Can you list your sources for these endorsement of the ALCAT? I can't find any medical organizations backing your stated claims.
But I do like your pose on the couch.

David,
I have made a post, I am thrilled with what ALCAT has done for me!!

I happened across this article by chance and although it is a 2 year old blog, I feel compelled to put the record straight. am very au fait with both the Alcat procedure (I wouldn't give it the credence of calling it a test) and the other tests used to diagnose allergy, having previously been closely involved with the lab based allergy assays, and currently with the in vivo diagnostic tests. I can honestly state, in my sincere professional opinion based on over 20 years in the related industry, that the Alcat product has been thoroughly discredited by and amongst Specialist Allergists around the world, and so its continued promotion to the great unsuspecting public is not only a con trick of the highest order, but the marketing strategies and sales promotion tactics and activities used by its' proponents borders on professional misconduct.

If Alcat is so darn good, then why is every reputable professional medical society in the world against Alcat; not just passively, but often with vociferous authority. Examples are WAO (World Allergy Organisation) EAACI (European Academy of Allergy & Clinical Immunology), ALLSA (Allergy Society of South Africa), ASCIA (Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology & Allergy), to name but four. Let's also add "Quackwatch", which justifiably features Alcat prominently.

Why is no state medical reimbursement authority recognising Alcat by providing state-funded reimbursement? Why are individual world-class opinion leader professional Allergists (and I can name several of whom I am personally familiar) so dogmatically anti-Alcat? Have they all been bought off as your proponent in South Africa has stated is the case in that country?? Is this a world-wide conspiracy of professional Allergists against this product, or is it a case of a few very-commercially motivated Florida-based marketeers and their few disciples around the world trying to make a buck whilst swimming desperately against the overwhelming tide of worldwide expert medical opinion??

The field of allergy diagnosis and treatment is still today riddled with false and misleading medical claims about dubious quasi-medical products. Unfortunately, for the great majority of professional medical experts in allergy, Alcat is the archetypical example of such products and practices. Fortunately, the theory and practice allergy is emerging from this quagmire, due largely to the great advances made in the knowledge and understanding of the underlying immunological processes involved in the various allergic diseases, but unfortunately the commercial promoters of Alcat persist in their active marketing and so it remains even today available in some countries to the gullible who have money to burn and who don't know any better.

The text of this blog appears to have been written by a non-English-speaker, (Scientific Editor, Stefan Anitei, back on 2007) so may not be the work of the slick American marketeers, but the message is the same one of false or at least incorrect medical claims that are not and in fact cannot be substantiated with reputable documentation scientific or even clinical documentation.

Shame really on this Science Editor, who should have done some background spadework before presenting the one-sided commercially motivated promotional claims.

You want more info and specific data and examples on how Alcat is a medical con trick; just go check the mainstream medical literature at PubMed or any other reputable medical publisher, ask your local Specialist Allergist, or just get back to me.

Steve,
can you get in touch with me i'm trying to get to the bottom of this and decide how to go about having a food allergy ran. let me know, just respond to my comment and i'll provide you my email...

I feel the need to respond to this. Doctors and the "medical industry" will continue to violently oppose this test (which I have decided to do for myself after all) because people who take this test and follow the recommendations will NEVER NEED DRUGS AGAIN. And that is exactly what the medical industry fears. They NEED us to remain sick so they can make money off of us. You NEED to realize that. Just check out Kevin Trudeau's "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About" - you can go to his site at www.naturalcures.com - or you can check out Andrew Weil's site and especially his "anti-inflammatory food pyramid". If more people ate like this, there would be a lot less pain on this planet.

I can't believe someone took out the time to actually write a negative response against this article. Have you even tried it or know someone who has? It was recommended to me by my regular MD and has helped thousands of people in poor health. You know why it may not be widely reconized by allergist and main stream medicine, because it doesn't make them any money!!!!! It's all about how much money the pharmacutical company makes. Of course there is no pill that needs to be bought when you find out whats really causing someone to be sick.. hint (thats why its not widely reconized). Another thing.... my so called allergist who is supposidly the best in the state missed the very things that were making me deathly ill however the Alcat did not.

