Food intolerances or sensitivities keep rising worldwide. The medical industry has noticed this, and there are ways to get to know your food intolerances, but do you have any food intolerance symptoms yourself? There has also been a lot of research in this area to figure out how to provide relief to those with food intolerances.
These days many at-home tests can help you identify your food intolerances to eliminate them from your diet or only consume a small portion according to how much your body can tolerate. Food intolerances are more widespread than food allergies, and most people live with food intolerance symptoms without seeking medical help.
What is food intolerance?
Food intolerance or sensitivity is when your digestive system reacts to a specific food you are consuming. When you have a food intolerance, your gut cannot break down food, and this causes a wide range of symptoms, most of which reside in the gastrointestinal tract.
Unlike food allergies, food sensitivities don’t trigger the body’s immune system. The reaction that follows consuming food you’re intolerant to takes a long time to appear. Sometimes up to three days. This can make it hard for you to pinpoint the specific food that is causing your intolerance symptoms, hence why we recommend taking an Intolerance Test.
Common food sensitivities or intolerance include lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance. You can also tell you have food intolerance by the symptoms you have. Common food intolerance symptoms include:
- Brain fog
- Headache
- Diarrhoea
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Joint pain
- Abdominal pain
- Eczema or rashes
More studies need to be conducted on food intolerance. However, it’s common to note that some people are not intolerant to a specific food type but rather an entire food group. For example, it can be the nightshade family or FODMAPs.
In such cases, you find that the person with intolerance to food groups has it due to their sensitivity to substances naturally found in these food groups. Avoidance is the only solution in such cases, which works perfectly to eliminate intolerance symptoms.
How does a food intolerance test kit work?
If you suspect you may have food intolerances, getting yourself a home intolerance test is important. You can do so by ordering an Intolerance Test kit online and having it delivered to your home in the mail. Once you have it delivered, read the instructions carefully, and take a blood sample as indicated.
You can then mail the sample back to the lab for testing. You’ll then get your test results in your email within seven days after the home intolerance test arrives in the lab. The results will indicate your intolerances, and you get to have a 30-minute call with a dietitian who will help you navigate your diet and way forward.
When you have a food intolerance, the antibodies that flood your bloodstream are IgG4 antibodies. These antibodies don’t trigger or activate an inflammatory response but rather influence it.
The lab tests for IgG4 antibodies which are often accompanied by delayed symptoms. The body releases IgG4 antibodies to influence immune-inflammatory response without releasing histamine factors.
Once your blood is tested for food intolerance and you have the results, you can work on eliminating those problematic foods from your diet and replacing them with other foods containing similar nutrient profiles. Still, not the same factor makes you sensitive to the other food. Replacing the foods you’re eliminating ensures you still have a balanced diet and don’t suffer from malnutrition.
Are at-home intolerance test kits reliable?
At-home, food intolerance, or food sensitivity kits test your blood’s immune response to various foods by testing for the IgG and IgG4 antibodies whenever different foods are introduced. These tests are only supposed to help you know which foods or ingredients are causing your intolerance symptoms.
At-home food sensitivity tests aren’t meant to substitute for professional advice or visiting a doctor. We especially encourage you to get your doctor to test for other underlying illnesses that could be causing you to suffer from food intolerance symptoms.
For example, illnesses like leaky gut can cause you to have a food intolerance. So dealing with food intolerance cannot help. However, dealing with the underlying illness (leaky gut syndrome) can help you eventually get rid of food intolerances.
It’s also common for some chronic diseases to show symptoms similar to food intolerance. So, it’s best to get a test on underlying illnesses before getting an Intolerance Test. You can also consult with your doctor after getting your results.
Talking to your doctor can help them know how they can support you when you go on an elimination diet and see if you suffer from those symptoms again or not. You can even decide with the help of your doctor to reintroduce those problematic foods back into your diet to see your tolerance level so you can consume them safely.
So, it’s good to consult your doctor and not rely on intolerance test results as the final word. This test kit will only help a small part. Once you know the foods you must eliminate from your diet, your doctor or dietitian can help you develop better nutrient-dense solutions.
Risks associated with at-home intolerance tests
There aren’t risks you can run into when taking at-home food intolerance tests. The process is simple; you’ll have your results within a few days. You, however, need a professional’s help to change your diet. You can easily suffer from deficiencies When you eliminate major foods in your daily diet. However, a dietitian can help you evade that.
We also recommend you get a health check before taking an Intolerance Test. It’s common to have underlying conditions that cause food intolerances or symptoms. Knowing if you’re suffering from such illnesses can help you manage them and eliminate food intolerances or the symptoms that caused you to believe you have a food intolerance.
Final thoughts
At-home intolerance tests are quite common and convenient. They help you learn of your food intolerances without you having to make appointments or leave your home. This convenience is something everyone appreciates in this digital age. You must take an Intolerance Test if you think you may suffer from food intolerance.
You can also consult your doctor or a professional to check for underlying illnesses that could be causing those symptoms. Sometimes, treating underlying conditions can get rid of the intolerance. However, if you aren’t suffering from any other illnesses with similar symptoms, getting a home intolerance test will help you navigate your diet and manage it to prevent you from suffering intolerance symptoms.
