[mimimomo]

W. Jean Dodds, DVM

Background
Research in humans has shown that the key to delayed, or latent, or pre-clinical food sensitivity testing is the identification of the offending IgG or IgA antibodies and immune complexes in serum or feces, and the offending IgA or IgM antibodies in saliva. In fact, antibodies to food ingredients can appear in the saliva before the clinical or gastrointestinal biopsy diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease or “leaky gut syndrome” is made in human patients. Saliva testing can thus reveal the latent or pre-clinical form of food sensitivity. A similar elaboration of IgA or IgM antibody in saliva but not serum pertains to animals with latent or pre-clinical gastrointestinal disease.


Delayed sensitivities are usually revealed as soon as 2 hours or as long as 72 hours after eating, which is the reason it can be difficult to connect the symptoms with a food or foods eaten as long as several days previously. There is a very high correlation between delayed food sensitivity and the amount and frequency of the food consumed.


In serum testing, food sensitivity reactions in the gut lead to increased blood levels of IgA or IgG directed to these food ingredients. Similarly, the immune complexes being formed from food reactions in the blood adhere to red blood cells and these altered blood cells are then cleared by the body’s recticuloendothelial system in the liver and spleen. Individuals having more immune complex on their red blood cells are the ones who suffer from chronic food sensitivities.


In saliva testing, deposition of food antigens or peptides in the gut has been documented in people and animals to lead to the production of IgA or IgM antibodies in the serum and in secretions such as saliva. In some situations, IgA or IgM antibodies to food ingredients appear in saliva but are not present in serum. So salivary antibodies serve as an indication of a general mucosal immune response and can be induced in people and animals without parallel antibodies being detected in serum.


A good correlation exists between the saliva/ blood ratio of substances and salivary pH. Salivary flow rate and any existing pathophysiology of the oral cavity have also been shown to affect salivary distribution of substances. Saliva content of antigens and antibodies reflects the nutritional and metabolic status of the body, as well as the emotional, hormonal, immunological status of the individual animal.

1