The EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Test Makes Home Testing Easy
Food can be medicine, or it can be a slow form of poison. We all know that food allergies, celiac disease and other similar medical conditions can cause extreme reactions when we eat certain foods.
But what about food sensitivities? It’s not easy to get a formal test for sensitivities, but you can get tested at home with EverlyWell’s Food Sensitivity Test. Is it really the best at home food sensitivity test? Let’s find out.
Food Sensitivities vs Food Allergies
Many people use the terms food allergies and food sensitivities interchangeably, but they’re two very different things.
An allergy triggers an immune response and histamine reaction. Depending on the allergy and severity of the allergy, the symptoms can be severe and life-threatening. With allergies, the response is immediate. Reactions are extreme, like anaphylaxis or hives, and often require the use of an EpiPen to prevent serious side effects or death.
Food sensitivities are very different from food allergies, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a negative impact on your health. The effects are delayed and may not be life-threatening, but food sensitivities can affect your quality of life.
Symptoms of food sensitivities include:
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- Brain fog
- Acne
- Joint pain
- Fatigue
- Eczema
- Bloating after eating
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- Dry, itchy skin
- Headache
- Migraines
- Reflux
- Diarrhea
- Runny nose
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- Difficulty sleeping
- Mood swings
- Depression
- Headaches
- Dark circles under the eyes
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Living day-to-day with these symptoms can be difficult. If you’re sensitive to a food that you eat often, such as wheat, feeling bloated and uncomfortable may simply become a fact of life.
Food sensitivities vary from one person to another, but some of the most common offenders include:
- Eggs
- Corn
- Soy
- Dairy products
- Shellfish
- Food additives, like artificial colors and sulfites
- Foods containing gluten, like wheat, barley and rye
- Pork, beef and lamb
Unlike full-blown food allergies, food sensitivities don’t typically receive a formal diagnosis. Food sensitivity tests, like those offered by EverlyWell, help you identify troublesome foods. Once you understand which foods your body is sensitive to, you can avoid them or limit your consumption.
EverlyWell does not provide food allergy tests. If you’re having extreme reactions to foods, you need a formal diagnosis from a doctor. Food allergy tests should always be performed by a physician.
What is the EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Testing Kit?
EverlyWell offers a variety of at-home tests, but their Food Sensitivity Test is one of their most popular options. It is a true at-home test, meaning that you don’t have to visit a lab to get your bloodwork done.
EverlyWell’s Food Sensitivity Test measures your body’s response to 96 different foods.
The test gauges your immune response to these foods, the most common culprits, so that you can choose which foods to eliminate from your diet.
How Does the Test Work?
EverlyWell’s test uses a finger prick blood sample to check your immune response to different foods.
Specifically, the test measures your IgG reactivity to foods on the following scale:
- Normal
- Mild
- Moderate
- High
Once you know your reaction to different foods, you can use this information to create a temporary elimination diet.
How Do You Test At Home?
EverlyWell makes it easy to test for food sensitivities from the comfort of home.
- Order your test, and wait for it to be delivered to your doorstep.
- Visit EverlyWell.com and enter the barcode listed on your kit.
- Complete a finger prick collection.
- Return your samples with prepaid shipping.
- Your samples will be processed and reviewed by an independent board-certified physician.
- Once your samples have been reviewed, you will receive your results on the EverlyWell platform within a few days.
What’s in the Box?
- Finger prick blood collection card (for your sample).
- Gauze and bandages.
- Single-use lancets for pricking your finger.
- Biohazard bag to store and return your sample.
- Alcohol pad for cleaning your finger.
- Detailed instructions.
- Prepaid shipping
Which Specific Foods are Tested?
