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In This Article
Food isn’t supposed to make you feel unwell or give you unpleasant symptoms. If they do, then you may have food sensitivities or intolerances you don’t know about.
Food intolerance or food sensitivity is when you have trouble digesting, or when your body reacts negatively to particular foods.
At-home tests can identify foods you may be sensitive or intolerant to. With the help of these affordable testing kits, you’ll know which foods to avoid.
More importantly, you can use your test results to improve your digestion and overall health.
Most people interchange these terms. Here’s what makes them different:1
Food sensitivities are believed to be an immune response, just like allergies. While your body reacts negatively to the food, it doesn’t lead to life-threatening symptoms.
Food sensitivities usually cause symptoms that affect your whole body. Signs may appear within minutes up to an hour after eating the trigger food.
However, some people can take several days before they show symptoms. Because of this delay, it is often left undiagnosed.
A food sensitivity can make you feel uncomfortable and affect your daily routines. But it isn't dangerous.
Food allergies are an immune reaction to food. When you eat foods you are allergic to, your antibodies (namely IgG) mistakenly view them as a threat and react negatively.
Food allergy symptoms appear almost immediately after being exposed to the trigger food. Unlike food sensitivities or intolerances, these symptoms are potentially life-threatening.
A food intolerance is a digestive reaction to food. People with food intolerances lack the enzymes needed to break down certain foods.
People often confuse food allergies and intolerances to mean the same thing. However, a food intolerance doesn't trigger your immune system like a food allergy.
It also doesn't always cause symptoms. You can consume a little bit of the trigger food and not have a reaction. When it does, it tends to cause digestive issues several hours after eating the trigger food.
If there are foods that make you feel uncomfortable within minutes to hours of eating them, you should consider taking an at-home food test.
We reviewed 13 products from the biggest companies, along with hundreds of customer reviews. We also spent 100+ hours investigating each product.
Then, we used the following criteria to pick our top tests:
Knowing your symptoms can help you decide which food tests to take.
You may need these tests if you have symptoms of food sensitivity, such as:
Our 3 food sensitivity testing kits are from EverlyWell and GenoPalate.
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OUR TOP PICK
EverlyWell offers some of the best food sensitivity tests on the market. This kit is their most basic and most affordable option.
With this simple test, you can predict your body’s immune response to 96 foods. Your results will include an easy-to-read food sensitivity scale.
The EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Test identifies possible food sensitivities. It rates your IgG reaction to different foods as normal, mild, moderate, or high.
The more reactive you are to a given food, the more likely you have a food sensitivity.
Key Features:
Once your results come in, you are sent an email and a text letting you know your results are ready:
I ended up with 1 highly reactive food group - cow's milk:
And about 40 foods that I was mildly reactive to:
An elimination diet is the most logical course. You can try to integrate the info that EverlyWell has sent into your diet to make the best decisions for yourself.
EverlyWell also does weekly webinars with their nutritionists where you can ask questions on what to do you with your results.
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UPGRADE PICK
If you want to test for more food sensitivities, consider taking EverlyWell’s Comprehensive Food Sensitivity Test instead.
It’s basically the same as their Basic Food Sensitivity Test. However, it checks your immune response to 204 foods (108 more than the standard test).
The test measures your sensitivity to foods on a scale of 0 to 3:
The more severe your reaction, the more sensitive you are to a particular food.
Key Features:
Once your results come in, you are sent an email and a text letting you know your results are ready:
I ended up with 1 food group that was highly reactive - cow's milk:
And about 40 foods that I was mildly reactive to:
An elimination diet is the most logical course. You can try to integrate the info that EverlyWell has sent into your diet to make the best decisions for yourself.
EverlyWell also does weekly webinars with their nutritionists. You can ask questions on what to do you with your results.
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GenoBase is a unique test that explores your DNA. It finds genetic traits linked to common food sensitivities like lactose, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol.
By using your DNA, you’ll learn more about genetic predispositions that affect your mood, eating habits, food preferences, and nutrient absorption.
GenoBase also teaches you how you can use nutrition (and certain foods) to manage your stress, optimize your health, and improve your eating habits.
Key Features:
You may need to take this test if you have these food intolerance symptoms:
5Strands is our top pick for the best food intolerance test.
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OUR TOP PICK
The 5Strands Food Intolerance Test uses bioresonance technology to predict your body’s reaction to 640+ foods and ingredients.
Some foods that it tests for include seafood, nuts, grains, and dairy products. However, it can also test for food products such as sweeteners, preservatives, and gluten.
Like EverlyWell, the test uses a scale to measure your intolerance to food. But 5Strands suggests what you can do with these foods based on your results:
Your report will also include a guide on the food elimination diet. This will help you narrow down any food intolerances.