Hi Marlena,
I have no doubt that any dietary intervention may occasionally help individuals, either by the fact that the individual by chance removes the correct food(s) or by placebo effect. I was involved in a proper scientific study evaluating 250 patients with a range of diseases, and found the ALCAT unhelpful. I had high hopes for the test, and was very dissapointed with the results. A small number of patients claimed to be better on the ALCAT diet, but what we had done, was that in one group of patients we took away the positive testing foods and challenged them with negative testing foods, and in the control group, we took away the negative testing foods and challenged them with the positive testing foods, and approximately the same number of patients in each group claimed to be better. In other words, even in the group where we deliberately gave the patients the foods that they tested positive to, some claimed to be better, and the others no worse. As I say, I was really hopeful the test would work, and was very dissapointed when we found it to be not worth the cost. Yes, few patients will benefit but not because of the test, but other coincidental or placebo reasons. For example, individuals asked to focus on the foods they eat, without going on a deliberate diet, will already start losing weight merely for considering what they eat!

I have taken the ALCAT, it is a week short of 3 months since I began the emilnation program. Let me reinforce, this is NOT allergy testing per se, they very clearly tell you it is a food intolerance test.
Prior to taking the test I was in terrible shape, overweight, lethargic, horrible sinus allergies, female problems, upper GI distress, galbladder problems nausea, heartburn indigestion, I was on zoloft and thyroid meds along with claritin D 24 hour. My female problems and general malaise were so bad I thought I was starting the change (I am 43). The Dr (an internist) did the test and testing my female hormones, turns out my female hormones were at perfect levels. I started the ALCAT elimination program on February 20 of this year, and to date I have lost 40 lbs, my blood pressure has dropped 20 points top and bottom, my cholesterol is near perfect and I am off anti depressants and thyroid meds as well as allergy pills. I have some sinus symptoms but they are so mild I dont need to do anything but use my neti pot and blow my nose.....
I am breezing through 45 minutes on the elliptical were I was struggling to do 20 minutes (I have been going to the gym regulary for over 2 years with next to no results or increase in endurance). Intitally I was telling people I felt 10 years younger, but I dont say that anymore, because I have NEVER felt this good in my entire life, even at 20 years old and thin!!!
My skin has cleared up, I have no eczema anymore, no heaches, no GI issues, including the gallbladder pain vanishing, no more IBS, and flatulence and belching are very rare occurances for me now. I remember how miserable and impotent I felt 3 months ago and am eternally grateful to my Dr for ordering this test.
Honestly I am a skeptical person by nature, but I havent seen anything hokey about this, you take the test, you eliminate foods that you are sensitive to and thats it. You do have to be willing to give these foods up for 6 months before reintroduing them in a rotation diet. They didnt try to sell me things I didnt need, no supplements, no exercise gear, no nothing. I got the results and it was up to me to follow the recommendations. I have and I am thrilled with the results.
By the way, giving up some of those foods is as hard as what I imagine detoxing from drugs can be, the first 7-10 days were very hard, but I would do it all over again to feel as good as I do now.
I cant tell people what to do or advise them how to live, but this is working for me!
Good luck!

Hi Kat,
I am not surprised that you benefited from the applying the ALCAT test - I have a masters student who is testing a scam weight loss product and comparing it with a placebo, and even among those taking a placebo, remarkable weight-loss is being recorded! That does not mean that the placebo is effective! ALCAT does NOT measure intolerances - we know the science of histamine intolerance, lactose intolerance, etc, and there is NO way that the ALCAT can be measuring them. Furthermore, for the "thousands" of people claiming to be helped by the ALCAT, there are "thousands" who were not helped. I have a good friend, a doctor, who has severe eczema and believed that the ALCAT will help her. By following the ALCAT diet, she was so severely affected that she has to be hospitalised for two weeks!