EverlyWell’s Food Sensitivity Test gauges your reaction to 96 foods, including:
[one_third]Dairy
- Cottage cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Yogurt
- Cow’s milk
- Mozzarella cheese
Eggs
- Egg yolks
- Egg whites
Grains
- Bran
- Baker’s Yeast
- Gluten
- Brown rice
- Malt
- Oats
- Wheat
- Rye
- Barley
- Brewer’s yeast
Meat
- Chicken
- Beef
- Pork
- Turkey
- Lamb
Seeds and Nuts
- Black walnut
- Almond
- Chia seed
- Cashew
- Sunflower
- Sesame
- Safflower
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[one_third]Vegetables
- Celery
- Corn
- Asparagus
- Carrot
- Bell pepper
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Cucumber
- Iceberg lettuce
- Green cabbage
- Eggplant
- Olive
- Onion
- Spinach
- Kale
- Kelp
- White mushroom
- Sweet potato
- Winter squash
- White potato
Fruit
- Apple
- Coconut
- Avocado
- Pear
- Peach
- Grape
- Grapefruit
- Cantaloupe
- Banana
- Blueberry
- Orange
- Lemon
- Strawberry
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Tomato
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[one_third_last]Spice
- Basil
- Black pepper
- Bay leaf
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Black tea
- Cinnamon
- Cola
- Garlic
- Dill
- Ginger
- Honey
- Oregano
- Mustard
- Tarragon
Seafood
- Codfish
- Clam
- Haddock
- Lobster
- Salmon
- Scallop
- Sole
- Tuna
- Swordfish
- prawn
Legumes
- Green pea
- Green bean
- Peanut
- Soybean
- Lima bean
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How Do You Get Your Results?
Once your sample is received and reviewed, you can access your results through EverlyWell’s website.
The results are personalized, easy to understand, and can even be downloaded to share with your doctor and loved ones. You will be given an interactive list of foods that you tested sensitive for. You can also view your sensitivity level for each food (mild, moderate or high).
How Accurate are the Results?
EverlyWell’s tests are based on IgG antibody reactivity. The results themselves are accurate, but there is one caveat that you should be aware of.
The test can only gauge your reaction to a food if you’ve consumed it recently. In other words, the test may show low reactivity for, say tomatoes, if you haven’t eaten them in a while – even if you know that you’re sensitive to this food.
For the most accurate results, try to eat a wide variety of foods before you take your test (within reason and safety of course).
A Few Things You Should Know
Before you get tested, there are a few important things you should know. First, remember, this is not a test for food allergies.
EverlyWell’s test cannot:
- Detect lactose intolerance. If your test triggers an IgG response to dairy, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance occurs when your body doesn’t make the enzyme needed to digest lactose. This would not show up on EverlyWell’s test results.
- Confirm a Celiac Disease diagnosis. It is not intended to aid in the diagnosis of this disease.
Why Choose EverlyWell?
EverlyWell makes it easy to test for food sensitivities at home, but more importantly, they’re a credible company with a positive reputation.
Convenient
EverlyWell makes it quick, easy and convenient to test for food insensitivities at home. With the prick of a finger, you can find out whether your body reacts negatively to certain foods. Testing is private and discreet. You don’t have to visit a lab to get your blood samples taken. You can do everything right from the comfort of home.
Effective Collection Methods
EverlyWell uses established and effective at-home collection methods. Their tests must meet rigorous standards for validity and reliability.
Certified Labs
All of the labs used by EverlyWell are CLIA-certified (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments). To obtain this certification on the state and federal level, labs must maintain high standards and undergo regular inspections.
Physician Reviewed
All of EverlyWell’s tests are reviewed and approved by independent physicians who are board-certified in your state. This ensures that your test and its results are relevant to your health and wellness.
What are the Benefits of EverlyWell’s Food Intolerance Testing?
Why test for food sensitivities? What are the benefits of knowing which foods you’re sensitive to?
Make Better Food Choices
If you know that you’re sensitive to certain foods, you can avoid them completely or limit your consumption.
The results of your test will help you make better food choices.
Sure, food insensitivities don’t cause the same reaction an allergy causes, but the effects can be uncomfortable and may cause other issues in the long-run.
Feel Better
One of the main benefits of getting tested for food sensitivities is being able to successfully eliminate problematic foods and start feeling better.
Let’s say that you’re sensitive to wheat and that you eat wheat every single day. You feel bloated, fatigued, foggy and generally unwell every day because your body really doesn’t react well to this food. Your EverlyWell test confirms that you’re sensitive to wheat, and, under your doctor’s guidance, you remove wheat from your diet. Suddenly, you can think clearly, you don’t feel bloated all of the time and you have more energy.
That’s the main goal of getting tested – to help you feel better.
With EverlyWell’s Food Sensitivity Test, you can find out which foods your body is sensitive to in a quick, convenient way. With these results, you can successfully create an elimination diet that will help you feel better and more energetic.