Key Features:
I got one of 5Strands Deluxe Packages - which includes the Environmental Intolerance Test
Send in steps are very simple:
Overall, this is a very non-intrusive test and is easy to take. Sample pages for food intolerance look like this:
5Strands Suggests eliminating the Level 3 intolerances before moving on to the Level 2 ones.
You may need testing if you have food allergy symptoms, such as:
EverlyWell is our favorite food allergy testing kit.
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OUR TOP PICK
EverlyWell’s Food Allergy Test measures your body’s IgE reaction to 9 food allergens. These include almonds, cow’s milk, egg white, egg yolk, peanuts, shrimp, soy, tuna, and wheat.
Your test results will tell you which foods your immune system react to. It gives you an idea which foods you are likely allergic to.
Key Features:
At-home tests cannot diagnose food sensitivities, intolerances, or food allergies. But they can help you narrow down “trigger foods” that may be causing your symptoms.
When you take these tests, your results will include information about different foods and how your body reacts to them. You can use this as a guideline for your next steps:
Once you are able to identify your food triggers, you can start an elimination diet.
An elimination diet can help you identify foods you may be sensitive or allergic to, and whether you have intolerances to particular foods.
There are two steps to the elimination diet:
If you react to specific foods, you’d be able to identify your triggers. Wait until your symptoms disappear before reintroducing another food into your diet.
But if you feel fine after eating some foods, they may not be your trigger. Something else is causing your symptoms. You can continue following the diet to find out what they are.
Remember to take note of foods that trigger symptoms, and what symptoms you experienced after eating them. It can help your doctor diagnose your condition.
After receiving your test results, you can take them directly to a health professional. But you can also wait until you’ve tried the elimination diet before seeking medical advice.
Your doctor can help interpret your results and recommend more tests. Currently, there are medical tests for food allergies and sensitivities, but not food intolerances.
Once they have reached a diagnosis, a nutritionist can adjust your diet. Since there’s usually no treatment for these conditions, the goal is to help you avoid future symptoms.
Now that you know your trigger foods, it’s best that you limit your intake or completely stop eating them. Your doctor can help determine which foods you can eat and avoid.
Generally, you want to stay away from foods that trigger severe allergic reactions.
But if you have mild food allergies, you can undergo a treatment called food desensitization. That way, you can build your tolerance to these foods and reintroduce them to your diet.
You can still eat foods you are sensitive or intolerant to. But you should space them out and only eat them in small quantities. This may reduce your symptoms and give your body time to adjust.
Keep a list of the food you eat and take note of the symptoms. A food log may help you identify foods that trigger symptoms.
If you experience joint pain, stomach pain, fatigue, rashes, and brain fog — then you may have a food sensitivity. Digestive symptoms may suggest a food intolerance. Meanwhile, itching and swelling may be signs of a food allergy.
You can take food sensitivity tests EverlyWell to find out. After taking the test, you can take your results to the doctor for further testing.
Food sensitivity tests evaluate your blood sample. They look for a protein called immunoglobulin antibodies. Unlike food allergy tests that look for immunoglobulin E (IgE), food sensitivity tests look for immunoglobulin G or IgG reactivity.
Doctors don’t consider these antibodies to be as reliable when it comes to identifying food allergies or food sensitivities. However, these tests can detect above-normal levels of IgG antibodies after eating certain foods.
Yes. Food sensitivity tests like GenoPalate use DNA samples instead of blood. They can look for genetic markers that increase your risk for common food sensitivities.
At-home tests that check for food sensitivities can’t be used to diagnose the condition. The same is true for food intolerance and food allergy tests.
That said, they’re are a great starting point for recognizing trigger foods. You can use your test results to narrow down foods that are most likely to cause symptoms.
For better accuracy, we recommend food sensitivity tests that measure your IgG antibodies — like EverlyWell.
The cost of a food sensitivity test may vary, depending on how comprehensive it is. The best food sensitivity tests on our list cost $79 to $259.
Most at-home food sensitivity tests cost between $200 and $1000.
The best food sensitivity tests (like EverlyWell) ask for blood samples so they can measure your IgG reaction to different foods. However, there are tests that use DNA from saliva samples.
Genetic food sensitivity tests like GenoBase predict your body’s reaction to foods. They do this by assessing for traits that are associated with common food intolerances.
Very rarely. Most insurance companies don’t provide coverage for at-home health tests. You have better chances of being covered if you see a doctor to get tested.
You should talk to your doctor or provider to know which tests are covered by insurance, because it isn’t always guaranteed.
