<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I posted earlier about this topic & have received a few e-mails that
clarified & corrected some of the stuff I said.  I apparently got some of
my IG's mixed up!  My comments are in brackets. ~Valerie in Tacoma

Responses summarized below:

We have both had lots of successes with the ELISA tests and our
Naturopaths. ...  I believe, however, that skin tests look at IgE
responses (not IgA as you said in your e-mail).  IgE is the traditional
allergic response.  The ELISA test looks at IgE and IgG.  One  reason
many naturopaths use the elimination diet is because there is no other
way to detect IgA responses. I have never heard of a blood test that
detects IgA reactions, which is why following through on the elimination
diet is so important for many of us.  ~Laurie

[I had the ELISA food allergy tests for both IGe and IGg.  IGe is
supposed to test for immediate allergy responses (as Laurie says
"classic") & IGg is  the delayed allergy response.  Some doctors don't
consider the IGg response a true allergy.  Whatever!  It's just semantics
if you ask me!  I know I feel tons better now that I'm avoiding the foods
I got a strong IGg reaction to.

There are IGa tests for antigliadin antibodies, but I don't know if it's
done by ELISA tests or another method. At any rate, it's not an allergy
test, but a specific type of sensitivity to gluten.]

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I also have dual allergies with my CD.  Thanks so much.  I have thought
and thought about food testing, but was to understand it was expensive
and not all that reliable.  I think you made a good point on who you go
to is as important as the testing itself.  Thanks again.  I'll let you
know when I give it a try. ~Deb

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This form of testing sounds like the old cytotoxic testing...used to draw
blood and then expose two hundred food samples to it.  White corpuscles
explod when confronted with an allergic food...which explains why people
with allergies are often sick.  I had this test done in the seventies,
and found it very helpful [testing was done by the Atkins Center in NYC],
but over the years allergists have poo-pooed it.  Glad to see it's coming
back.  I found it reliable and accurate.  ~Ann

[Actually this is not like that at all.  ELISA testing involves flushing
blood over a card in which various antigens have been implanted in dots
on the surface.  If the blood carries antibodies against a particular
substance, the antibodies will stick to that spot causing a color
change.]

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[One respondant pointed out that gluten sensitivity is not an allergy.  I
hope I didn't give anyone the impression that they are the same.  Gluten
sensitivity is not an allergy, but an autoimmune response.  Another
respondant pointed out that some labs can test for gluten sensitivity
with an ELISA test of a subclass of IGg.]