Lab result explainedInflammationLast updated November 11, 2026

Food sensitivity test: how accurate IgG food panels are, what the results mean, and what to do instead

Food sensitivity test (IgG food panel) (Food sensitivity test) · IgG or IgG4 food antibody panel (direct-to-consumer finger-prick kit or clinic blood draw); not part of any standard laboratory panel · reported in µg/mL or U/mL of food-specific IgG, converted by each company into classes (0–4), 'reactivity' bands or color codes; cut-offs vary by manufacturer and are not standardized

A food sensitivity test, as sold online and in some clinics, measures immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against a panel of 96 to 200 or more foods in a drop of blood and reports each food as reactive, borderline or non-reactive. The marketing claim is that a high IgG to a food means that food causes bloating, fatigue, headaches, skin problems or weight gain. The evidence says otherwise: IgG antibodies to foods are a normal consequence of eating them, they are highest for the foods you eat most, and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology have all stated that IgG food testing should not be used to diagnose food sensitivity, intolerance or allergy.

That matters because the tests are popular (tens of thousands of searches a month, kits costing $100 to $400) and because the results lead people to cut out wheat, dairy, eggs and other staples that were never the problem, sometimes for years, while the real cause goes unlooked for. The 'positive' list on a typical report reads like a shopping list of what the person ate last month. There is no validated reference range, different laboratories give different results on the same blood sample, and no organization accredits the clinical meaning of these panels.

None of this means your symptoms are imaginary or that food is irrelevant. True food allergy (IgE-mediated), celiac disease, lactose and fructose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome triggered by fermentable carbohydrates, eosinophilic esophagitis and histamine or sulfite reactions are all real and all diagnosable, just not with an IgG panel. This page explains what the numbers on an IgG report actually represent, how they compare with validated tests, and the structured approach, usually a supervised elimination and reintroduction diet, that does identify food triggers.

Food sensitivity test at a glance

  • What it is: a blood test measuring IgG (sometimes IgG4) antibodies to dozens of foods, reported as classes or 'reactivity' levels; sold as a way to find foods that cause symptoms.
  • What IgG to a food actually means: you have eaten that food recently and often. It is a marker of exposure and, if anything, of tolerance, not of harm.
  • Accuracy: there is no validated normal range and no reference standard; the same sample sent to different labs gives different food lists, and 'reactive' foods track diet rather than symptoms.
  • Professional position: AAAAI, EAACI and CSACI advise against IgG food testing for diagnosing food allergy, sensitivity or intolerance; it is not covered by insurance for that reason.
  • What does work: specific IgE or skin-prick testing for allergy, tTG-IgA for celiac disease, hydrogen breath tests for lactose or fructose intolerance, and a dietitian-supervised elimination and reintroduction diet for everything else.
  • Risk of acting on the results: unnecessary restriction, nutrient shortfalls, disordered eating, and missed diagnoses such as celiac disease or eosinophilic esophagitis.

Have your whole report? Paste it into the free Lab Explainer

Every marker explained in plain language, in context with the others, with questions to bring to your appointment. No account needed.

What Food sensitivity test measures

When you eat, small amounts of intact food protein cross the gut lining and meet the immune system, which responds by making IgG antibodies, mainly the IgG4 subclass, against them. This is how a healthy immune system learns to tolerate food. Studies of children outgrowing milk and egg allergy, and of adults undergoing oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy, show that food-specific IgG4 rises as tolerance develops; higher IgG4 goes with being able to eat the food safely, not with reacting to it. Everyone who eats wheat has IgG to wheat, and the level is roughly proportional to how much and how recently they ate it.

The commercial test takes serum or a dried blood spot and runs an enzyme immunoassay against extracts of each food, reporting the IgG concentration in micrograms or units per milliliter and sorting foods into classes (often 0 to 4) or color bands. Each company sets its own cut-offs; there is no agreed threshold at which IgG becomes 'abnormal', because no study has shown a level that separates people with symptoms from people without. In split-sample experiments, the same person's blood sent to two laboratories, or to the same laboratory twice under different names, has returned substantially different lists of reactive foods.

This contrasts with validated food allergy testing. Specific IgE, measured in kilounits of allergen-specific antibody per liter (kUA/L), has published thresholds that predict a positive oral food challenge for individual foods (for example, a peanut-specific IgE above about 14 kUA/L or an egg-specific IgE above 7 kUA/L predicts a reaction in over 95 percent of children), and skin-prick testing has similar performance data. Celiac disease has tTG-IgA with a sensitivity and specificity above 95 percent. The IgG panel has none of this, which is the core of why allergy and gastroenterology societies do not recommend it.

