Healthy with Jodi

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Allergy Testing Explained

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    Allergy testing At a Glance

    I’m all about questions and explaining why. When we understand “Why” we do things, programs or guidelines become easier to follow and results tend to be easier to maintain when education is behind our actions.  Let me help you stop the guess work and customize your eating and supplement plan so you can be the best version of yourself you can be!!!

    Formal name:
    Allergen-specific IgE Antibody Test
    Why Get Tested?
    To help diagnose allergies; sometimes to monitor the effectiveness of immunotherapy (desensitization) treatment
    When to Get Tested?
    When you have symptoms such as hives, dermatitis, nasal congestion, red itchy eyes, asthma, or abdominal pain that your health care provider suspects may be caused by an allergy
    A Sample is Required
    A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or finger prick at home test.

    No Test Preparation Needed

    What is being tested?
    Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a class of antibody (immune protein) associated with allergic reactions. It is normally found in very small amounts in the blood. This test measures the amount of allergen-specific IgE in the blood in order to detect an allergy to a particular substance.
    IgE is an antibody that functions as part of the body’s immune system, its defense against “intruders.” When someone with a predisposition to allergies is exposed to a potential allergen such as food, grass, or animal dander for the first time, that person becomes sensitized. The person’s body perceives the potential allergen as a foreign substance and produces a specific IgE antibody that binds to specialized mast cells in the skin, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal tract, and to basophils (a type of white blood cell) in the bloodstream. With the next exposure, these attached IgE antibodies recognize the allergen and cause the mast and basophil cells to release histamine and other chemicals, resulting in an allergic reaction that begins at the exposure site.
    Each allergen-specific IgE antibody test performed is separate and very specific: honeybee versus bumblebee, egg white versus egg yolk, giant ragweed versus western ragweed. Groupings of these tests, such as food panels or regional weed, grass, and mold panels, can be done. Alternatively, the health practitioner may pick and choose selectively from a long list of individual allergens suspected of causing a person’s allergies.

    When is it ordered?
    One or more allergen-specific IgE antibody tests are usually ordered when a person has signs or symptoms that suggest an allergy to one or more substances. Signs and symptoms MAY include:

    **Fatigue is number one symptom!**
    * Hives
    * Dermatitis
    * Eczema
    * Red itchy eyes
    * Coughing, nasal congestion, sneezing
    * Itching and tingling in the mouth
    * Asthma
    * Abdominal pain or vomiting and diarrhea
    * Bloating, excessive gas
    * Skin breakouts
    * Sluggish
    * Stomachache, discomfort within 30 mins of eating
    * Trouble concentrating, brain fog

    A test may also be ordered occasionally to help evaluate the effectiveness of immunotherapy or to determine whether a child has outgrown an allergy.

    Sources:
    American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
    Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: What are allergies?
    American College of Allergy, Asthma,
    American Academy of Family Physicians: Food Allergies
    Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)
    Nemours Foundation: All About Allergies
    American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology: What is Allergy Testing
    American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology: Tips to Remember: Allergy Testing
    National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

    Obesity Facts

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      Food for thought as you prepare for the super bowl today? The alarming rates of Obesity need to published and talked about.  Everyone wants to “live in the moment” But we are stealing precious moments due to our repeated poor food choices.  If you want to be around to outlive your kids, and you want to be the fun mom or fun grandparent that can keep up with the kids we need to educate ourselves and start making better choices to make that happen.

      You can do it.  We can do it, and I can help!

      Obesity facts:

      Today, about 75% of US men and 67% of US women are either overweight or obese. Between 1988 and 1994, 63% of men and 55% of US women were overweight or obese.

The NHANES says that about 35% of men and 37% of women are obese, 40% of men and 30% of women are overweight. 2/3 of US adults are at a unhealthy weight.

      US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that Americans have been gaining weight since the 1960’s. The average US woman weighs about 166 pounds compared to 140 in 1960. 166 was the average for a man in 1960.
      Our children are not expected to outlive us. Obesity is one of the biggest contributors to this shortened life expectancy, it is the root of a lot of chronic health conditions.

      Our environment contributes in some of the following ways:
      Overuse of antibiotics in food production and medicine
      Growth-enhancing drugs used in food animals
      Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and pesticides
      Social media centered around junk food and artificial sweeteners.
      Highly processed genetically modified (GM) foods are full of ingredients that contribute to metabolic dysfunction and weight gain/obesity.

      The McKinsey Global Institute says the annual global cost of obesity is now $2 trillion. (For comparison, alcoholism costs are $1.4 trillion annually, road accidents cost $700 billion, and unsafe sex costs $300 billion)  The McKinsey report estimates that nearly 1/2 of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

      In the US, 8 obesity related diseases account for 75% of healthcare costs. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, cancer, Polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypertension, lipid problems, NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).