The "quackbuster" operation is a conspiracy. It is a propaganda enterprise, one part crackpot, two parts evil. It's sole purpose is to discredit, and suppress, in an "anything goes" attack mode, what is wrongfully named "Alternative Medicine." It has declared war on reality. The conspirators are acting in the interests of, and are being paid, directly and indirectly, by the "conventional" medical-industrial complex.

I had an allergist from the Food Allergy group at Children's Memorial in Chicago say that testing IGG levels can actually pick up foods you recently ate. I have taken the ALCAT test, and I'm showing up intolerant/sensitive to things I have never in my life consumed. I had another MD who is now in Funcitonal Medicine say that allergist is completely wrong - and worse probably knew better but just wanted to keep me as a patient on steroid cremes and antihistimines. I respect both, but I feel forced to evaluate one as wiser than the other. What is the truth? Can the ALCAT and ELISA tests be picking up things you just ate before the blood test and identifying them as sensitivities?

I dont think the ALCAT Test is a scam at all, it never has been properly checked out by many people. I think that that even though you've never eaten these foods before, it tests your blood to be sensative to the foods. and measures the sensativity, if its high sensativity it says so, if its low, then it says so, how you interpret the results is up to you.

RESPONSE TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL<

We all know why those agencies are against this. Such simple testing takes money out of their specialist pockets.

If you can eliminate inflammation due to food sensitivities then you go along way to freeing yourselves from life-long allergist care and lifetime allergy medications.

Why should anyone, anymore trust these big-time professional organizations (US or international)? They are extremely linked to drug companies and the like. There is no oversight into those relations. One hand helps the other.

It is sad that far too many doctors are just part of that machine, and they are resistant to anything new or "outside the box." Medicine cannot progress with such entrenched, institutionalized attitudes.

And I agree--'quackwatch' is just a misinformation tool controlled by pharma interests to keep the people in a 'sheeple' state of mind.

As Socrates said, "Think for yourself!" Of course, the entrenched powers of Athens forced him to commit suicide, but a martyr for the ages ...

I had the ALCAT done about three months ago. I had a nurse at a Wellness center I volunteer attack me saying "That test has not been approved by the FDA and is invalid!" Well, first of all I don't put a lot of stock in big pharma. The FDA approves thousands of drugs that make people sicker and even dead. Finally, a test comes along that would help big fat Americans change their diet and be aware of food choices and some of you allergists are going to debate that it is not a valid test because it is not approved by the FDA. Please don't even get me started! I found out I have a gluten intolerance from the ALCAT test. I don't care who thinks what about the test - it has helped me by improving my diet. My test was ordered by a regular general practitioner MD who cares! Most doctors just get out the prescription pad and never talk about diet. I am so fed up with prescription drugs from everything from growing eyelashes to feet fungus! All the side effects and people are getting sicker and poorer. Wake up and look back at generations go by who ate whole foods not packaged junk. They did not die of cancer and auto-immune diseases! Much of American's problems lie in it's diet and if the ALCAT sheds some light on getting people healthy who cares if it is not approved!

Well said to the above. It is all about the money.

ALCAT ripped me of $645.20 - OUT OF POCKET. It's a bunch of crap. The things that I REALLY am allergic to didn't even show up. I tried the "diet" and felt sicker than ever before and lost weight which I am already thin. DON'T get ripped off like I did.

the alcat test has been wonderful for me.

andrea, I'm sure you just need a little clarification and help with your alcat.

My MD had me take the ALCAT test due to health issues plus digestive disorders that run in the family. I question it myself, as it was $300 and lists so many things I can't eat, but I have a hard time believing my doctor, who is trying to help me, would have me suffer for no good reason. Part of the problem is that food makers put in so many extra additives made from soy and corn fillers that I can't eat most processed food. But what does that say about the food we eat?

If you read the ALCAT literature, it explains well that itdoes NOT test for or reveal food allergies. I had a hard time understanding that too but it's easy to test for those.