Normal range for Food sensitivity test

Reference ranges vary between labs and by age, sex and pregnancy. Use the range printed on your own report.

GroupTypical range (µg/mL or U/mL of food-specific IgG, converted by each company into classes (0–4), 'reactivity' bands or color codes; cut-offs vary by manufacturer and are not standardized)Notes
IgG class 0 ('non-reactive')Below the company's lowest cut-off (often under 2 to 10 µg/mL)Usually foods eaten rarely or never. Says nothing about whether you could react to the food.
IgG class 1–2 ('low' or 'borderline')Roughly 2–10 µg/mL on many panelsNormal response to foods eaten occasionally. Not an indication to remove the food.
IgG class 3–4 ('moderate' to 'high' reactivity)Roughly 10–20 µg/mL and above 20 µg/mL on many panelsAlmost always wheat, cow's milk, egg, yeast, soy and other staples, because they are eaten most. Higher IgG4 correlates with tolerance in controlled studies.
Whole-panel patternTypically 5 to 30 'reactive' foods per personHealthy people without any symptoms produce similar lists, and the lists change when the diet changes. Reproducibility between labs is poor.
For comparison: specific IgE (allergy)Below 0.35 kUA/L negative; higher values with food-specific thresholds (e.g., peanut above about 14, egg above 7, milk above 15 kUA/L) predict a positive challenge in over 95% of childrenValidated against oral food challenge. Ordered by allergists for suspected immediate reactions, not as a broad screen.
For comparison: skin-prick testWheal 3 mm or more above the negative control is positiveSensitive for IgE allergy; a negative test effectively rules it out, a positive test needs a matching history.
For comparison: tTG-IgA (celiac disease)Below the lab cut-off (often under 4 to 20 U/mL) negative; values more than 10 times the upper limit are strongly predictiveMust be done while eating gluten; total IgA is measured at the same time because IgA deficiency gives a false negative.
Other unvalidated testsALCAT/leukocyte activation, mediator release (MRT), hair analysis, applied kinesiology, electrodermal (Vega) testing, IgG4 panelsNone has demonstrated reproducibility or accuracy in controlled studies; all are listed as unproven in the US allergy practice parameter.

Positive or 'reactive' foods on an IgG panel

A high IgG to a food means your immune system has been exposed to that food, usually recently and repeatedly. The foods most often flagged on these panels, cow's milk, egg white, wheat, gluten, yeast, soy, almonds and peanuts, are exactly the foods most people eat every day, and studies in healthy volunteers without any symptoms produce the same lists. Someone who eats a lot of eggs will have a high egg IgG; someone who gave up dairy a year ago will have a low milk IgG even if dairy was once a problem. The result is a readout of diet, not of harm.

The physiological role of food-specific IgG, particularly IgG4, is protective. In allergy clinics it rises as children outgrow milk and egg allergy and as adults complete oral immunotherapy, and high food-specific IgG4 is associated with being able to eat the food without symptoms. There is no known mechanism by which a circulating IgG to a dietary protein causes bloating, fatigue, headaches, eczema or weight gain, and the one tissue process IgG can drive, immune-complex disease, does not occur from eating ordinary foods in people with a normal gut.

The clinical evidence for acting on the list is thin and contested. A 2004 randomized trial in irritable bowel syndrome found that an IgG-guided exclusion diet produced about 10 percent more improvement in symptom scores than a sham diet, but the sham group also removed a similar number of foods and the trial has been criticized for not controlling for the overlap with FODMAP restriction. A 2011 randomized trial in migraine found no significant benefit at 12 weeks. A 2025 multicenter sham-controlled trial of one commercial IgG-based test in IBS reported that about 60 percent of patients on the test-guided diet versus 42 percent on a sham diet met the primary abdominal pain endpoint, a modest difference in a single disorder that has not been replicated and does not validate the dozens of consumer panels on the market. Current allergy and gastroenterology guidance remains that IgG panels should not be used to diagnose food sensitivity.

Common causes

  1. Frequent consumption of the food

    The dominant driver. IgG titers to milk, wheat, egg and soy are highest in people who eat them daily and fall within months of avoidance, which is why the 'reactive' list changes when the diet changes and why staples are always near the top.

  2. Normal immune tolerance (IgG4)

    IgG4 is the antibody subclass the immune system makes to signal tolerance to harmless proteins. Children who outgrow milk allergy, and adults completing peanut immunotherapy, show rising food-specific IgG4; a high result reflects this process, not a reaction.

