Cyrex Food Intolerance Testing

Cyrex Array 4: Gluten-Associated Cross-Reactive Foods and Foods Sensitivity

• Gluten-Containing / Gluten-Contaminated Foods
• Gliadin Cross-Reactive Foods
• Newly-Introduced &/or Over-Consumed on Gluten-Free Diet
• Common Antigenic Foods

This test is about sensitivities and intolerances to some of the most common foods, especially those foods that cross-react with gluten. It includes many forms of dairy, as well as potatoes and eggs, and  also assesses reactions to many cereal grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, rice and oats and ingredients commonly found in gluten-free baked products. This is particularly useful for people who follow a gluten-free or low-wheat diet,  as may people consume increased amounts of such foods when excluding wheat or gluten-containing foods. Combined Total IgG and IgA antibody immune reactivity is measured to each food tested, making it less likely to miss any problematic reactions.

What is Cross-Reactivity?

If you are consuming foods that commonly cross-react with gluten, your immune system may effectively "mistake" any of these foods for gluten and react accordingly. The unwanted health symptoms that you experience due to food allergies, food sensitivities and food intolerances result from your immune system reacting to food antigens.

If you have coeliac disease, or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) or any degree of wheat intolerance or gluten intolerance, then your body may react to certain “cross-reactive” foods as though you were eating gluten itself, even if you have not consumed gluten for many years. Alternatively, you may have excluded certain foods from your diet, and replaced them with increased quantities of other foods, or become accustomed to using packaged “gluten-free” goods. This in itself can provoke new food sensitivities.

Cyrex Array 4 tests for 24 different food antigens that either:

• may be precipitating cross-reactivity in your body, or
• may be recent additions to your diet that your immune system does not yet tolerate, or
• you may be over-consuming / consuming overly-frequently.

Any of the above has the potential to initiate an inappropriate immune response.

One of the most frustrating scenarios for both the practitioner and the patient is when a gluten-free diet fails to have any beneficial effect, or only limited benefits, on a person who appears to be clearly gluten-sensitive. Recent research shows this may be due to cross-reactivity.  In cross-reactivity, the body's immune system "mistakes" another food for gluten and reacts accordingly. 

Dairy is an example of a food that commonly cross-reacts with gluten, due to its protein-structure closely resembling that of gluten.  In fact, 50% of people who are sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to dairy. Yet there are a number of other foods that also commonly cause reactivity in gluten-sensitive individuals.

Array 4 tests for 24 different foods/food-antigens that may be causing cross-reactivity or are newly introduced to the diet or are over-consumed favourites. It does this by measuring combined IgG and IgA antibodies against each of the food antigens in the list below. This panel has great clinical significance as it can explain why many people still exhibit clinical symptoms even after eliminating gluten (and even dairy) from their diet.   

Food Antigens included in Array 4:

Gluten-Containing / Gluten-Contaminated Foods

• Rye, Barley, Spelt, Polish Wheat
• Instant Coffee

Gliadin Cross-Reactive Foods

• Cow’s Milk
• Alpha-Casein & Beta-Casein
• Casomorphin
• Milk Butyrophilin
• Whey Protein
• Milk Chocolate
• Yeast
• Oats
• Millet
• Rice
• Corn

Newly-Introduced &/or Over-Consumed on Gluten-Free Diet

• Buckwheat
• Sorghum
• Hemp
• Sesame
• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Tapioca
• Teff
• Potato

Common Antigenic Foods

• Soy
• Egg, Raw & Cooked

How your immune system mistakes other foods for gluten

The diagram below depicts how the milk-protein, casein, may be mistaken for the gluten-protein, gliadin. Here the gliadin antibody is able to partially bind to the casein antigen, causing the immune system to detect apparent gluten and thus respond in the same way as it would to gluten consumption by this individual.

Cyrex Array 4 is recommended for individuals with any of the following criteria:

• Who have non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) or coeliac disease or “gluten intolerance”
• Who are already on a gluten-free diet but are experiencing limited improvements or are non-responsive to the elimination of gluten
• Who suspect that other foods may be involved in causing them to feel unwell / experience symptoms of “food intolerance” although are not always sure as to which foods trigger their symptoms.
• Who have gut dysbiosis (imbalanced proportions of micro-organisms with the gastrointestinal tract), which appears to be resistant to standard therapy
• For whom significant “leaky gut” issues have been detected by Cyrex Array #2, Intestinal Antigenic Permeability Screen (Cyrex Leaky Gut Test).

For further information, please download the brochure below or contact us here