Swapped your bread for spelt because wheat seemed to disagree with you, and still had a reaction? Spelt is an ancient form of wheat, not a different grain, so the two overlap a lot. Our test checks your blood for IgE to whole spelt, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to five single wheat proteins in the same sample.
Spelt is a subspecies of common wheat. It has the same main protein families as modern bread wheat, including gluten proteins, lipid transfer proteins and the omega-5 gliadin linked to exercise-related wheat reactions. To your immune system, spelt looks mostly like wheat.
That has a practical side. In research from Munich on adults whose wheat reactions appear only with a trigger such as exercise, spelt cross-reacted with wheat. So spelt is not a reliable way around a wheat allergy, even though some people with wheat sensitivity say they feel better on it.
Reactions people describe after eating spelt match those reported for wheat: hives, itching, swelling, stomach cramps, a blocked or runny nose and, in some cases, wheezing. They usually start within minutes to two hours, or only when eating is combined with exercise, alcohol or painkillers.
Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or feeling faint after eating is an emergency. Call 112 (EU) or your local emergency number. Do not wait for a test.
Spelt is a grass, and whole cereal extracts share proteins with grass pollen. People with summer hay fever often show some IgE to spelt and eat it without any trouble. The single wheat proteins on the panel are less affected by this overlap, which is why they help a doctor read a spelt result.
So a positive spelt result shows sensitisation. It does not tell you that you will react. Spelt contains gluten, so it is not suitable for coeliac disease, which this IgE test does not measure. Talk to a doctor before you change your diet.
The lab measures IgE to one whole spelt extract, which covers the full mix of spelt proteins rather than single components. Your lab report gives it a measured value and class, from Negative to Very high. Because spelt is a wheat, the five single wheat proteins in the same sample are the best guide to which kind of wheat protein your antibodies recognise.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
Usually not something to assume. Spelt is a type of wheat with the same main proteins, and studies show it cross-reacts in wheat allergy. Our test shows spelt and five wheat proteins side by side. Talk to a doctor before you try spelt instead of wheat.
Yes. Spelt contains gluten, so it is not suitable for people with coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is a different condition from IgE allergy, and this test does not measure it.
Some people say so, and bread type, fermentation and portion size may all play a part. That experience is not the same as an IgE allergy, which this test measures. If you have had reactions such as hives or swelling, take your result to a doctor.
