Intolerance Tests

[AJCM13]

Has anyone ever tried any of these online intolerance tests where you send of some hair or whatever and it comes back with a list of foods your intolerant of? Just wondering if it's worth a shot to find some of my triggers...

[Sheeniejay]

Hair is good for indicating the body's long term storage of vitamins, minerals, toxic metals etc For intolerances, you should go to a reputable laboratory for a blood test for an IgG test. Don't use any online places where you have to send something in the post. I've had an IgG test twice - once in 2016 and once this year. Though not 100% accurate - it did not pick up a couple of things, for example - it did confirm some suspicions.

[xjrs]

Please don't waste your time or money on these tests. There is no scientific basis for them. Some people come across food intolerances using these tests only by chance - this means that people can end up eliminating foods unnecessarily. Here is the official guidance on these tests:

bda.uk.com/resource/food-al...

For example it says "IgG blood test

: This blood test looks at IgG antibodies present in the blood. It’s claimed that an increase in IgG to a certain food indicates an intolerance to that food. At present there is no convincing evidence to support this test, and it’s not recommended as a diagnostic tool."

The only way to find food intolerances is via a fodmap elimination and reintroduction diet normally conducted under the guidance of a dietitian from a GP referral.

[Hidden]

I’ve done a lot of reading up on intolerance and the only way to identify them is to do elimination diets. Most common culprits are dairy and gluten so try cutting those out first. Allergies are different they can be detected via blood tests.

[MatthewU in reply to Hidden]

I agree, dairy (mainly milk) and gluten (all wheat products) are very common causes of bloating and gut pain.

[OSCARBOSCAR]

my niece has & she was supposedly intolerant to lots of stuff but I have read elsewhere that they are not scientific & should not be used.

[Maureen1958]

I did the York Test about 20 years ago. It said I shouldn't have milk so I tried cutting it out, which was quite difficult then as we didn't have all the alternative stuff we have these days. Then one day I had this awful tummy pain which I recognized. I usually drank milk to get rid if it, so I thought "bugger this" and had a very small glass of milk and the pain went within 5 minutes. So after that I went back to having milk.