Are you sensitive to gluten?
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These days, the word “gluten-free” is a frequent buzz term I’m seeing among wellness bloggers and nutritionists. I’m seeing it on food packaging and it even has a dedicated section at my local grocery store. Just based on what I’m seeing on social media, it seems to affect energy levels, weight loss, brain fog, etc. While I haven’t done enough research to fully understand why being gluten-free is healthy, it definitely sparked my interest to see if I was allergic or sensitive to any foods.
After an unsuccessful trip to my allergist, I found out that they don’t really test for food sensitivity and that I’d have to go to a lab outside of my network. So I did some research and found EverlyWell, an at-home lab testing service. All I had to do was send in a blood sample and ta-da — I got my test results straight to my inbox.
Here are the top foods (in order) I’m sensitive to:
Mushroom
Oregano
Walnut, Black
Sesame
Scallop
Egg White
Coffee
Kelp
It’s important to note that these are just the top 8 things I’m sensitive to — my entire report is 17 pages long with 96 foods my blood reacted to. The complete test results include measurements of how reactive my blood is with food markers, so I’ll know if a certain food is highly (class 3), moderately (class 2), mildly (class 1), or not reactive (class 0).
According to EverlyWell, “A food reactivity is different than an immediately life- threatening food allergy. Food reactivity is a delayed immune response by the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody, the largest circulating antibody in our immune system…While reactivity does not always correlate with symptoms, it serves as guidance to pinpoint foods that most likely cause symptoms.”
These symptoms include:
Dry and itchy skin
Other miscellaneous skin problems
Food intolerance
Feeling bloated after eating
Fatigue
Joint pain
Migraines
Headaches
Gastrointestinal (GI) distress
Stomach pain
Since this report is just a guide, EverlyWell recommends you slowly eliminate certain foods out of your diet and see if you feel any different. Now I’m going to admit, I’ve had these test results for a while and haven’t really changed my diet mainly because it includes a lot of ingredients I use in my daily cooking. For example, mushrooms and sesame oil are a staple for me (especially if I cook Korean food), and eggs and coffee are often a part of my breakfast. I did go vegan for over a month and did notice positive changes in my digestion and energy levels, but I’m not quite sure if I can mentally prepare myself to eliminate all these foods just yet.
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