Measuring Allergens & Tiny Buddha

This morning during my visit with Dr. Firshein I asked him about the ELISA allergy test. I had read about how this screening tests hundreds of foods on PURE2RAW. He said it's different from the skin scratch and IgE blood panel tests. First of all he explained exactly what each of these two tests does.

The skin scratch test actually reflects exactly what your body is allergic to at that moment in time. While the IgE test reflects the body's potential to have an allergy to a certain food or substance. If the potential is there, then it's only a matter of time until the allergy manifests itself.

The ELISA test also known as ALCAT measures the potential for your body to have a delayed reaction days or weeks after ingesting or coming into contact with an allergen. The great thing about the test is that it measures hundreds of foods at once. The not so great thing is the price and the fact that some health insurance companies do not cover the test. I'm hoping mine doesn't fall into that group.

These days I am doing dramatically better. I'm reacting less and less to the foods I eat. I've overhauled my diet. I've kicked most of the junk, all animal-based foods and coffee to the furthest reaches of the universe. However, I'm still having some congestion, wheezing and mucus. Obviously, something is continuing to stir up trouble. Since I want answers, I opted for the $595 ALCAT which tests 200 foods.

According to their website, the ALCAT test measures food intolerences. Symptoms of food intolerences can include migraines, chronic fatigue, IBS, Attention Deficit Disorder, Eczema, asthma, arthritis and fibromyalgia. I have asthma, a tiny bit of arthritis in my hands and left knee, a pinch of Exzema and in the past some delightful IBS. Geez...I'm a disaster. Definitely not dating material. Thank God I'm married.

Just how much of a disaster I am will be determined in two weeks when I get the results from my ALCAT.

While at the doctor's, I also had acupuncture applied to my sinuses, adrenals and knee. Once again my left knee is feeling a bit off. I think this past weekend's yoga class didn't help. The usual teacher was away. The substitute had the class do a move, that if one did it wrong, could aggravate knee issues. Thanks for that bit of helpfulness. Did I mention this was a Basics class? Is it really necessary to put basics students through advanced moves that could hurt them? I can't wait for the regular teacher to return.

During my chat with the doctor his office got very warm. He opened up the window. As he raised the blinds I caught sight of a tiny head that was holding the window open about two inches. He raised the window up, relieving the tiny head of its job. I commented that I liked the tiny head. The doctor laughed. Then he explained that it's supposed to keep all evil spirits away; not that he was superstitious or anything. The two inch security system looked kind of like this:

While I do enjoy watching Ghost Hunters, I'm not particularly fond of evil spirits. So, I'm thinking of adding a two-inch head to my wellness arsenal. Anyone else considering this?