  3. Increased gut permeability from active bowel disease

    Untreated celiac disease, active Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and recent gastroenteritis let more food protein through the gut wall and raise IgG to many foods at once. In this setting the IgG result is a nonspecific side effect of the real disease, which has its own validated tests.

  4. Cross-reactivity between related proteins

    IgG against one grain or one legume often binds proteins in related plants because the proteins are structurally similar; this inflates the number of 'reactive' foods without any clinical meaning.

  5. Laboratory variability and arbitrary cut-offs

    Each company chooses its own extracts, assay and thresholds. Split-sample studies have shown the same blood producing different reactive lists at different labs, and even on repeat at the same lab, so a food's class is partly a function of where the kit was sent.

  6. Recent large meal or dietary change before the test

    A high-dairy or high-wheat week before testing raises those IgG levels; a crash diet or elimination diet in the weeks before lowers them. The test tells you what you did, not what to do.

  7. High total IgG

    Chronic infections, autoimmune disease and some liver conditions raise total IgG, which lifts food-specific values across the board on panels that do not correct for it.

Symptoms that can go with it

  • None caused by the antibody itself; the symptoms that prompt the test have other explanations
  • Bloating, gas, loose stools or constipation: usually irritable bowel syndrome, lactose or fructose intolerance, celiac disease, SIBO or a fermentable carbohydrate (FODMAP) effect
  • Hives, lip or throat swelling, vomiting or wheeze within minutes to 2 hours of a food: IgE-mediated food allergy, which needs an allergist, not an IgG panel
  • Trouble swallowing or food sticking: eosinophilic esophagitis, diagnosed by endoscopy with biopsies
  • Fatigue, brain fog, headaches or joint aches: non-specific; thyroid, iron, vitamin D, sleep, mood and celiac testing are higher yield than any food panel
  • Eczema flares: in most adults unrelated to food; in young children with moderate to severe eczema, IgE testing for egg, milk and peanut may be appropriate
  • Flushing, headache and palpitations after aged cheese, wine or processed deli meats: possible histamine intolerance, assessed by a supervised low-histamine trial rather than antibodies

Negative panel (no or few 'reactive' foods)

A panel with no reactive foods, or only one or two at low class, is often read as reassuring, but it carries as little information as a positive one. It most often means the person has a varied diet with no single food eaten in large amounts, or that they have recently been restricting foods, since IgG falls within weeks to months of avoidance. It does not exclude a true food allergy, which is IgE-mediated and not measured by the test at all, and it does not exclude celiac disease, lactose intolerance, eosinophilic esophagitis or IBS.

People with genuine, dangerous food allergy can have a completely negative IgG panel to the food that causes their reactions, because allergy is driven by IgE on mast cells and has no relationship to IgG levels. Conversely, people on long-term elimination diets based on an earlier IgG panel often retest 'clean' for the excluded foods simply because they stopped eating them, which is then misread as evidence that the diet worked.

If the test was done because of symptoms, a negative panel changes nothing about the work-up: the right next steps are the same validated tests and the same supervised elimination approach described below.

Common causes

  1. Varied diet without heavy consumption of any single food

    IgG titers reflect exposure, so someone who rotates foods and eats modest amounts of staples has lower values across the panel.

  2. Recent or ongoing elimination diet

    Food-specific IgG falls over 2 to 6 months of avoidance. A negative result for a food you stopped eating a year ago means only that you stopped eating it.

  3. The problem is not IgG-mediated

    IgE allergy, celiac disease, enzyme deficiencies (lactase, sucrase), fermentable carbohydrate intolerance and eosinophilic disorders all occur with a negative IgG panel because the panel does not measure the relevant process.

  4. Low total IgG or IgG4

    Primary or secondary antibody deficiency and some immunosuppressive drugs lower all IgG values. A negative panel in someone with recurrent infections is a reason to measure total immunoglobulins, not to reassure.

  5. Assay cut-offs set high by the manufacturer

    Because there is no agreed threshold, one company's 'non-reactive' can be another's 'class 2'. The classification depends on the kit as much as on the blood.

