Food sensitivity tests… Are they worth it?

I get a lot of questions about food sensitivities and whether purchasing an at home kit is worth it. Here is the low down….

Food Sensitivities vs. Food Allergies

Food allergies are when your body has a reaction (hives, mouth/tongue/throat swelling, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, itchiness, and in severe cases anaphylaxis) to food particles ingested, touched, or inhaled. This reaction typically occurs within 2 hours. Food allergies are caused by an autoimmune response to the food a.k.a our immune system goes into overdrive. This is due to a specific antibody called IgE.

Food intolerances or sensitivities are not an allergy, there is no immediate threat to your health (even if you have extreme gastrointestinal discomfort). Food intolerances have various causes and are much more vague. Some of the possible causes are dysbiosis (overgrowth of certain bacteria), inability to break down food due to lack of certain enzymes, dysmotility (our GI tract muscles are not moving food as they should), a breakdown in gut-brain connection (typically due to high stress or anxiety), or a hypersensitive intestinal lining.

How do food sensitivity tests work?

Food sensitivity tests typically require a blood sample to test levels of IgG antibody levels. They will test an array of possible food culprits, sometimes up to 100 different types. While I referred to IgE earlier as a way to detect food allergies, IgG is different. So what is IgG? Yes, it is an antibody, BUT it is a memory antibody. It helps our body to remember what we have eaten, touched, etc. This is not a bad thing! It actually just allows your body to know that this has been here before and can actually help with tolerance!

Are these tests reliable?

The simple answer, no. When you get a food sensitivity test of a hundred different foods and your results come back with 20 of them that have very high IgG amounts? This just means that we eat that food often, causing increased memory antibodies. Most research finds no significant relationship between high IgG levels and food intolerance. Professional organizations specializing in allergies do not recommend use of IgG testing for diagnosing allergies or intolerances.

What if it also tests for IgE levels? Well…. This can be a little more convoluted. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology does NOT recommend testing for a huge variety of foods for IgE levels, unless there is a specific food you believe is triggering symptoms. IgE tests are known to have false positives and a positive test doesn’t necessarily correlate to a bodily reaction.

“But my symptoms got better!?”

What I would say to that is that it is either one of two things. This is likely related to either a placebo effect or by chance of eliminating too many foods, a trigger food was removed. That is not necessarily a good thing, as you may have eliminated many nutritious foods. This could lead to micronutrient deficiencies and a less diverse microbiome, setting the stage for developing future food sensitivities. A diverse diet is essential for your health.

My take away…

Save your money for a good doctor and dietitian. Food sensitivity tests can be expensive and may lead to further health issues if you unnecessarily cut out foods. They can also leave you with more questions than answers. Also, many food sensitivity tests contain caveats that recommend an elimination diet and reintroduction diet with the results given. So why not just use a trusted professional that knows common intolerances and has experience managing gastrointestinal disease through dietary modifications? A qualified healthcare professional can also provide personalized individual support while following an elimination diet. Trust me, I wish these tests worked! They could provide resolve to the tricky world of food intolerances. Hopefully our future includes reliable testing for intolerances, but we are not there yet.

So what does work?

I always recommend addressing your concerns with a medical professional first. If your issues are hindering your quality of life and you are having symptoms that will not go away (e.g. diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain associated food intake or bowel movements, bloating, etc.) see a specialist such as a gastroenterologist to help diagnose your problem. Once you have some sense of a diagnosis, treatment can be more targeted. This is where a dietitian can come in handy. We are the specialists on guiding you through supplement use, removing trigger foods, and providing meal plans to maneuver through life with greater ease (and comfort!).

Do you need help to guide you through an elimination and reintroduction diet? Reach out to me, here.