Controlling food "allergies" may be key to controlling overeating and body fat, reports new study.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.--(HealthWire)--July 9, 1996--Controlling body fat may be as simple as controlling food "allergies," according to a study published in the current issue of American Journal of Bariatric Medicine.

Ninety-eight percent of the subjects who eliminated foods to which they tested allergic lost scale weight, lost body fat, and gained lean muscle. The food allergies were identified using a simple blood test called The ALCAT Test.

In the study, conducted at Columbia/HCA Medical Center's Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Houston, the test subjects lost an average of nearly three pounds of fat and gained almost one pound of lean muscle.

The control subjects, who followed their own weight-loss plans, gained an average of one pound of fat and lost almost one pound of lean muscle. Overall, there was a six-pound difference in the two groups' body composition (lean-to-fat ratio) at the end of the four-week trial.

"Statistically, these differences are highly significant," explains Gilbert Kaats, Ph.D., director of the Health and Medical Research Foundation, an independent research organization in San Antonio, and principal investigator of the new study. "From a clinical point-of-view, this type of change in body composition could have an enormous impact on healthcare costs.

"We found that the ability to control overeating and body fat may be related to an individual's biochemical reactions to specific foods," notes Dr. Kaats. "Eliminating these allergenic foods appears to balance appetite, food cravings and body composition.

"These findings are consistent with the latest biochemical and genetic research," Dr. Kaats adds. "It looks like when some people eat certain foods, which could be anything from milk products to lettuce, they experience an allergic-like reaction. But instead of getting a rash or going into anaphylactic shock, their appetite and food cravings increase."

"Regardless of the approach people take to weight management, whether through diet, exercise, appetite suppressant drugs, or supplements, unless they also avoid their allergenic foods, their efforts to lose fat and keep it off will probably be sabotaged," explains Roger Deutsch, president and CEO of the American Medical Testing Laboratories (AMTL Corp.), developer of the ALCAT Test, in Hollywood, Fla.

The ALCAT Test, used by physicians for over 10 years, electronically measures changes in white blood cells and platelets in vitro to identify reactions to a variety of food extracts, additives, chemicals, and other substances. The test mimics what happens to the blood cells when a food or other substance is actually ingested.

For the study, Dr. Kaats and two co-investigators recruited 100 people struggling with weight and at least two other disease symptoms such as migraine, chronic fatigue and gastrointestinal problems. Co-investigators were Dennis Pullin, executive director of the Sports Medicine Institute at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and Larry Parker, MD, at Womens Total Health Care in Angelton, Texas.

Each subject had an ALCAT Test, was weighed, was measured for fat-to-lean ratio using an underwater displacement test, and completed a Disease Symptom Inventory. The 100 subjects were then randomly divided into two groups of 50. One group received the ALCAT Test information, while the control group followed weight loss plans of their own choice. Both groups were retested for weight, body composition and disease symptoms at the end of the 30-day study.

"Consistent with their improvement in body composition," Dr. Kaats notes, "the ALCAT group also experienced a greater reduction in self-reported disease symptoms, reporting improvements on 15 of the 20 symptoms they rated, while the group not following the ALCAT program reported improvement on only one of the same 20 symptoms."

Other studies have also shown The ALCAT Test to be beneficial with a range of medical conditions, including obesity.

With so much attention on weight loss drugs, Deutsch points out that "eliminating offending foods appears to create the same biochemical and metabolism benefits without the dangerous side effects and high costs associated with popular obesity drugs."

According to Dr. Kaats, "The ALCAT Test appears to be a very effective way for people to improve their fat-to-lean ratios and disease symptoms. The test appears to do an excellent job of directing people away from foods that trigger addictive-like responses, which make it all but impossible for these people to stop eating certain foods once they start."

To find out how to be tested for food intolerance using The ALCAT Test, call AMTL Corp. toll-free at 1-800-881-2685. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS:

MEDIA ALERT/Gilbert Kaats, Ph.D., is available for interviews to discuss details of this study, and The ALCAT Test's impact on weight, body fat, lean mass, and self-reported disease symptoms.

Roger Deutsch is available to discuss food sensitivity testing and The ALCAT Test, the impact of food sensitivity on weight and health, and the results of other studies related to food allergy testing, weight control, and health improvement. Specific patient case histories are also available.

For more information on this study and to set up interviews, contact Roger Deutsch at 800/881-2685 or 512/301-3391.

CONTACT: AMTL Corp.

Roger Deutsch, 800/881-2685, 512/301-3391.