Symptoms that can go with it

  • None; a negative panel neither causes nor explains symptoms
  • Ongoing digestive, skin or systemic symptoms still need the standard evaluation: celiac serology, IgE testing when the history suggests allergy, breath testing for lactose or fructose, and a supervised elimination diet
  • Any immediate reaction (hives, swelling, wheeze, vomiting) to a food after a 'negative' panel should be treated as possible allergy and assessed by an allergist

Read it alongside

  • Specific IgE and total IgE — the validated blood tests for food allergy; ordered for specific foods based on history, never as a broad screen, and interpreted with food-specific thresholds.
  • tTG-IgA with total IgA — the screening test for celiac disease, a common and serious cause of bloating, diarrhea, fatigue and anemia; must be done while eating gluten.
  • IgG (total) and IgA (total) — if a food panel returns uniformly high or uniformly low values, total immunoglobulins show whether the immune system as a whole is over- or under-producing antibody.
  • Eosinophils and absolute eosinophil count — raised in some allergic conditions and in eosinophilic esophagitis or gastroenteritis, which are diagnosed by biopsy.
  • Fecal calprotectin — separates inflammatory bowel disease from IBS when diarrhea and pain persist; under 50 µg/g makes active inflammation unlikely.
  • SIBO, lactose and fructose breath tests — hydrogen and methane tests that identify carbohydrate malabsorption and bacterial overgrowth, two of the commonest real causes of 'food sensitivity' symptoms.
  • Ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D and TSH — the fatigue and brain-fog work-up that is more likely to find something treatable than any food panel, and the nutrients most at risk on a prolonged restriction diet.
  • CRP — a normal CRP in someone attributing systemic symptoms to food 'inflammation' is useful context; a high one points to a condition that needs diagnosing.

What usually happens next

  1. If you have already paid for a panel, do not start cutting out the listed foods. Take the report to your clinician or a registered dietitian and use it only as a conversation starter about what you eat and what symptoms you actually have.
  2. Describe the pattern: timing after eating (minutes versus hours versus the next day), which symptoms, and which foods you suspect. Immediate hives, swelling, vomiting or wheeze means an allergist and IgE testing; delayed bloating and bowel changes point toward intolerance, IBS or celiac disease.
  3. Ask for the validated tests that match the picture: tTG-IgA with total IgA (while still eating gluten), specific IgE for suspected foods, a lactose or fructose breath test, fecal calprotectin, and ferritin, B12, vitamin D and TSH if fatigue is the main complaint.
  4. For non-immediate symptoms, the gold standard is a dietitian-supervised elimination diet: remove a small, defined set of suspected foods (or follow a structured low-FODMAP plan) for 2 to 6 weeks, confirm that symptoms improve, then reintroduce each food one at a time over several days and record the response. Reactions that do not reproduce on reintroduction are not sensitivities.
  5. Keep a two-week food and symptom diary before any elimination; it is free, often identifies the culprit (or shows there is none), and makes any later diet far more targeted.
  6. Reintroduce and liberalize. Any food removed for a trial should be challenged and returned to the diet unless it reliably reproduces symptoms, both to protect nutrition and because tolerance to foods depends on continuing to eat them.

Diet, lifestyle and natural levers with evidence

What can move Food sensitivity test once the cause is known. Nothing here replaces finding the cause.

Dietitian-supervised elimination and reintroduction diet

Strong evidence

This is the accepted method for identifying non-allergic food triggers, and the one every guideline points to in place of IgG testing. A short, targeted elimination (2 to 6 weeks) followed by systematic reintroduction identifies reproducible triggers in a majority of people with suspected food-related symptoms and clears the rest to eat normally; in children with eosinophilic esophagitis, a supervised six-food or milk-only elimination produces histological remission in about 40 to 70 percent. The key features are supervision, a defined endpoint and reintroduction, which separate it from the open-ended restriction an IgG report encourages.

Not for people with a history of an eating disorder without specialist involvement, and never remove multiple staple foods from a child's diet without a pediatric dietitian.

Low-FODMAP diet for IBS-type symptoms

Strong evidence

Randomized trials show that restricting fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols improves bloating, pain and stool pattern in 50 to 75 percent of people with irritable bowel syndrome within 2 to 4 weeks, and head-to-head data suggest it outperforms standard dietary advice. Many foods flagged on IgG panels (wheat, milk, onion, garlic, beans) are high in FODMAPs, which is probably why some people feel better after following an IgG-based diet; the mechanism is fermentation, not antibodies. The diet is followed by a structured reintroduction phase over 6 to 10 weeks to find individual thresholds.

Not intended as a permanent diet; long-term restriction reduces beneficial gut bacteria and fiber. Work with a dietitian.

