Tuesday Tip: Food Intolerance tests

Tuesday Tip: Food Intolerance tests 🚫

People often tell me that they have an intolerance to certain foods. Quite often this is based on commonly sold finger prick blood food intolerance tests you can take. Aside from the fact they’re taking your money, it’s actually impacting people’s health. I’m seeing more and more people who are afraid to eat certain foods because of these so called intolerances.

So let’s try to separate the facts from this pseudoscience. First off it’s important to be clear that a food intolerance is not the same as a food allergy. Unlike food intolerances, there are VALID food allergy tests and some allergies can be be life threatening so definitely see your GP if you suspect you may be allergic to any foods. Intolerances tend to be based on a test which looks for specific IgG antibodies to foodstuff in the blood, claiming that a positive result indicates diagnosis of a food intolerance. They typically involve long lists of foods which almost always include wheat and dairy. So what are they actually testing – well the reality is most of us will develop IgG antibodies to food. They are an indicator of repeated exposure to that food, not clinical symptoms. This is because it is actually a marker for food tolerance; an indication that our immune system recognises the food to be harmless and does not respond to it. IgG antibodies to a food may therefore be protective in preventing inappropriate immune responses. So if you have a diet high in wheat for example then you will have high levels of IgG, it doesn’t mean you’re intolerant to it!

There is zero scientific evidence for these tests – both in the literature and in clinical settings. Often people feel ‘better’ after eliminating all those foods simply by chance. There are currently NO valid tests for food intolerance (aside from the breath test for lactose intolerance). The only way to diagnose any intolerance/sensitivity to a foods is by an elimination diet where you systematically remove each food individually and then reintroduce it. Often pinpointing the foods is not straightforward so this should be done under the guidance of a specialist qualified dietician. Not as a result of an online blood test.

So don’t waste your money. If you really fee you have a significant issue with certain foods then it’s a medical issue and you need to see your Gp/a qualified and registered dietician. If not then continue to include a range of foods in your diet.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx