Nutrition Expert Amy Pieczarka, RDN is here to talk about Alcat Food Sensitivity Testing. Welcome to Episode #12 of Clean Eating for Women. In this episode of the Clean Eating for Women podcast, we talk about:  

• How food sensitivities can cause chronic effects including weight gain for no reason
• The difference between food allergies and food sensitivities
• How most people can benefit from the Alcat test and results

Some highlights of this episode:

1. How Amy discovered that testing for food sensitivities would be a great help for her clients and an important tool in finding root causes of problems. [03:44]
2. Cell Science Systems is the laboratory that does the Alcat test and how they put the recommendations into practice. [04:15]
3. How allergies are associated with antibodies and the reaction and symptoms often happen within minutes to an hour later. [06:10]
4. Sensitivities involve the innate immune system and the symptoms are more delayed. They could come up hours or days later and aren't as profound but they can be chronic. [07:06]
5. How food sensitivities cause inflammation which is a major contributing factor to chronic issues. [11:48]
6. Testing is required to pinpoint symptoms that are being experienced on a daily basis. Food sensitivity is a piece of the puzzle, and the Alcat test takes the guesswork out of the process. [14:18]
7. The Alcat test measures white blood cell response. Leukocyte activation is measured as they are introduced to the food extracts. This indicates an inflammatory response. [16:22]
8. How consuming the same food everyday can cause food sensitivities. [22:56]
9. The Alcat test includes colored coded results. Red is reactive and green is all the foods that you can have. To begin, focus on eating the green foods and follow the rotation plan on the second page to not bombard the immune system everyday. [25:36]

Links mentioned in this episode (some affiliate links included):

• PreviMedica
• PreviMedica Facebook Page
• Wellio.co
• Amy Pieczarka LinkedIn
• @AMYPIECZARKA on Twitter
• Podcast #6: Discovering & Managing Food Sensitivities
• Cell Science Systems Alcat Test
• Institute for Functional Medicine