“Food Sensitivity Tests” are pretty common these days. There are now a plethora on the market, but – like anything – there are high quality ones, and low quality ones.
I have worked with many clients who have already tried some of these food sensitivity tests they see on Facebook ads or on tv commercials. (Yes, those are still a thing!) but without relief or results. And, there are multiple reasons these low-end tests don’t provide the answers you may be looking for
COMMON PITFALLS IN LOW-END FOOD SENSITIVITY TESTS:
๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐
Some places I worked did tests that looked at less than 30 items. That means there are hundreds of other foods that aren’t even being checked! If you expand, you likely will eat a food that wasn’t tested, and triggers a problem. And sometimes it’s not food! You need to test chemicals as well (I’ve had people have issues with food colorings in their deodorant, or a preservative in their medications. Once their doctor helped them find an alternative, we saw progress)
๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ญ
As above… if such a small list is tested, and a bunch comes back as a reactive food, what if your list of “safe” foods is only 10 items long? You need a large test list that gives the high and medium reactive foods, as well as the safe foods.
๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐/๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ โ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ (*โ๐๐๐ก* ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐บ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ด ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ .)
You need a comprehensive test that tests the END RESULTS from any of these pathways. IgG, IgA, Histamine, and all other non-IgE pathways. Look at the whole pie, not just 1 or 2 pieces.
๐. ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ โ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ; ๐จ๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ
You feel overwhelmed, and unsure where to start as your results come back with every single food you eat – or you feel you’ve wasted your time and money because they only thing that showed up was Mung Beans – “what they heck ARE mung beans even?” you wonder. And you are no closer to feeling better.
๐. ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ โ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ.
If the above issues happened (not enough items tested; chemicals not tested; answers too burdensome) and you diligently go through the program… but alas, no help to be had. It’s usually due to one of the previous reasons, or a nuanced issues you missed (for example, a client who realized she was reactive to soy, and didn’t think about changing up her chicken’s diet of corn and soy before eating the eggs – yes, it can matter. Or a client who had corn issues and found that in her cosmetics. Eczema, no more!)
๐. ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ โ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ง๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ
You are confused on the test results, unsure what to eat, not seeing progress, and you aren’t sure how to deal with your medical issues on top of that! Maybe you need to also be on a low histamine diet; or FODMAP restrictions, or need to monitor with your glucose, or are trying to boost your protein intake… But you don’t have a guide, and you feel lost trying to do this all on your own. You want a test that comes with a full health history consultation, as well as ongoing support.
๐. ๐๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ โ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐จ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ค๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐
No one should ever have to avoid all whole foods for life (with few exceptions.) These tests are to help you reset and heal, but there should be a long-term plan to get to a sustainable plan. I had one client doing the Everlywell test ever 4 months per her doctor’s recommendation to help with migraines. After 3 solid years of this, she was no where close to seeing progress but now developed food anxiety over this ever shifting food list. If you can’t get off of a restricted list, you haven’t addressed the underlying cause.
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐?
You need to know that to begin to heal and prevent problems later down the road. Food sensitivities usually show there’s an issue with your gut health integrity, GI lining, microbiome, and/or a hyper-responsive immune system. Using a quality food sensitivity test helps you feel better, fast — to calm your body down — but you still need to test and figure out WHY you had them in the first place.
*****These are some of the reasons I use the Mediator Release Test (MRT) with the LEAP ImmunoCalm diet protocol; and recommend it over the other tests.
TEST, DON’T GUESS. Be willing to invest in the RIGHT path to feeling your best.
If you think you may have food sensitivity issues or GI damage, I’d love to hop on a free call with you and help you get a game plan. We can go over your symptoms, health history, and determine if this is the right path for you. Have you tried food sensitivity tests in the past that you think meet any of those 8 Pitfalls? Don’t worry, I can help you with that too!
**FEEL BETTER, FAST**