Different test methods for food intolerance

For many people suffering with symptoms of food intolerance, the search for a solution leads to the exploration of a variety of tests…  but not all tests are created equal. A quick google search for IgG (food intolerance) testing will reveal a wide range of tests available: differing in price, foods covered, comprehensiveness and reporting. Here we look at a few different methods and how they work.

Hair Mineral Analysis Test (HMAT)

There are several companies offering food intolerance testing on samples of hair, being a non invasive alternative to blood testing. At first glance these tests appear to be quite cheap in comparison to other test methods however there is no evidence that hair testing can detect food intolerances and several studies confirm that results are unreliable. Hair testing can be an excellent method for determining vitamin/mineral deficiency and heavy metal toxicity, however the hair sample is easily affected by environmental toxins, hair dye, shampoos and other hair products, and is therefore not the most reliable way to test for food intolerances.

Breath test

A hydrogen breath test is often used as a diagnostic tool for people with irritable bowel syndrome to determine whether lactose intolerance or fructose malabsorption is present.  These kinds of issues are related to sugars and occur when there is an enzyme deficiency in the body.  While the hydrogen breath test is the only way to detect lactose or fructose intolerance, it does not detect IgG food intolerance.  If a breath test has been conducted, and lactose or fructose intolerance ruled out, you might like to then look into IgG food intolerance testing to determine if an IgG intolerance exists.

Skin-prick or ‘scratch’ test

Skin-prick or scratch tests involve a Doctor or practitioner placing various allergens on an area of the patient’s skin to determine if there is a reaction. While quite invasive, the skin-prick or scratch test, is accurate only for IgE mediated allergies (traditional allergic reactions) – this method cannot identify IgG food intolerances.

Elimination diets

Traditionally, an elimination diet was the only way to determine if a person had a food intolerance. Typically the patient would be instructed to cut out most foods from their diet for a period of time and allow themselves only plain foods such as rice or pear.  Once the elimination phase was over, the patient would then ‘challenge’ themselves with different foods to determine if an intolerance exists. While elimination diets are still used today, they can be a very long winded and frustrating process for the patient without really knowing exactly what their food intolerances are. Cutting out entire food groups can be nutritionally deficient.

Blood test

A blood test would be one of the more common ways to test for food intolerance or allergy, but there are many different blood tests available – some more accurate than others.  An ELISA-based blood serum test is stable, reliable and completely reproducible.  Other blood testing methods including blood spot, whole blood, or cytotoxic testing, can be unreliable due to morphological changes taking place within the sample if it is not tested within a certain time-frame.

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