Ask me about food allergies and I’ll tell you that I don’t have any, but I will admit that I suffer from consistent breakouts each month. This is a common issue that many of us live with each day, says Dr. Andrew Bridgeforth, DC. However, he points out that just because it is common doesn’t mean it is normal. Similar to allergies, he says, this frequent issue could be caused by the foods I eat.

This month, he plans to bring an exciting new cold laser technology to his clients that will help them with lingering chronic issues such as intolerances to food. He explains that this laser technology can help the body accept foods it was once intolerant of, re-stabilize it after an addiction to alcohol or cigarettes, and even relieve the causes of chronic issues like migraines, fibromyalgia, and the inability to lose weight.

Dr. Bridgeforth says that he strives to focus on the health and well-being of his clients’ whole bodies and systems rather than just address one or two symptoms. “Once I got into school, I did choose chiropractic college because of its more natural approach,” he explains. “They look at the whole body.”

Dr. Bridgeforth decided to study chiropractic care because of a severe skin allergy he suffered years ago. After unsuccessfully seeking solutions from a naturopath, osteopath, and an MD who told him he had eczema and recommended using Crisco to moisturize with, he says he was overwhelmed with frustration. He decided to seek answers on his own and attended Logan Chiropractic College in Chesterfield, MO. He discovered that his skin rash was due to a gluten allergy. He was able to eliminate gluten from his diet, and “went through a healing process,” he recalls. That is one reason why when he found out about the ALCAT test, a blood test that measures an individual’s level of tolerance to 200 common foods, he recognized its importance and brought it to his practice.

A traditional allergy test is called a scratch test, Dr. Bridgeforth recalls, that is administered to most people as children to detect immediate reactions to allergens. These scratch tests take about 30 minutes to reveal allergies, he says. “But some foods we eat can cause problems days later, and these foods get missed with conventional allergy testing,” he explains. “That’s why my program tests for these delayed food sensitivities.” He notes that in some cases, it may take your body days for these food sensitivities to become noticeable, but can manifest as health problems like chronic fatigue, depression, fibromyalgia, and even low thyroid.

Dr. Bridgeforth showed me an example of his personal test results. It tests against a variety of common natural foods such as certain types of fish, fruits and vegetables, and herbs and spices. There are four categories the foods fall into according to the blood test results: no intolerance, mild intolerance, moderate intolerance, and severe intolerance.

Moderate to severe intolerances spur chronic issues in clients. “Basically their bodies are on fire,” Dr. Bridgeforth says. “It’s inflammation, and every time they eat these foods it’s like taking fuel and squirting it on the fire.” He sees this test as the first step to helping his clients with their chronic issues. “So let’s find out what’s fueling the fire and let’s pull that out.”

I spoke with one of his clients who is in her mid-60s. She says that she had tried everything to lose weight, even consulting her doctor and a professional dietitian. However, nothing was working. She began Dr. Bridgeforth’s program in May. “Everything I was eating was causing me inflammation,” she recalls. She read to me a long list of foods she has a moderate to severe intolerance to, including raw almonds, garlic, peaches, cantaloupe, and many more. Once she started eating the right foods, she says her cholesterol level dropped 50 points in 11 days, and she has dropped from a ring size nine to a seven.

I asked her how she gets by without being able to eat such common, healthy foods. “I am not craving things—I’m kind of surprised,” she says. She recalls that after cutting almonds out of her diet for two or three days, she noticed a difference in her mood and overall comfort. She says she can eat many other healthy foods, and she is enjoying knowing she is eating what is right for her. In three to six months, she can start to slowly work the foods she was intolerant to back into her diet, Dr. Bridgeforth says. This will be in addition to the other steps that she needs to take, which involve rebuilding her body’s tolerance to the foods.

This is where the new cold laser technology comes in. After the doctor and the client decide what foods need to be taken out of their diet and the symptoms decrease, the cold laser technology can help “reconstruct the burning building,” he says. The cold laser is similar to laser treatments many chiropractors are already using to treat joint and muscle pain, notes Dr. Bridgeforth, only this technology uses different wavelengths and measurements to treat different areas of the body.

The apparatus looks similar to a laser pointer, and is used to scan the brain and the body. Similar to the way acupuncture pinpoints areas of the body to reestablish the energy flow, he explains, the cold laser uses wavelengths of light to reestablish energy. It works throughout the entire body instead of just at specific points. The goal is to help “retrain the body from the brain down,” as the doctor puts it, so that it will no longer have such a high intolerance to the foods and elements that caused the individual’s chronic symptoms. After six visits lasting 10 to 15 minutes each, the treatments are complete.

One laser technology he has already seen sweeping success with is the Body By Laser treatment using the Zerona Lipo Laser. Also a cold laser treatment, it stimulates the body’s fat cells, breaking them down and releasing them into the lymphatic system and bowels. The fat then exits the body. Treatments last 40 minutes over a period of six to 12 sessions, and his clients see inches disappear from their waistlines, he says.

Dr. Bridgeforth says he doesn’t believe in just one end-all miracle to solve your chronic issues. He vows to utilize an array of services to pinpoint the cause and see you through to your end goal, be that weight loss, addressing chronic pain or allergies, or losing a few inches from your waistline. Whatever it may be, he says he will line up your goals with your budget.

The office of Andrew Bridgeforth, DC, is located in Lakewood at 1075 South Yukon St., Suite 340. It is one block west of the intersection of South Wadsworth Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue. For more information, call 720-962-5200.