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Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET) is a form of alternative medicine which proponents claim can treat allergies and related disorders. The techniques were devised by Devi Nambudripad, a California-based chiropractor and acupuncturist, in 1983, drawing on a combination of ideas from applied kinesiology, acupuncture, acupressure, nutritional management, and chiropractic methods.

Clinical research has found no evidence supporting the accuracy of muscle testing to diagnose medical allergies. Supporters of the practice agree that mainstream science has not shown credible evidence for the effectiveness of this method.

History

Devi Nambudripad was a student chiropractor and acupuncturist at the time she developed NAET. Whilst experiencing a reaction to eating carrots she attempted to overcome the reaction through a self-administered acupuncture treatment. After the treatment the reaction to eating carrots did not return. At the time of the acupuncture treatment, a remnant of carrot was on her skin, and Nambudripad concluded from this that the presence of a minute quantity of carrot during the acupuncture treatment was the key to the treatment. She then formulated a hypothesis that contact with a small amount of an allergen during an acupuncture or acupressure session can remove reactions to food and other substances.

NAET is promoted by her Nambudripad’s Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) which also publishes its own journal called The Journal of NAET, Energetics & Complementary Medicine.

She is licensed as a chiropractor and acupuncturist in California. She also identifies herself as an M.D.. Her website states that she received the Doctor of Medicine degree from University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA) in January 2002. The California Medical Board does not list an active license, and it does not recognize medical degrees from UHSA as valid, listing it as a "disapproved" school since 1995.

Theory

NAET uses the term word allergy differently from medicine. Nambudripad claims that the central nervous system and associated sensory systems have the ability to detect the "electromagnetic signatures" of all molecules, with the central nervous system either reacting or not reacting to a particular substance. Reaction to a neutral substance is called a sensitivity. In medical science, the reaction may be so extreme as to be called an allergy. In NAET such reaction is said to manifest itself as an energy disturbance or blockage in the flow of life force qi along meridians. In stark contrast to the modern scientific understanding of allergies, Nambudripad characterizes an allergy as a condition caused by these "repulsive electromagnetic fields between an individual and the object (allergen)". Allergens may be any of a wide variety of substances, as well as more abstract notions such as emotions and colors. The cumulative effects of these energy disturbances are said to give rise to a variety of health disorders, with Nambudripad suggesting that "95 percent of human ailments arise from some sort of allergy". The theory of NAET proposes that these allergies can be eliminated by addressing the energy blockages through the use of acupuncture or acupressure. Some of these ideas and concepts are adopted from ancient Chinese medicine, which follows a different paradigm from that of modern medicine.

Technique

NAET practitioners use a form of applied kinesiology called Neuromuscular Sensitivity Testing (NST or NST-NAET) to diagnose allergies by comparing the strength of a muscle in the presence and absence of a suspected allergen, although they recommend Ig-E allergy testing with a physician as well. Practitioners will then aim to remove energy blockages by having the patient hold a glass bottle containing the allergen whilst acupressure or acupuncture techniques are employed. After treatment, patients rest 20 minutes while continuing to hold the jar containing the allergen, after which time the patient will again be tested for a sensitivity reaction using the muscle strength test. If the NAET practitioner determines the sensitivity has cleared, the patient is advised to avoid the substance for the following 25 hours or more. Patients are invited to return for retesting with NAET between 25 hours and 7 days after the treatment.

Evidence

Several reviews of the available evidence for various alternative techniques in allergy diagnosis have determined that applied kinesiology, the primary diagnostic technique in NAET, is ineffective at diagnosing allergies and advise against its use. Various medical associations also advise against its use, including the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, and the Allergy Society of South Africa.

Two medical review articles conclude that "NAET has to be the most unsubstantiated allergy treatment proposed to date" and that "there have been no studies supporting the use of these techniques". The Teuber and Porch-Curren review cautions that "there is the potential for an anaphylactic reaction if a patient with severe food allergies seeks such a therapy and tests themselves by oral challenge away from a physician's office after completing the NAET sessions successfully". The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy has advised against using NAET to treat allergies, criticizing its "lack of scientific rationale" and describing it as a "potentially dangerous technique".

In a critical appraisal of Nambudripad's techniques Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch writes:

NAET clashes with the concepts of anatomy, physiology, pathology, physics, and allergy accepted by the scientific community. The story of its "discovery" is highly implausible. Its core diagnostic approach – muscle testing for "allergies" – is senseless and is virtually certain to diagnose nonexistent problems. Its recommendations for dietary restrictions based on nonexistent food allergies are likely to place the patient at great risk for nutrient deficiency, and, in the case of children, at risk for social problems and the development of eating disorders.

