headaches Archives - Lifelab Testing

Tag: headaches

Migraine & IBS

Posted on by Donna Mastriani

Anyone who has experienced a migraine will tell you it is debilitating. It can completely destroy any ideas you had of productivity for the day and can make your life miserable. Suffering them occasionally is bad enough, but, for some people, migraines are almost a routine experience that can occur VERY regularly. Does this sound familiar?

We have identified a link that you might not have considered…

Is allergy and intolerance testing useful to understand triggered symptoms?

At Lifelab Testing, we know that the management of symptoms in the case of an undiagnosed or not fully understood problem can be quite frustrating.

Sometimes you are experiencing symptoms such as irritation, mood swings, bloating, itchiness and many others, and the only thing you want to do is find a solution for your problem and move on.

At Lifelab, we are here to help you take the first steps to understand more about your body, the cause of your symptoms and help you to improve your health.

We are here to provide you with all the information you will need to take the next step. We will provide you with updated scientific research studies highlighting new development and important advancement in the field of allergy and intolerance testing.

Due to the unclear relationship between IBS and migraines in dietary factors, we have compiled some recent studies indicating that people with migraines and IBS symptoms that followed a restriction diet (under medical/nutritionist supervision, of foods with higher IgG levels) can improve the management of their symptoms and their quality of life.

Research

Elif Ilgaz Aydinlar et al. (1) previously reported the possibility to use food elimination diet based on IgG antibodies in migraine and IBS patients showing reduce symptoms with a positive impact on the quality of life of both patients. This study also demonstrated how this could potentially reduce the costs in the health-care system.

In 2017 Hong Sub Lee and Kwang Jae Lee (2)reported that high levels of IgG4 antibodies were observed in IBS patients, suggesting that to improve the quality of life of those patients an elimination diet could be used, eliminating those foods with high levels of IgG4. This study was performed on a small number of people, and the authors suggested that for a more comprehensive study, a large group of people could be investigated in the future.

The pathophysiology of migraines is complex and not well understood. In literature, it is reported how some foods could trigger migraines (chocolate, cheese, and wine to mention some).

 James F. Geiselman (3) in 2019 reported as testing for IgG antibodies in patients with migraines is a beneficial tool for practitioners to treat patients with migraine and headache symptoms, adjusting their diet requirements without using any medications.

Recent studies suggested the possibility of using IgG testing as a tool to adjust dietary requirements in people affected by IBS and migraines, limiting the use of medications to treat some of those cases.

We can see that in recent literature, there is good evidence for the use of allergy and intolerance blood testing as a preliminary tool to manage and treat symptoms from migraines and IBS.

Here at LifeLab, we provide products to test blood allergy and intolerances using a simple home test kit. Our comprehensive Complete Blood test can provide you with a map of your immune system (Allergy Type I IgE and Type III IgG) including IgE mediated allergy and not IgE mediated allergy (IgG4 asymptomatic), and help you in the identification of allergies and intolerances that could be the cause of your migraine.

We Can Help

So what you are waiting for…. Have a look at our tests and start this journey with us and remember if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us, our scientists will be more than happy to help you! And remember we are in it together…

(1) https://headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2012.02296.x (Elif Ilgaz Aydinlar et al.)

(2) http://www.jnmjournal.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.5056/jnm17054 (Hong Sub Lee and Kwang Jae Lee)

(3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31456119/ (James F. Geiselman)

The Symptoms We’re No Longer Putting Up With

Posted on by Kate Young

The very least we should hope for from our body is to be able to live a normal lifestyle. To be able to do the things we want to without our body holding us back. When you’re putting foods into your body that are considered “healthy”, you expect that it repays you in kind by allowing you to go about your day-to-day life unencumbered by symptoms that hold you back from achieving your goals. Here at Lifelab, we know that, despite your best efforts, sometimes your body doesn’t pay out on the healthy foods you’re putting in. We also think we know why…

Intolerance and allergies are a real spanner in the works. Until you identify them, they can cause a range of symptoms that can prevent you from living a normal lifestyle. That’s why Lifelab offer allergy and intolerance testing to help you understand why your body isn’t doing its bit. Here we take a look at some of the symptoms you may be experiencing that an allergy and intolerance test could help get rid of.

Bloating

bloating lifelab

Is there anything more frustrating than putting in the work in the gym & eating the “right” foods only to still get asked when it’s due? When you eat a food to which you’re intolerant, it causes irritation and inflammation within the gut. Your body doesn’t have the enzymes required to break down the food, so bacteria does the job instead. When bacteria break down food, it produces more gas than enzymes, and those gases remain in the stomach, giving you that bloated feeling. By taking an allergy and intolerance test with Lifelab, you can identify the foods causing your bloating.

Fatigue

Allergies can have a severely adverse effect on sleep. When you have an unidentified, untreated allergy, it can cause inflammation of the nasal passages. This means your body doesn’t get the oxygen it needs to fuel all the cells within your body. During sleep, this is especially detrimental as sleep is when your body regenerates and recuperates cells. If your body can’t do this when you’re asleep, it leaves you in a constant state of fatigue. This year, we’re not standing for this. We’re taking an allergy and intolerance test.

fatigue lifelab

Headaches

Another symptom of allergies and intolerance is persistent headaches. Headaches can be severely detrimental to your ability to lead a normal lifestyle. They can get in the way of your life at home and also have an impact on your ability to perform at work. By taking an allergy and intolerance test, you can identify the substances which are causing you headaches that stop you from being at your best.

Allergy and intolerance tests

Lifelab have a range of allergy and intolerance tests available to suit your budget, because this year, we’re not putting up with the symptoms making our lives a misery!

