Wouldn’t you love to know what foods your body is most sensitive to?  I know I did and I was a bit surprised by the results. But first a little back-story. 

I already eat a relatively healthy diet, however, I still battle bloating, inflammation and occasional achy joints. Not nearly as much as I did before I plant-based my entire life, but it is still there sometimes.  I knew I was not eating foods that were common triggers to sensitivity (ex: dairy, soy, gluten), but could also feel something was still notright.

I looked into getting blood work done for food sensitivity at my Dr’s office but found out insurance would not cover my curiosity since there was no medical necessity for it.  So I found a company called EverlyWell, which seemed to fit what I was looking for.  BUT I did nothing with that info for a few months.

When I started my holistic nutrition courses, I dove deeper into digestive disorders and the negative impacts of food allergies and sensitivities on the body.  That was the final nudge I needed to take my own health into my hands.  So I contacted EverlyWell.  

What I discovered about food sensitivities.

Food allergies and/or sensitivities play a HUGE role in digestive woes.  I am not just talking uncomfortable bloating, but also gas, indigestion, pain, headaches including migraines, joint pain, gut malabsorption, irritable bowel disease, and skin problems to just name a few.  

Please take note:  This test does not test for allergies, just sensitivity.  Allergies are serious and obvious.  Sensitivities are subtle and harder to pin down but can still cause health problems.  For allergy testing, you need to seek help from a licensed physician.  

This test measures a delayed immune system response by the immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in the blood.  These antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight antigens, such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.  The body makes different immunoglobulin’s to combat different antigens. IgG is the most abundant type of antibody found in the blood.  The role of an IgG antibody assessment is to see which foods cause your body to create an abundance of antibodies.  More simply put: which food your body reacts to as foreign invaders resulting in undesirable symptoms; in my case that was bloating and joint inflammation.  

Not only can food sensitivities disrupt your body, they can also lead to chronic inflammation, depression, seasonal allergies, and autoimmune diseases.  The connection of our gut to everything in the body is worthy of it’s own post in the future but for now, just believe me, everything we eat affects our body in one-way or another.

What the test is like.

So once my duh moment was over, next step was contacting Everlywell. They test for 96 different types of food so I figured I would find out something.  I went online, and after entering my info, a test was delivered to my door in about 3 days.  Gosh we live in great times.  

How it works:
Once my kit was delivered, I registered with a unique code that was associated to just me.

I completed a finger prick blood test, dropped 5 dots of blood onto my card, let it dry for 30 minutes, then packaged it up in the prepaid envelope and off it went to a lab.

About a week later, I received my results by email.  I opened up that email like opening up presents on Christmas day!  I couldn’t wait to see what it said!!

My results:
There are 4 categories that these 96 different foods fall into:

Class 0 –Low reactivity
Class 1 – Mild reactivity
Class 2 – Moderate reactivity
Class 3 – High reactivity
My class 3 high reactivity was cows milk (which I already knew bothered me and hence, I don’t eat it) but the other one listed was almonds!  ALMONDS!!  Seriously??

I was shocked at first but once everything came together, I totally understood it.  I eat almonds in almost every form.  Almond milk yogurt in the morning, almonds for snacks, I bake with almond flour, I snack on almond flour crackers, almond butter with my apples… Not everyday looks like that, but since I went plant-based, my almond intake definitely increased.  No wonder my body wasn’t feeling the way I knew it could.  Goodness gracious, it was attacking me.

My class 2, moderate reactivity included brown and white rice, walnuts, bakers yeast, mozzarella cheese, kelp, and chia seeds.  Rice was another one I consume a lot of so this was very helpful to see.  

My class 1 list included eggs, mushrooms, wheat, gluten, and an odd one, oregano.

The rest of the foods they tested were in the class 0 and aren’t something I am worried about.

What I am doing about it.

The whole reason I took this test was to see if there was something I was eating a lot of that could have long-term negative impacts on my health.  I got my answer with almonds, rice, and walnuts.  From here I will be drinking hemp seed or oat milk, eating flax seed crackers, and replacing my rice with quinoa or wild rice (apparently wild rice is a different type of grass).  I can easily eat different nuts so that doesn’t worry me.

I plan to cut out all of the above-mentioned food for 30 days and see how I feel.  After that, I will add one food item at a time back into my diet and see how it affects me after eating.  If anything, I know now to eat less of those foods.  

Have you ever taken a food sensitivity test?  Were you shocked to see your results?  If you have never taken a test similar to this then highly recommend taking one. 

Why I think you should do a food sensitivity test.

Imagine waking up everyday and eating foods that will provide you with more energy instead of stiffening your joints or causing some other annoying symptoms.

Imagine finding out that dairy is the main source of your eczema and you can finally do something about it instead of spending money on expensive treatments to manage it.

Imagine knowing that almonds were the simple reason you felt like a pregnant woman at the end of the day and a simple ingredient swap can solve the problem.

When it comes to your body and its health, you should know as much information about it as you possibly can.  The feeling of knowing is so freeing and is the first step in taking back control of your health.  

This is one test you will not regret taking.  

Click here to learn more about the company and tests they offer.  Use code 2019 to get 12% off your order!