I was diagnosed with delayed food allergies in my 20′s. It was by a well-respected physician who specialized in food allergies. He made the diagnosis based on a food challenge, where I took virtually everything out of my diet for about 3 weeks (and lived on the most horrible tasting “hypoallergenic” protein powder I’ve ever had) and then reintroduced foods one at a time.

Each meal for about 4-5 weeks, I introduced one new whole food. I’d make a whole meal of, say, avocado and then pay attention to see if I developed any symptoms. This meant hours of noting whether I’d become tired, developed a rash, or noticed any other sort of adverse reaction.

Based on the results, that MD said, “Allergies. Avoid these foods for the rest of your life.”

Now, I’m not good with rules in general. I’ve had to learn a lot, especially with an allergic child, because you don’t get time off for good behavior. While I’ve done well by my son, my personal avoidance has had its ups and downs. What I’ve noticed over time is that once I’ve avoided a food for 4-6 weeks (without even a taste), I would be able to tolerate it just fine, even daily – for awhile. Then, after 2-3 weeks of that kind of “abuse”, I’d be back at square one.

I thought it was a threshold phenomena.

Just a few weeks ago, my (new) doctor put me through a battery of tests. I lost so much blood, I felt like a vampire victim. One of the tests was a blood test to check for allergies. The test looked at both immediate allergy (as indicated by IgE antibodies) and delayed allergy (as indicated by IgG antibodies).

I had no allergies. None. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this, despite knowing for a couple of days now. After all, if it looks like an allergy and acts like an allergy, it’s an allergy, right?

Apparently not. I have what many people confuse with allergies. I have food intolerances. My immune system is not reacting to the food; other bodily systems (such as my digestive tract) are.

With food intolerances, you can have a bit of what might otherwise ail you – but just a bit. One of the best strategies to deal with intolerance is a rotation diet. This ensures that you don’t get too much of the food (or foods) that irritate your system. Most rotation diets are based on a 4 day avoidance of the offending food, but each person needs to determine what their own personal tolerance level is.

In my case, I’m thinking once every 2 weeks or so and no more. However, I’ll likely have to stay completely away from my problematic food items (dairy and gluten) for at least 6-8 weeks if I really want to be able to rotate them through my meals. I’ve been indulging a bit too much lately. I need to give my body a rest.

I can hardly believe it. No allergies. This really does underline the need to get allergy tests. Part of me clearly didn’t believe I had an allergy, because I “cheated” on my diet. Now I know that part of me was right.