IgG Food Hypersensitivities: ImuPro test

 

ImuPro is a concept that combines a sophisticated blood analysis for IgG food hypersensitivities with personalised post-test guidance. The ImuPro Test is an ELISA* test designed to detect the presence of elevated IgG antibodies to specific food proteins. The ImuPro test kits are CE marked and use WHO reference standards. The detection of IgG antibodies has increasingly been associated with adverse symptoms. The theory is that repeated exposure to certain food proteins may eventually produce allergic like symptoms or hypersensitivities. These reactions are usually delayed with symptoms not being evident for hours or even days. Some scientists suggest that IgG antibodies drive these delayed reactions (5). Results from a few studies indicate that eliminating the foods that are identified to have an elevated IgG antibody response results in statistically significant improvement in a variety of conditions like migraine (1), irritable bowel syndrome (2, 5), Crohns disease (3) and juvenile obesity (4).

 

Your ImuPro test results and your personal nutritional guidelines work together to influence eating habits. By eliminating and reintroducing these foods you can explore whether or not elevated IgG antibodies to specific foods could indicate the cause of certain symptoms.

*ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay

** Note: An IgG food hypersensitivity should not be mistaken for a classic food allergy (type I). If you have a type I allergy, your immune system produces IgE antibodies. These antibodies can lead to an immediate allergic reaction. The symptoms often appear within seconds or minutes: severe swelling, breathing difficulty, rash, itching skin or even anaphylactic shock. ImuPro does not detect IgE food allergies.

 

ImuPro testing:

In a detailed blood analysis the ImuPro test identifies elevated levels of IgG antibodies against a number of foods.  The antibodies are detected by their ability to bind to specific proteins. An individual is then able to follow an IgG guided elimination diet with the help of a practitioner, and identify whether there is any improvement in symptoms and return of symptoms when foods are reintroduced again slowly after the elimination.  

 

Cost of testing:

• ImuPro Basic:           90 individual foods tested          R2480.00
• ImuPro Complete:     270 individual foods tested        R4850.00

The ImuPro Basic test cost of R2480.00 will be deducted if the ImuPro Complete test is undertaken within 30 days, and the lab can use the same sample submitted for testing. 

 

The nutritional guidelines of the ImuPro test are built on three important building blocks:

1. Elimination phase

All foods with high levels of IgG-antibodies are avoided for 5 to 8 weeks during this phase and all the foods without raised levels of IgG antibodies are eaten in a 4-day rotation cycle. The aim is to reduce or even stop inflammatory processes through their avoidance.

2. Provocation phase

After the elimination phase, you start a provocation diet and gradually include the recently avoided foods one by one. Through introducing one new food at a time, the provocation phase helps to find the foods you should continue to avoid.

3. Stabilisation phase

During the stabilisation phase, the IgG reactive foods identified in the provocation phase are avoided for at least one year so that the IgG antibody level can lower. Then you may start another provocation phase. You may find that there are one or two foods that you may have to avoid permanently.

The three phases are described in more detail in the Personal Nutritional Guide which you will receive together with your test results.

Examples of the ImuPro brief report can be found on the WellPro website www.wellpro.co.za. Along with the brief report, you will also receive personal nutritional guidelines, and with the ImuPro Complete test, you will receive recipes that exclude the IgG reactive foods. 

Limitations of method

The results obtained must always be interpreted in combination with the patient’s complete clinical picture and dietary changes must be made in consultation with a qualified health professional. The IgG concentrations determined using this test system make it possible to infer information about the degree of sensitization of the patient to the food antigens or mixtures tested. They cannot be used to derive a relationship between the determined IgG concentration and serious clinical symptoms. False positive test results may be produced by cross-reactivity of the antigens tested with the epitopes of other antigens.

A number of allergy associations do not support IgG testing as a means to diagnose food intolerances or hypersensitivities. However, a growing number of publications and client experience support that elimination diets based on circulating IgG antibodies result in improved symptoms.

ImuPro testing is carried out by the WellPro Division of MDS Laboratory. Please contact them for more information regarding which local labs or clinics can take your sample which will be sent to them for testing. The list of available facilities can also be found on their website www.wellpro.co.za under the ‘Where to go’ section.

WellPro Division of MDS

 

Tel:	+27 (31) 267 7000
Fax:	+27 (31) 267 7005
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	www.wellpro.co.za
Physical Address:	6 Ribston Place, Westville, 3629, Durban, KZN, South Africa
Postal Address:	Private Bag X20, Westville, 3630, Durban, KZN, South Africa