How You Can Benefit From Food Sensitivity Tests

Life is stressful. But if you’re tired all the time or have stomach issues, frequent headaches, or skin problems, it may be more than just stress. Food sensitivity can cause many health problems, and they’re common — up to 20% of people may have a food sensitivity!

It can be hard to narrow down what foods are causing your health problems. Food sensitivity tests are a great place to start identifying your triggers.

What Is a Food Sensitivity Test?

A food sensitivity test is a test that determines if certain foods cause an antibody reaction within your body. This is done by exposing your blood sample to different foods and watching for an antibody reaction.

Your body has five different categories of antibodies, also called immunoglobulins (Ig). Each plays a different role in keeping your body healthy.

• IgG makes up most of the immunoglobulins in your body. Its job is to identify and mark pathogens for other antibodies to destroy or to destroy the microorganism itself.
• IgA is an immunoglobulin found within your mucous tissue. It’s often the first line of defense and prevents pathogens from getting at your body tissues.
• IgM is the first-responder immunoglobulin. When your body detects an infection, IgM springs into action, fighting off the infection until the IgG antibodies take control. IgM also helps your body remember pathogens.
• IgE is the allergy antibody. When IgE identifies an allergen, it binds to that allergen and sets off a chain reaction that causes allergy symptoms.
• IgD is the antibody that identifies pathogens and signals IgM, kick-starting the immune response.

Food sensitivity tests like myLAB Box test for reactions to food by IgA, IgG, and a subtype of IgG, IgG4. These are not food allergen tests and do not measure the response of IgE.

What Are the Benefits of Food Sensitivity Tests?

When these antibodies react to foods that you eat every day, it can leave you in a state of discomfort. Food sensitivity tests give you a foundation for modifying your diet and putting your body in a happier state. While food sensitivity tests aren’t perfect, they offer many benefits that can help you make lifestyle changes.

Assists in Identifying Trigger Foods

If you suspect you have a food sensitivity, it can be hard to know where to begin to identify what that sensitivity might be. You can try an elimination diet, a type of restricted diet that cuts out whole categories of food, but these diets can be hard to stick with, and it can take a long time to find the cause of your food sensitivity.

Food sensitivity testing gives you an excellent starting point. It’ll identify which foods may be causing your sensitivity, allowing you to focus on those foods. From there, you can use a food journal to monitor your reaction to those foods or an elimination method to remove those specific foods from your diet to see if those changes make your body feel better.

Tests for a Large Number of Common Food Sensitivities

The major benefit of food sensitivity tests over traditional elimination diets is that food sensitivity tests can test for a huge number of food sensitivities at one time.

For example, myLAB Box tests for 96 different food sensitivity agents. This includes agents in common sensitivities like dairy and grains but also ones that you may not have thought of, like some herbs and spices, yeast, and honey.

By testing for multiple sensitivities, you can quickly identify which food items are most likely to be causing your health problems.

Provides You With a Baseline for Further Conversations With Healthcare Providers

There are many excellent healthcare providers out there. There are also many, many stories of people feeling dismissed or not taken seriously by their healthcare providers. Regardless of the type of relationship you have with your doctor, food sensitivity tests offer a place for the conversation about your body’s response to food to begin.

The results of your food sensitivity test will allow you and your doctor to work together to come up with a health plan. In some cases, food sensitivity tests may confirm suspicions that you or your doctor may have. In other cases, these tests may eliminate possible concerns and allow you to focus on a new direction.

Tests for food sensitivity indicate likely food sensitivities but not with 100% certainty. Before making any drastic changes to your diet, speak with your doctor to determine the best way to move forward.

What Are Common Symptoms of Food Sensitivities?

Food sensitivities can manifest with a range of symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms of food sensitivity include gastrointestinal issues, stomach cramps, skin reactions, and joint pain.

Gastrointestinal Issues

Food sensitivities and food intolerances often result in digestion issues. Sometimes this occurs because your stomach lacks the right enzymes to break down certain proteins, such as lactose or gluten. These issues don’t occur instantly, as with allergies, but rather happen a few hours later as your body tries to digest the food. Depending on your sensitivity level, some foods may still be OK in small amounts.

Common digestive issues from food sensitivities include:

• Stomach pain and upset stomach
• Nausea
• Heartburn and acid reflux
• Bloating
• Diarrhea

Stomach Cramps

Stomach cramps are another common issue of food sensitivity and food intolerance as your body struggles to break down certain foods. Stomach cramps often accompany other gastrointestinal issues.

Skin Reactions

In some cases, your body may respond to the food sensitivity in a way that results in skin issues. This may include flushed skin or a skin rash. Common food sensitivities that are associated with skin reactions include:

• Gluten. Gluten is a protein found in many grains. Gluten sensitivity causes many gastrointestinal symptoms but can also cause a skin rash.
• Salicylates. Salicylates are a common chemical found in plants. They have anti-inflammatory properties, but some people are sensitive to them, which can lead to symptoms like a stuffy nose, sinus infection, diarrhea, and hives on the skin.
• Amines. Amines are a byproduct of bacteria produced during food storage and fermentation. There are many types of amines, but the most common reaction is to histamine. Symptoms of amine sensitivity include stomach cramps, diarrhea, and headaches, as well as skin conditions like itching, hives, and flushed skin.

Joint Pain

A common symptom of food sensitivity is inflammation, and often that inflammation results in joint pain. This can be seen in rheumatoid arthritis patients, who often note that some foods make their inflammation worse. Inflammation and joint pain are common side effects of gluten sensitivity.

Test Yourself Today

Ready to redefine your health? Order a myLAB Box food sensitivity test today to test for 96 different food sensitivities. This simple test requires a blood sample, and you’ll get your results within two to five days so you can begin to heal your body and feel healthy.