Do you suspect something is wrong with your body? Are you experiencing bloating symptoms or feeling sluggish? Do you feel as if your body is constantly fighting some internal battle and want finally figure out what’s going on?
There are plenty of blogs, magazines, and online forums available, but you might not know where to start. There’s much misinformation out there about food testing and their use in diagnosis and treatment of allergic reactions, and it’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed.
Here at Test Your Intolerance we want to shine some light on how to use a food intolerance test as a tool, to help understand the relationship between food and immune system. This will be the first step on your journey to a better version of yourself. We’re giving you all the facts and scientific evidence behind our tests, so you can make a well-informed decision.
Allergies and Intolerances
Allergy: A severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening. This is a fast reaction (usually a few minutes after ingestion of the trigger-food). Production of IgE antibodies is what causes this reaction. Symptoms can include hives, difficulty breathing or anaphylactic shock.
Intolerance: Relates to trouble digesting foods, causes symptoms that happen gradually, often between a few hours and 72 hours after eating the problem food. Intolerances only result in symptoms if you eat a substantial amount of the food. This condition is not an immunological response.
Food Intolerance Kit: How does it work? What does it measure?
Symptoms like bloating, headaches, skin breakouts and digestive problems can be caused by continuous exposure to a trigger food. A food intolerance test is used to help you identify what food may cause an overreaction of your immune system.
We know that food intolerances aren’t related to immune response. Through our food intolerance test (IgG4), we’re investigating those delayed reactions that are not activating the normal inflammation pathway (IgE mediated allergy)—thus giving you a complete view of how your body is reacting to food.
Other tests on the market will test for total IgG antibodies, investigating all those effects that are related to inflammation or chronic diseases, and forgetting that sometimes those symptoms which aren’t directly related to inflammation can still cause symptoms. These include digestion imbalance, bloating, skin breakouts, to name a few.
Food intolerance test: Is it a diagnostic test? What is the scientific view of these tests?
Food intolerance tests cannot be used as a diagnostic test. It is clearly reported in the scientific literature that the test cannot be used to test allergies or as a diagnostic tool. At the moment, there is no test that can be used to diagnose a food intolerance.
Recent scientific reports have indicated that by following a restricted diet of the food with higher IgG4, you could improve symptoms like headaches and IBS. We are not focusing on producing a diagnosis, but instead, to give you a tool to help you understand your body and make some changes to feel better. Remember, this is a journey and not a race!
Why choose TYI food intolerance tests?
At Test Your Intolerance, we offer a comprehensive Prime 110 Allergy and Intolerance test that can help you understand how your body reacts to food and environmental allergens. With this test, we are checking for IgE and IgG4 antibodies. There are a lot of tests available out there for food intolerance and allergies, but not many can offer the ability to test for both allergies and intolerances at the same time. It’s possible that you are not allergic to wheat, for example (high IgE antibodies, fast allergic reaction), but maybe you are expressing high IgG4 antibodies for wheat.
Following an elimination diet (avoiding products with wheat) for 4 weeks, after the consultation with our nutritionist, you could find that your symptoms are improving. Reintroducing the trigger food in your diet with small doses could also help you manage or improve your health without the complete elimination of important nutrients.
Choose Test Your Intolerance for a fully comprehensive overview of your body’s response to different food items. We will never promise you a quick fix, but we are here to help you take the first step into your journey.
