32 replies to this topic

[alternativista]

With the ALCAT test, you might want to list LEAP testing which has been found to be more accurate than ALCAT (ALCAT has a reproducibility rate of around 45% but LEAP's mRT test has a reproducibility rate of 92%).

Who says? The LEAP people? Because ALCAT tests for a marker that is the end result of all kinds of reactions whether or not the immune system is involved. What does LEAP test for?

It has been about 6 months since I researched the topic, but LEAP was found to be more accurate by a third party at the University of Miami (or there abouts). The LEAP test is 15 years newer, was developed by the same man who developed the ALCAT test and tests how much histamine the white blood cells release when in the presence of certain foods.

So it's only for actual allergies then. No other kinds of intolerance.

[Dotty1]

With the ALCAT test, you might want to list LEAP testing which has been found to be more accurate than ALCAT (ALCAT has a reproducibility rate of around 45% but LEAP's mRT test has a reproducibility rate of 92%).

Who says? The LEAP people? Because ALCAT tests for a marker that is the end result of all kinds of reactions whether or not the immune system is involved. What does LEAP test for?

It has been about 6 months since I researched the topic, but LEAP was found to be more accurate by a third party at the University of Miami (or there abouts). The LEAP test is 15 years newer, was developed by the same man who developed the ALCAT test and tests how much histamine the white blood cells release when in the presence of certain foods.

So it's only for actual allergies then. No other kinds of intolerance.

It is a blood test that measures food sensitivities and does not catch allergies or intolerances. It tests foods and food chemicals. I am sorry if I have been unclear in my other posts. I am feeling tired.

Here is from their own page:

The Mediator Release Test (MRT)

Q. Is MRT accurate?
A. MRT is the most accurate blood test available for food sensitivities. Scientific studies have
shown MRT to be 94.5% accurate in sensitivity and 91.8% accurate in specificity in detecting reactive foods.

Q. What is the difference between MRT and other tests for food sensitivities?
A. The primary differences between MRT and other laboratory tests for food sensitivities are:

1. MRT measures reactions from lymphocytes, granulocytes, and platelets. Other cellular tests
are limited to either lymphocytes or granulocytes.

2. MRT is an endpoint test. This means MRT provides the most comprehensive information of reactive and non-reactive substances. Serum blood tests such as ELISA IgG and other types of IgG testing limit themselves to the kind of immunologic reaction they can measure. Scientific studies have shown that food sensitivities involve at least seven different possible triggering mechanisms that can cause immune cells to react and release chemical mediators. MRT measures the reaction of the cells that are affected by the specific triggering mechanisms. The other tests measure the individual triggering mechanism that may not actually cause mediator release.

3. MRT is a functional live cell analysis measuring actual reactions of one’s immune cells. Serum tests measure static levels of antibodies in your blood assuming that that is the mechanism causing immune cells to react.

4. The LEAP Test is quantitative. It quantifies the degree of the reaction that the food has
caused, helping to identify dosage dependent reactions.

Q. How does MRT work?
A. MRT measures changes in the liquids to solids ratio of one’s blood after the blood has been
exposed and incubated with the test substance so that all reactions by one’s immune cells can be
accounted for. This is done as an indicator that one’s immune cells have released chemical mediators such as histamine. Significant reactions are broken into either Reactive (Red) or Moderately Reactive (Yellow) categories and insignificant reactions (Green) are placed in the Non-Reactive category. All measurements are made using the most accurate method of measurement (Ribbon technology) currently available.

Q. I know that I am allergic to a particular food but MRT said I was not. Why?
A. MRT identifies foods and food substances involved in food sensitivities and is the most
comprehensive blood test for these types of reactions. If one knows of a particular food allergy, it may not show up on MRT because of the underlying immunologic mechanism triggering the reaction. Immediate food allergies, triggered by a particular type of antibody known as IgE, will not usually show up on MRT because they involve a different subset of immune cells than are measured by MRT. If one’s “allergy� is not really an allergy, but rather a food intolerance, that also will probably not show up on your MRT results because the symptoms are not triggered by an immune system reaction. In any case, if one knows a particular food does not agree with him or her the best thing to do is avoid it.

A link to one of their explanatory pamphlets:
http://restoreyourhealth.org/uploads/MRT-TechSheet.pdf

Edited by Dotty1, 11 January 2011 - 11:57 AM.

[alternativista]

Yeah, that's still not clear info. That's a PR campaign.

The ALCAT people clearly say they measure leukocyte cellular activity in whole blood, which, as I I've seen it simply put, is the final common pathway in all pathogenic mechanisms, whether immune, non-immune, or toxic.

MRT measures reactions from lymphocytes, granulocytes, and platelets.

So, lymphocytes, granulocytes are a white blood cells which should mean they are about an immune system response. And the platelets? Reactions from platelets? What does that mean?

Edited by alternativista, 13 January 2011 - 10:00 AM.

[alternativista]

Post from member on researching LEAP vs ALCAT, attempts to find real info on LEAP methodology, their testing methods and their supposed accuracy or lack thereof:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php...t&p=3011080

Edited by alternativista, 13 January 2011 - 09:59 AM.