Lactase enzyme and lactose-reduced dairy

Moderate evidence

Lactose intolerance affects roughly two-thirds of adults worldwide and about a third of US adults, and is the single most common real 'dairy sensitivity'. It is confirmed with a hydrogen breath test or a two-week lactose-free trial, and managed with lactase tablets taken with dairy (which reduce symptoms in most trials), lactose-free milk, and hard cheeses and yogurt, which are naturally low in lactose. Most lactose-intolerant people tolerate 12 g of lactose (one cup of milk) at a time, especially with a meal.

Peppermint oil for abdominal pain and bloating

Moderate evidence

Enteric-coated peppermint oil (180 to 225 mg two to three times daily) reduced global IBS symptoms and abdominal pain in a meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials, with roughly one in four to one in three people benefiting beyond placebo. It addresses the symptom most people are trying to solve with a food panel, works through smooth-muscle relaxation rather than diet, and can be used while the actual trigger is sorted out.

Can worsen heartburn; enteric-coated capsules reduce this. Avoid in young children and with significant reflux or a hiatal hernia.

Addressing sleep, stress and overall diet quality for 'brain fog' and fatigue

Moderate evidence

Fatigue, poor concentration and headaches are the commonest reasons adults buy a food sensitivity kit, and in randomized and cohort studies they respond far more reliably to 7 to 9 hours of regular sleep, 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise, limiting alcohol, and a Mediterranean-style diet than to removing specific foods; trials of Mediterranean-pattern diets show improvements in mood and fatigue scores within 12 weeks. Checking ferritin, vitamin D, B12 and TSH covers the treatable deficiencies that mimic food sensitivity.

When to see a clinician promptly

  • Any immediate reaction to a food, such as hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, wheeze, vomiting or dizziness within 2 hours of eating: this is possible IgE allergy. Call 911 for breathing difficulty, throat tightness or faintness; otherwise see an allergist and do not rely on an IgG panel, which does not detect allergy.
  • Unintentional weight loss, blood in the stool, persistent vomiting, difficulty swallowing or food getting stuck, iron-deficiency anemia, or new bowel symptoms after age 50: these need endoscopy or imaging regardless of any food test.
  • Chronic diarrhea, bloating, fatigue or anemia with a family history of celiac disease or type 1 diabetes: ask for tTG-IgA and total IgA before changing your diet, since going gluten-free first makes the test unreliable.
  • You have cut out several food groups for months based on a sensitivity test, particularly if you have lost weight, feel anxious about eating, or are feeding a restricted diet to a child.
  • Symptoms attributed to food that are actually systemic: fever, night sweats, joint swelling, rashes with fever or persistent lymph node enlargement.
  • A child with poor growth, severe eczema or vomiting and lethargy hours after specific foods (possible food protein-induced enterocolitis), which needs pediatric allergy assessment rather than any consumer test.

Frequently asked questions

Are food sensitivity tests accurate?

No, not in the sense that matters. IgG food panels have no validated reference range, no published accuracy against any reference standard, and poor reproducibility: the same blood sample sent to different laboratories, or to the same laboratory twice, returns different lists of 'reactive' foods. What they measure reliably is which foods you eat most often. The AAAAI, EAACI and CSACI all state that IgG testing should not be used to diagnose food allergy, sensitivity or intolerance.

What is the difference between a food sensitivity test and a food allergy test?

A food allergy test measures IgE, the antibody that triggers immediate reactions (hives, swelling, wheeze, anaphylaxis), either in blood (specific IgE) or by skin-prick, and is interpreted against validated thresholds by an allergist. A food sensitivity test measures IgG, a different antibody that rises as a normal response to eating a food and tends to signal tolerance. Allergy tests are validated for a specific question; IgG panels are not validated for any question. A negative IgG panel does not rule out allergy, and a positive one does not mean the food harms you.

What does it mean if my IgG food test shows high reactivity to dairy, eggs and wheat?

Almost always that you eat dairy, eggs and wheat regularly. These are the foods that appear on nearly every IgG report, in symptom-free people as well as those with complaints, because they are dietary staples. If you genuinely react to one of them, the right test is different: tTG-IgA for celiac disease (wheat), a lactose breath test or lactose-free trial (dairy), or specific IgE if you get immediate symptoms (egg). Removing all three on the basis of an IgG panel is not recommended.

Why do some people feel better after following their food sensitivity test results?