I also know there is a HUGE CONSPIRACY by the FDA, AMA (doctors), and Pharmaceutical companies against any condition where drugs aren't necessary or available. I went several years w/out being diagnosed correctly until I found the right doctor, even though I told another doc I had all the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue. Under alternative treatment with vitamins, amino acids, and hormones, I IMMEDIATELY saw a huge change. I went from very non-functional (chronic insomnia and severe fatigue) to 85% of my normal super-functional. For example, the chronic insomnia disappeared the FIRST night I started the amino acids (taurine, Phenibut). This was no placebo and no one can ever convince me that Alternative medicine is not for real. So, for now, I put my trust in ALCAT.

ALCAT studies page https://www.alcat.com/studies_links

Although it seems to me to be a scam. I have had personal experience with someone close to me who had taken the test. The test listed a lot of inconsistent allergies, however it has been 2 months and said person has lost 25lbs from only focusing on eating healthier. It is clearly a placebo effect, but the results are undeniable.

stefan (the author) needs to confirm it was a big scam. its listed on quackometer as well exposed.

if it seems to you to be a scam, either your ideas concerning what it is testing are erroneous, or you are not familiar with the phenomenon.

There seems to be gross misunderstanding in the general population vis a vis the defintion of allergy, vs hypersensitivity, or food sensitivity. Much of the confusion and misperception on this page appears to stem from that.

Likewise, people taking tests like the alcat also misinterpreting, thinking they have some permanent allergy. After healing the digestive system, one would expect the results to be different. As for the accuracy/sensitivity of the ALCAT I cannot speak as I am not involved with it. Readign the research on the results does not, however match the unreferenced study by 'dr harris'. Dr, please provide your reference on the pilot study you mention.

I had the ALCAT blood test done on my 10 year old son. The test showed him being highly sensitive to Red 40 food dye. I of course had no idea and it was in several of the foods he was consuming. I took him off of it immediately. He did go through about a 5 day withdrawal period where his behavior became difficult, however, after the initial withdrawal period there was a difference in his life. He had previously had muscle spasms and nervous energy type ticks that caused people to think he was having seizures. They were just his way of getting rid of excess energy that was inside of him, as he is a very high energy person. After removing him from the Red 40 food dye, the spasms and ticks disappeared. I am quite glad to have done the ALCAT test on him, and believe it to have been very helpful. I am getting ready to purchase another one for my husband.

How is the test done?
I have had allergy test which shows mold/fungus which I suffer with I also feel food has something to do with my problem.

It is a blood test. It does not test food allergies, but food sensitivities/intolerances. The test gives you a food list ranking foods by the intolerance (i.e. high intolerance, moderate, mild, safe). You will eliminate all foods but safe foods for 2-4 weeks, then add the mild intolerance foods, and 3 months later add the moderate intolerant foods.

I had the test done 3 months ago. The first couple of days only eating safe foods are a bit rough as your body is detoxing all the junk. I started feeling really good by day 4 and really great by 2 weeks. I lost 10 days in 2 weeks and had completely eliminated the stomach issues I had been having, plus my sinus allergies have gotten better and I am sleeping better. I'm on week 9 and eating the mild and safe foods. I can tell when I accidentally have a food that is on the moderate intolerance list as I react to the food (tummy issues, face breaks out and I feel really tired).

Hope this information helps. This test has been really beneficial for me.

I have had three of my five children take the Alcat test. One is asthmatic and had eczema, another severe eczema, and the last ADHA. The test helped all three, especially when they continue to stick to the diet.

There is a lot of confusion on this blog.
1. a true food allergy like peanuts and shellfish is IgE mediated.
2. A food intolerance is enzyme mediated. Such as being lactose intolerant.
3. The ALCAT test is a food sensitivity test looking at inflammation. Different from the above two.
4. There are different food sensitivity test that are out there. IgG tests purport to look at food sensitivity but are actually looking at an antibody antigen reaction, thus you will see a history of foods eaten and false positives.
5. The ALCAT test is an inflammatory reaction thus not dependent on what you have eaten. Yes you will see foods show up positive that you have never eaten because your body has a genetic propensity towards that food.
By the way I am a clinical scientist working for major pharmaceutical company on tube feedings that reduce inflammation in the major organs. The results are amazing.