[alternativista]

More self tests from Dr Oz:

Anemia- Push the fingers on one hand far back and look at the creases in your palm. If they remain dark, you are fine. If they appear pale/white, not enough blood going through the creases.

[alternativista]

Some things from the Good Things Thread
http://www.acne.org/...ost__p__2630032

Check Blood Pressure frequently. More than once a year. It's the silent killer.

Circulation:
Press on your skin. This forces blood out of capillaries near the surface and your skin will appear white. But if circulation is good, it will return to normal within a second or so.

Birthweight - from a book called Diabesity by an endocrinologist that was one of the first to recognize the growing global Type II diabetes 'epidemic,' and has been or is the president of the ADA. It's an interesting book with great, easy to follow explanations on what food does to us/hormones and how it leads to these so many health problems. Because when you eat stuff, stuff happens.

Low and high birthweights of full term babies are of concern to doctors and may affect glucose metabolism. Babies with low birthweights (< 5 1/2 lbs) may be undernourished. This triggers a survival gene that helps the body store as much as possible, causing a problem later when food is plentiful. Can also happen in infancy and many ethnicities have the gene 'turned on' regardless. (genotype vs phenotype) This is the reason diabetes is rampant now in China, Latin America, among African Americans, etc., where lifestyles are changing.

High birthweights (above 8lbs 13 oz (4000 grams)) often mean the mother has diabetes and the baby recieves excess glucose stimulating the baby's pancreas to produce more insulin. They think this may damage the pancreas.

Waist Size - Abdominal fat doesn't just sit there. It causes inflammation and is considered a risk factor. Doctors like to say a waist size over 35" for women and 40 or so for men puts you at risk, but I would think that 35" is way too big for a lot of small woman. A waist to hip ratio (WHR) may be a better guide, but if you have huge hips...

QUOTE
A WHR of 0.7 for women and 0.9 for men have been shown to correlate strongly with general health and fertility. Women within the 0.7 range have optimal levels of estrogen and are less susceptible to major diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and ovarian cancers.[1] Men with WHRs around 0.9, similarly, have been shown to be more healthy and fertile with less prostate cancer and testicular cancer.[2]

From wikipedia. Note that this isn't just a measure of health, but can be a measure of attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Waist to hip ratio calculator: http://www.healthcal...s/waist_hip.asp

No fat just sits there, btw. Enzymes that affect and convert hormones for example are produced in body fat. Body fat is an active part of your endocrine system.

------------------

Edited by alternativista, 01 January 2012 - 05:43 PM.

[alternativista]

Mercola article that illustrates one reason why you need to take charge of your own health -- because doctor's will just give you some drug with all kinds of side effects. And pharmaceuticals companies tops all other industries in the total amount of fraud payments for actions against the federal government under the False Claims Act. A total of 19 drug companies also made And drugs are one of the main reasons the U.S. ranks 49th in the world in life expectancy while ranking number 1 in 'health' care spending. We are doing it wrong.

http://articles.merc...11231_DNL_art_3

[alternativista]

MDA blogs posts on Cholesterol and what use you can get from a Standard cholesterol test. Or rather tests, because they fluctuate and one test is useless.
These are the the useful things the tests can tell you:

• Trends – Are your triglycerides going down over time? That’s great. Is your HDL trending up? Also good.
  
• Normal fluctuations – Your numbers can jump around 20-30 points in either direction between readings without it necessarily meaning anything.
  
• TC:HDL-C ratio – Lower is better and indicates fewer LDL particles.
  
• Triglyceride:HDL-C ratio – Lower is better and indicates larger LDL (and, usually, fewer) particles. Ideally, this will be close to 1 or lower; one study (PDF) found that 1.33 was the cut off.
  
  Read more:

http://www.marksdail.../#ixzz1hs9L54kb


And another post about advanced cholesterol tests which will measure what you really need to know: LDL cholesterol particle size. Size Matters! You want big ones. However there are no standards for these tests and results vary wildly. So, they aren't ready for prime time yet.
http://www.marksdail.../#axzz1hmFNtsBv

-----------------------------
So then, I decided to search for info on what upregulates/downregulates LDL receptors. Because this is where the problem lies (along with particle size).

When the receptors don't take in the LDL, it goes back into the bloodstream and gets oxidized and stored as plaque on your arteries.

And I found that Thyroid hormone (T3) stimulates LDL receptors (and promotes uptake of cholesterol), therefore lack of thyroid hormone results in decreased LDL receptors and decreased LDL (cholesterol) uptake. So this should make hypothyroidism a huge concern. (so why isn't it? Why is it so notoriously underdiagnosed?) http://ahdc.vet.corn...hem/cholest.htm

Diabetes millitus/syndrome X also causes a downregulation of the receptors. Avoid those refined carbs and follow an anti-inflammatory diet!!!

http://blogs.webmd.c...ers-part-2.html

Quote

Diet, exercise, fibrates, niacin and omega-3 FA all shift LDL particle size from small to large, by decreasing TG synthesis. Statins do not shift LDL particle size (per se), they simply upregulate receptors which clear apoB particles.