Cure These Symptoms With Food Intolerance Testing

Posted on by Kate Young

With NHS waiting rooms across the country reaching capacity and GP appointment wait times extending into months, living with symptoms such as bloating, headaches, nausea and stomach pain starts to feel like the way things are going to be. Many people are living with these symptoms or any of several others which can prevent them from achieving their goals or even living a normal life. But it doesn’t have to be this way. What if we told you that food intolerance testing could be your solution?

Here we take a look at some symptoms which may stump doctors and could, in fact, be related to food intolerance.

Food Intolerance Bloating

woman holding her belly with both hands
Woman holding her belly with both hands

This symptom can have a significant number of knock-on effects. Have you ever felt inclined to get into the gym when your stomach feels full of air? Do you feel like seeing friends when all your clothes feel tighter because your belly is all swollen? Bloating occurs when food passing through the digestive tract irritates the system, this inflames the walls narrowing the passages meaning the food takes longer to get through. All the while enzymes are breaking down the food and producing gases which can’t escape due to the inflammation. This gas then sits in the stomach leading to that bloating feeling you’re experiencing. Food intolerance testing can help you identify the foods that may be causing irritation within your gut.

Can Food Intolerance Cause Headaches & Migraines

woman covering her face with both her hands
Woman covering her face with both her hands

Ranging from irritating to debilitating, headaches & migraines being caused by food isn’t something a lot of people are familiar with. Still, there is a growing connection between the foods you eat and suffering from pain of varying intensity in your head. When you have a headache it can make your work suffer, spending time with family is difficult and even bright lights can cause searing pain. Food intolerance testing can help you identify any foods that may cause you problems and, by performing an elimination diet, the removal of these foods can lead to an entirely new lifestyle.

Food Intolerance Diarrhoea & Vomiting

Diarrhoea, unfortunately, is a near unavoidable condition that everyone will experience at one point or another, same with vomiting. However, when diarrhoea and vomiting are becoming a frequent problem for you, its time to look at the food you’re putting into your system.

When you eat a food to which you’re intolerant, your brain receives a signal from your digestive system to let it know. In turn, your brain sends back a message to initiate the process to get that food out of your system as quickly as possible. This is either through vomiting or diarrhoea. Diarrhoea and vomiting can lead to electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, tooth decay and many more adverse conditions.

How Can Food Intolerance Testing Help?

Food intolerance testing is an essential tool to help save you from weeks spent waiting for doctors’ appointments or hours spent in A&E. This simple test will tell you what foods you may have an intolerance towards and how severe it is. We have food intolerance testing to suit all budgets, and you can find yours here today. You can also take our Find My Test quiz to find out what test would be best suited to your needs and symptoms.

Allergies vs Intolerances: Which one is causing your symptoms?

Posted on by Donna Mastriani

Our bodies are strange, even at the best of times, and we are still adjusting to it.  When you are looking to get to the bottom of strange symptoms and that general feeling of simply being unwell after you’ve eaten, you’re certainly not alone. Almost everyone suffers from headaches, but not everyone realises that they may be caused by food intolerances or allergies.

When you feel like you’re having strange reactions to food, or experiencing headaches then you may be dealing with food intolerance. 

Unique from a food allergy, a food intolerance doesn’t make you feel like you can’t breathe or give you a rash.  It just means that your body can’t really digest or work with the food, so you start to feel unwell after eating it. Help stop your headaches today with a food intolerance test.

Allergy vs Intolerance

A lot of food intolerances get misdiagnosed as a mild food allergy, or they get missed entirely because they are attributed to other common health issues. A lot of symptoms like headaches are generally caused by other health causes.

That’s why food intolerance testing is so important when you are looking at making sure that you are as healthy as possible.  To break it down into detail, let’s take a look at an allergy and a food intolerance side by side:

  • Allergy: An allergy takes place when your body sees a certain food as attacking the body.  The body then retaliates, resulting in a physical reaction as it fights.
  • Allergies can range from mild to severe.  Common symptoms include rashes, shortness of breath, flushing, hives, and, of course, the dreaded anaphylactic shock that is so common with allergies such as nuts or soy. 
  • Most severe allergies are present at birth but can develop at a later age as well.  Allergies can also vary in terms of their type when exposed to the allergen.  That is, what may be a simply annoying case of hives or itchy eyes and a runny nose one time, maybe shortness of breath and sneezing fit the next time. 
  • Allergies are not always the same severity and should be taken seriously in terms of avoidance.
  • Intolerance:
  • An intolerance is when your body is simply unable to process something that comes into it.  While it doesn’t attack the “intruder” in your body, it does react to it.
  • This reaction’s severity depends on how much of the food that you have.  The less you have, the smaller the reaction.  Common symptoms include fatigue (especially after eating), a bloated stomach, heartburn, headaches (even migraines) and diarrhoea. 
  • With proper intolerance testing, you can figure out what the trigger food is and avoid it as well as monitor how much causes a reaction so that you can continue eating it in small amounts if preferred.  Common intolerances include wheat intolerance, gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance.

While allergies tend to get all of the fame and glory, understanding the role a food intolerance can play in your life, as well as making sure that you are aware of it and can avoid it, is just as important. 

When you want to get rid of those strange mystery symptoms, as well as those constant headaches, then you can turn to a Lifelab Testing kit. You will then generally feel better and healthier. 

Whether you knew you needed it or not, grab that test and see for yourself just what the results are. If you are not sure which item is causing your variety of symptoms, you can get your hands on our Complete Body Test!