person administering the test a base reaction to go by. Therefore anything that ‘over-reacts’ you can see and compare this with that of the histamine one that was done. With our test, we simply take the hair sample and place it into our machines and then let the machine scan it. This then creates a profile after reading the energy waves that radiate from the DNA of the hair and it is with this, we can then all of the 600+ items, that we test for intolerances against. Should any wave patterns not harmonise with your unique energy pattern, then this is where the intolerance is detected. The stronger the distortion, the higher the intolerance, as the more it is not ‘agreeing’ with your hair sample.
Where are your tests available from?
All our tests are conducted centrally, in the UK, but we actually have numerous sites to reflect different countries. We have websites for the UK, USA, Australia and in Europe, France and Spain (in French and Spanish). We are currently launching our new sites for the UK and USA, which have been extremely successful.
For more information and to order your own intolerance test:
USA: www.allergytest.co
Food Intolerance Testing…without Doctors or Needles – October 2013