      The National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) are the official estimates of total health care spending in the US. In 1960, the NHEA measures annual U.S. expenditures for health care goods and services, public health activities, government administration, the net cost of health insurance, and investment related to health care.
      U.S. health care spending in 2014 reached $3.0 trillion or $9,523 per person.
      The nation’s Gross Domestic Product accounted for 17.5% of health care costs.

      cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nationalhealthaccountshistorical.html
      http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=189100
      http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/
      http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/07/08/increasing-us-adult-weight.aspx
      http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=189100
      http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2015/06/15/cdc-average-american-woman-now-weighs-as-much-as-1960s-us-man/
      http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2323411

      The differences between Green, Black, and Oolong Tea

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        Green tea is the least processed and thus provides the most antioxidant polyphenols, notably a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits linked to green tea. Green tea is made by briefly steaming the just harvested leaves, rendering them soft and pliable and preventing them from fermenting or changing color. After steaming, the leaves are rolled, then spread out and “fired” (dried with hot air or pan-fried in a wok) until they are crisp. The resulting greenish-yellow tea has a green, slightly astringent flavor close to the taste of the fresh leaf.

        In black tea production, the leaves are first spread on withering racks and air-blown, which removes about one-third of their moisture and renders them soft and pliable. Next, they are rolled to break their cell walls, releasing the juices essential to fermentation. Once again, they are spread out and kept under high humidity to promote fermentation, which turns the leaves a dark coppery color and develops black tea’s authoritative flavor. Finally, the leaves are “fired,” producing a brownish black tea whose immersion in hot water gives a reddish-brown brew with a stronger flavor than green or oolong teas.

        Oolong tea, which is made from leaves that are partially fermented before being fired, falls midway between green and black teas. Oolong is a greenish-brown tea whose flavor, color and aroma are richer than that of green tea, but more delicate than that of black.

        Green tea has always been, and remains today, the most popular type of tea from China where most historians and botanists believe the tea plant originated throughout all of Asia. Why is this so? Perhaps because green tea not only captures the taste, aroma and color of spring, but delivers this delightful bouquet along with the highest concentration of beneficial phytonutrients and the least caffeine of all the teas.

        Gluten Free Guide – New Rules under the FDA

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          Gluten-free food labels under new FDA rules

          • The terms, “gluten free,” “no gluten,” “free of gluten” and “without gluten” can be used on labels of foods that gluten freemeet the FDA gluten-free standard.
          • No universal symbol will appear on packages to indicate that a food meets the FDA gluten-free standard. If a food company wants to indicate that a product meets the standard, it has to use one of the gluten-free terms.
          • Certification seals from third parties, for example a seal from the Gluten Free Certification Organization, can continue to be used on labels. The FDA says it does not endorse or recommend any particular certification seal. Any food that uses a third party certification seal must meet the FDA labeling requirements at a minimum. Typically the standards for certification seals are stricter than the FDA requirements.
          • The label format is left up to food makers; the FDA does not have a mandated design or any requirements for where the gluten-free label has to be placed.
          • Food makers can continue to use the terms, “made with no gluten containing ingredients” and “not made with gluten containing ingredients.” If the terms are used in conjunction with a gluten-free label, the product must meet the FDA standard. If the terms are used without a gluten-free label, the FDA says, “consumers should not assume the food meets all FDA requirements.”
          • Food makers can continue to use advisory statements such as, “Made in a factory that also processes wheat products” on a food that also has a gluten-free label. The FDA says it will need to “look at foods on a case by case basis to determine whether a specific advisory statement with a gluten-free claim would be misleading.” Any product with the advisory statement and gluten-free label would have to meet the FDA requirements.
          • Naturally gluten-free foods can be labeled gluten free. This is a change from the proposed rules which would have prohibited the gluten-free label on inherently gluten-free foods including gluten-free grains and products like bottled water unless the label also said all foods of the same type were also gluten free. The final rule addresses concerns that some gluten-free grains, legumes and seeds have a high risk of cross-contamination. A gluten-free label on these kinds of products “provide the expectation that any gluten is less than 20 ppm,” the FDA says.
          • Gluten-free labeling continues to be voluntary so even products that are gluten free may not be labeled as such. This is likely to come up most often with naturally gluten-free products with a low risk of cross-contamination, fruits and vegetables for example. The lack of a gluten-free label does not mean the food contains gluten.

          New to the Gym? No Problem. Check out this STARTER GUIDE – You Can Do It

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            Lots of people have “gym anxiety”.  You know that feeling that you get when you want to go to the gym, but don’t know what to do, or where to start.  Muscle and Fitness has the answers.

            What to do at the Gym

            Link to Muscle and Fitness Starter Guide

             

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            weight loss Weight loss has many paths.  Here are some great plans to achieve your weight loss goals.
            strength training  is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, size, skeletal muscles
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