References

1. ^ "License 16776: Devi S. Nambudripad". California Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
2. ^ "License 3433: Devi S. Nambudripad". California Acupuncture Board. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
3. Nambudripad, Devi S. (2003). NAET: Say Goodbye to Asthma: A Revolutionary Treatment for Allergy-Based Asthma and Other Respiratory Disorders. Say Good-Bye To... Series. Delta Publishing Company. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-9743915-1-9.
4. ^ Niggemann, B.; Gruber, C. (August 2004). "Unproven diagnostic procedures in IgE-mediated allergic diseases". Allergy. 59 (8): 806–808. doi:10.1111/j.1398-9995.2004.00495.x. PMID 15230811. S2CID 36788143.
5. ^ Gerez, IF; Shek, LP; Chng, HH; Lee, BW (January 2010). "Diagnostic tests for food allergy" (PDF). Singapore Medical Journal. 51 (1): 4–9. PMID 20200768.
6. ^ Waserman, Susan; Watson, Wade (January 2011). "Food allergy". Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. 7 (Suppl 1): S7. doi:10.1186/1710-1492-7-S1-S7. PMC 3245440. PMID 22166142.
7. Thyer, Bruce A.; Pignotti, Monica G. (2015), Science and Pseudoscience in Social Work Practice, Springer Publishing, p. 47, ISBN 9780826177698, Another energy-based therapy that is claimed to identify and treat allergies...is called the Nambudripad allergy elimination technique (NAET; Nambudripad, 2003). However, a dearth of studies is not the same thing as evidence which conclusively proves that NAET is either ineffective or dangerous. Organizations that do rigorous clinical trials would have little interest in studying NAET because it is non-drug based. Funding is not usually available for assessing any alternative healing modalities. Defenders of alternative and holistic healing point out that most family doctors treat patients who have a wide range of underlying emotional issues that impair the patient's health. This could happen, for example, through elevated cortisone or adrenaline levels from prolonged stress. NAET testing is carried out through applied kinesiology while a person is holding small vials that are said to contain the energetic essences of various substances. Once the allergies are identified, treatment is carried out through stimulation of points along the spine. These vials contain substances prepared in a process similar to that of homeopathic preparation. Mainstream science claims this method has not been shown reliable or valid in assessing a client's sensitivity to environmental toxins.
8. ^ Nambudripad, Devi S. (1993). Say Good-Bye to Illness. Say Good-Bye To... Series. Delta Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-9637570-0-5.
9. "N.A.R.F. Website". Nambudripad's Allergy Research Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
10. Nambudripad, Devi S. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). naet.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
11. "International Medical Schools Disapproved by the State of California". Medical Board of California. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
12. ^ Nambudripad, Devi S. (2005). "NAET Protocols and Modalities Part 1: Basics". JNECM. 1 (1): 19–28. Archived from the original on 2007-04-30.
13. Nambudripad, Devi S. (2008). NAET Pain Relief. Delta Publishing Company. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-934523-07-0.
14. "NAET Allergen Kit List" (PDF). NAET. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
15. Nambudripad, Devi S. (2008). NAET Pain Relief. Delta Publishing Company. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-934523-07-0.
16. Nambudripad, Devi S. (2008). NAET Pain Relief. Delta Publishing Company. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-934523-07-0.
17. Wüthrich, B (2005). "Unproven techniques in allergy diagnosis" (PDF). Journal of Investigational Allergology & Clinical Immunology. 15 (2): 86–90. PMID 16047707.
18. Beyer, K; Teuber, SS (June 2005). "Food allergy diagnostics: scientific and unproven procedures". Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 5 (3): 261–6. doi:10.1097/01.all.0000168792.27948.f9. PMID 15864086. S2CID 72156088.
19. Sicherer, S. H.; Wood, R. A. (December 2011). "Allergy Testing in Childhood: Using Allergen-Specific IgE Tests". Pediatrics. 129 (1): 193–197. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-2382. PMID 22201146.
20. ^ Bernstein, IL; et al. (March 2008). "Allergy diagnostic testing: an updated practice parameter" (PDF). Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 100 (3, Supplement 3): S1–148. doi:10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60305-5. PMID 18431959.
21. ^ Teuber, Suzanne S.; Porch-Curren, Cristina (June 2003). "Unproved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to food allergy and intolerance". Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 3 (3): 217–221. doi:10.1097/00130832-200306000-00011. PMID 12840706. S2CID 46550353.
22. Ortolani C; Bruijnzeel-Koomen C; Bengtsson U; et al. (January 1999). "Controversial aspects of adverse reactions to food. European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Reactions to Food Subcommittee". Allergy. 54 (1): 27–45. doi:10.1034/j.1398-9995.1999.00913.x. PMID 10195356. S2CID 38054021.
23. Sackeyfio, A.; Senthinathan, A.; Kandaswamy, P.; Barry, P. W.; Shaw, B.; Baker, M. (February 2011). "Diagnosis and assessment of food allergy in children and young people: summary of NICE guidance". British Medical Journal. 342: d747. doi:10.1136/bmj.d747. PMID 21345912. S2CID 9490164.
24. Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE (February 2011). "Food Allergy in Children and Young People: Diagnosis and Assessment of Food Allergy in Children and Young People in Primary Care and Community Settings". NICE Clinical Guidelines. 116. PMID 22259824.
25. Boyce, JA; Assa'ad A; Burks AW; et al. (December 2010). "Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel" (PDF). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 126 (6 Suppl): S1–S58. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.007. PMC 4241964. PMID 21134576.
26. ^ "Unorthodox techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy, asthma and immune disorders". Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. November 2007. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
27. Motala, C; Hawarden, D (July 2009). "Guideline: Diagnostic testing in allergy" (PDF). South African Medical Journal. 99 (7): 531–535.
28. Morris, A. (March 2006). "Complementary and Alternative Allergy Tests". Current Allergy & Clinical Immunology. 19 (1): 26–28.
29. Allergy.org: Unorthodox Testing and Treatment for Allergic Disorders
30. Stephen Barrett, M.D. "Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET)". Chirobase.org. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

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