Posted by Anne Hermann on Mon, Mar 12, 2012 @ 01:30 PM
Dr. Anne Hermann
We all know that severe food allergies, caused by IgE antibodies, can be lethal. But food allergies, caused by IgG antibodies, are more subtle. We sometimes call the IgG allergy a food sensitivity because it will not kill you. IgG allergies do cause sinus congestion, headache, achiness, constipation, diarrhea, rash, autism and a variety of vague symptoms.
There are two ways to determine whether you have a food sensitivity. One is to do an elimination diet. If, after eliminating specific foods 
from the diet, you feel better, then we know that something you are eating is causing your symptoms. Then, we add back one food at a time to determine what food or foods caused the symptom. The second and easiest way to determine whether you have a food sensitivity is blood testing. A blood test will tell you if you have an allergy and how severe the allergy is.
In the old days (not too long ago), if someone had a food allergy, their only option was to eliminate that food from their diet. This is difficult to do because certain foods, like soy, wheat, corn, dairy, and egg are found in small amounts in many food items. Now, patients have the option of taking sublingual allergy drops by Allergy Easy. These drops provide treatment for 59 different foods. Allergy drops have allowed us to help many people who have multiple food allergies and have not been able to fully eliminate the foods they are allergic to from their diet.
We are proud to be offering the full spectrum of food sensitivity testing and treatment in a safe medical environment. Anne Hermann, MD is double board certified in Internal Medicine and as a Physician Nutrition Specialist. She has been practicing in Tampa Bay since 2003.
To schedule your appointment in either our Tampa or St. Pete Beach office, please call (813) 902-9559.
This post was written by Anne Hermann. Follow Anne Hermann on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