Several reasons that have nothing to do with IgG: the recommended diet usually removes wheat, dairy, onion, beans and other high-FODMAP foods that cause bloating through fermentation; people who start a diet also eat less processed food and pay attention to meals; and expectation effects in digestive symptoms are large (placebo response in IBS trials is 30 to 40 percent). A 2004 IBS trial found a 10 percent advantage for IgG-guided over sham exclusion and a 2025 trial a somewhat larger one for one specific test, but a 2011 migraine trial found no benefit, and none of this shows that the antibody identified the cause.

What is the best food sensitivity test?

For finding foods that reliably cause symptoms, the best 'test' is a short, supervised elimination diet followed by reintroducing foods one at a time while keeping a diary. For specific conditions there are specific validated tests: specific IgE or skin-prick for allergy, tTG-IgA for celiac disease, hydrogen breath tests for lactose, fructose or bacterial overgrowth, and endoscopy with biopsies for eosinophilic esophagitis. There is no commercial IgG, ALCAT, MRT, hair or electrodermal test that allergy or gastroenterology societies consider accurate.

Can a food sensitivity test detect celiac disease or lactose intolerance?

No. Celiac disease is diagnosed with tTG-IgA (plus total IgA) and, if positive, small-bowel biopsy, and the blood test only works while you are eating gluten, so starting a wheat-free diet because of an IgG result can make celiac disease impossible to confirm later. Lactose intolerance is an enzyme deficiency, not an immune reaction, and is confirmed by a lactose hydrogen breath test or a two-week lactose-free trial. An IgG panel measures neither.

Is an IgG food test useful for eczema, migraines or weight loss?

The evidence does not support it for any of them. In adult eczema, food is rarely the driver and IgG results do not predict flares; in young children with severe eczema, IgE testing for a few foods guided by history may help. The one randomized trial of IgG-guided diet for migraine found no significant reduction in headache days at 12 weeks. There are no controlled trials showing weight loss from IgG-based elimination beyond what any calorie-reducing diet achieves.

What are the risks of following a food sensitivity test diet?

Nutritional shortfalls (calcium, vitamin D, iodine and protein when dairy and eggs go; fiber and B vitamins when grains go), unnecessary cost and social restriction, a higher risk of disordered eating particularly in adolescents and people with anxiety about food, and delayed diagnosis of celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or eosinophilic esophagitis. In children, prolonged avoidance of a tolerated food can also increase the chance of developing a true IgE allergy to it, which is why allergists advise keeping tolerated foods in the diet.

References

  1. Stapel SO, Asero R, Ballmer-Weber BK, et al.. Testing for IgG4 against foods is not recommended as a diagnostic tool: EAACI Task Force Report. Allergy (2008)
  2. Bernstein IL, Li JT, Bernstein DI, et al.. Allergy diagnostic testing: an updated practice parameter. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (2008)
  3. Carr S, Chan E, Lavine E, Moote W. CSACI position statement on the testing of food-specific IgG. Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (2012)
  4. Kelso JM. Unproven diagnostic tests for adverse reactions to foods. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice (2018)
  5. Sampson HA, Aceves S, Bock SA, et al.. Food allergy: a practice parameter update, 2014. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2014)
  6. Boyce JA, Assa'ad A, Burks AW, et al.. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2010)
  7. Atkinson W, Sheldon TA, Shaath N, Whorwell PJ. Food elimination based on IgG antibodies in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomised controlled trial. Gut (2004)
  8. Mitchell N, Hewitt CE, Jayakody S, et al.. Randomised controlled trial of food elimination diet based on IgG antibodies for the prevention of migraine like headaches. Nutrition Journal (2011)
  9. Singh P, Chey SW, Nee J, et al.. Use of food sensitivity test-based elimination diet in irritable bowel syndrome: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial. Gastroenterology (2025)
  10. Rubio-Tapia A, Hill ID, Semrad C, et al.. ACG Clinical Guidelines: Diagnosis and management of celiac disease. American Journal of Gastroenterology (2023)
  11. Halmos EP, Power VA, Shepherd SJ, Gibson PR, Muir JG. A diet low in FODMAPs reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology (2014)
  12. Allergy blood test. MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine (2023)View source
  13. Food allergy vs. food intolerance: what's the difference?. Mayo Clinic (2024)View source

Related markers

Related conditions

Evidence guides

Worried about your number?

Ask AskMN what your Food sensitivity test result could mean in the context of your other results, symptoms and medications. Free, unlimited, no account needed.

Ask about my Food sensitivity test

This page is educational and is not medical advice or a diagnosis. Lab results have to be interpreted together with your history, symptoms and other results by a clinician who knows you. Do not start or stop a supplement to change a lab value before the cause is known.