Other things that stimulate/mediate LDL receptors
-Prostaglandin I₂ (PGI₂) and prostaglandins are inhibited by NSAIDs, corticosteroids and various inflammatory responses
-Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Edited by alternativista, 01 February 2012 - 08:25 PM.

[alternativista]

Markers of Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation and oxidation are the causes of heart disease, not cholesterol. It's also a major factor in aging and most non-infectious disease.

-C-reactive Protein
-Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase Lp-PLA₂ - an inflammatory enzyme implicated in the formation of rupture-prone plaque associated with stroke. elevated levels associated with stroke risk.
-Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
-interleukin (IL)-6 - an inflammatory cykoteine
-serum amyloid A protein
-total homocysteine
-fibrinogen

This study on the effects of auto exhaust on the inflammation and antioxident biomarkers in the elderly lists several things that could be tested for:
http://ehp03.niehs.n...289%2Fehp.11189

For inflammation:
Blood plasma biomarkers were measured weekly over 12 weeks and included C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and its soluble receptor-II (sTNF-RII), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its soluble receptor (IL-6sR), fibrin D-dimer, soluble platelet selectin (sP-selectin), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and myeloperoxidase (MPO).

Antioxidants: To assess changes in antioxidant capacity, we assayed erythrocyte lysates for glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) activities.


Article citing numerous studies.
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/174/4/479

Edited by alternativista, 01 February 2012 - 08:26 PM.

[alternativista]

Check blood pressure periodically. Hypertension damages arteries.

Test in both arms. A difference in the systolic of @15 or more points can be an indicator of increased risk for vascular disease. http://www.webmd.com...taken-both-arms

[alternativista]

Zinc Status™ may provide a simple method for evaluating zinc status. After placing 10 ml of Zinc Status in the mouth, a lack of taste or a delayed taste perception suggests a possible zinc insufficiency. An immediate taste perception suggests zinc status may be adequate.

http://www.iherb.com...20-ml/3624?at=0

[alternativista]

Serum Uric Acid - often used as a test for gout and kidney disease, but can be a marker of many more things. (they also test for uric acid in the urine which indicated different issues)

Elevated serum uric acid is a consistent feature of the insulin resistance syndromes,

Elevated levels associated with increased cardiovascular events/disease risk. Events such as stroke including sublinical stroke (that you aren't aware of but are damaging your brain) http://qjmed.oxfordj.../93/11/707.full

More from that journal article:

Quote

uric acid has been found to promote low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in vitro, a key step in the progression of atherosclerosis,^50,,⁵¹ and these effects are inhibited by vitamin C⁵² indicating an important interaction between aqueous anti‐oxidants.

Note, LDL oxidation is what clogs arteries. Not cholesterol.

(Also possible fructose sensitivity or impaired ability to process fructose/marker of 'fructose damage.' from several Mercola articles. Fructose generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion. High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been long known that people with high blood pressure and kidney disease, and people who are overweight, often have elevated uric acid levels.)

Normal values range between 3.5 and 7.2 mg/dL, but good levels are lower than that upper range and vary between men and women.

Edited by alternativista, 28 February 2012 - 04:33 PM.

[alternativista]

I've been making a list of things to monitor for vascular disease as my mother has had 3 strokes in a little over a year despite not having any of the usual risk factors and seeming to be perfectly healthy and planning to live a long and active life. And while you younger people might not be concerned, be aware that these things are occuring in younger and younger people. Look at all the teenagers with type 2 diabetes now. That should be an old person's disease.

Check blood pressure periodically. Hypertension damages arteries. Test in both arms. A difference in the systolic of @15 or more points can be an indicator of increased risk for vascular disease. http://www.webmd.com...taken-both-arms

The above mentioned Markers of Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation and oxidation are the causes of heart disease, not cholesterol.

Ultrasound scan of carotid arteries to look for plaque. One of the main causes of stroke. There's also an artery coming out of the heart that's a common culprit, but it has to be scanned with one of the various machines involving radiation. Plaque forms where arteries are damaged by high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar causes is caused by LDL oxidized due to chronic inflammation.

Coagulation of the blood
PTT - partial thromboplastin time - Tests the time it takes blood to clot
Patients with a normal PTT test result will take 25 to 35 seconds for their blood to clot.
Platelet Count AKA: Thrombocyte count; PLT http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/aptt/tab/test

A1C hemoglobin test which looks for signs of frequently elevated blood sugar/insulin (which is inflammatory)

Uric Acid
-Elevated serum uric acid is a consistent feature of the insulin resistance syndromes,
-Elevated levels associated with increased cardiovascular events/disease risk.

Prevention
Chronic inflammation is caused by stress, environmental toxins, lack of sleep and exercise, prolonged intensive activity like body building, running 10 miles,etc.
Diet -spiking insulin/blood sugar, too many inflammatory foods (hydrogenated/trans fats, Omega 6 fats (grain/grain oils) and foods to which you are intolerant/can't digest) in relation to anti-inflammatory foods (omega 3 fats, anti-oxidant rich plant foods, herbs, spices, teas).

Edited by alternativista, 27 February 2012 - 12:25 PM.