Food sensitivity occurs when your body has difficulty breaking down certain foods. To check for sensitivity in your body, you can either go for a hair or a blood food sensitivity test. Both tests are great ways to determine what you could be sensitive to items in your environment and food.
The lack of enzymes causes most food sensitivities like lactose intolerance to break down proteins in your food. However, in other cases, sensitivity results from the body being sensitive to chemical toxins in the food.
Food sensitivity is also termed as food intolerance. It is not a life-threatening condition, but it can interfere with your social life and the general quality of your life. Often, symptoms of food intolerance last from a few days to even a week after consuming that specific food. So this can cause some pain and discomfort.
Common causes of food sensitivity
Food sensitivities have no real cause because some people are born with them, while most develop them as they grow. Food sensitivity, however, affects the digestive system. Some people may need more digestive enzymes to digest specific foods or ingredients. For example, when one has lactose intolerance, they have insufficient lactase enzymes to break down lactose sugars.
Some people also develop food sensitivities due to their genetic makeup. For example, most people with caffeine hypersensitivity experience this form of food intolerance because they are born with a different genetic makeup, which causes them to be unable to digest and process caffeine like other people do.
It is also common for people to develop food sensitivities because of their digestive disorders. For example, most people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tend to develop food intolerances. Most people with IBS also suffer from gluten intolerance. When one has digestive disorders, it can cause the digestive tract to stop producing sufficient digestive enzymes to process certain foods.
Commonly, people who have had surgeries that affect the digestive tract or cancer treatment in the stomach tend to develop food intolerances. However, once conditions like irritable bowel syndrome have been treated, or one has recovered from surgery trauma, the digestive tract can retain its health, produce sufficient digestive enzymes, and automatically outgrow food sensitivities.
Suffering from inflammatory bowel disease can also increase your chances of developing food sensitivities. For example, a survey conducted amongst those with inflammatory bowel disease showed that 66% of those with Crohn’s disease and 64% of those with ulcerative colitis have food sensitivity. In these groups of people, common foods that cause sensitivity include dairy, artificial sweeteners, fats, and chocolate.
It is common for people also to inherit food sensitivities like lactose intolerance and caffeine intolerance. That’s because, in the case of lactose intolerance, one inherits the deficiency of lactase enzymes, which develops sensitivity. This can develop earlier in life or later on.
Some lifestyle factors can also cause you to develop food intolerance. For example, women over 60 tend to develop more food sensitivities than any other group. Additionally, your geographic location can increase your chances of developing specific food sensitivities.
Besides that, some studies show that people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery like Roux-en-Y can develop sensitivities to certain foods. Also, some studies indicate that a delay in introducing solid food into a child’s diet can also cause the development of food sensitivities later in life.
What is a hair sensitivity test?
A Hair Sensitivity Test backs up its methods to quantum physics. Quantum physics believes everything, including subatomic particles, emits a frequency that can be measured. So, to measure for food intolerances, we use bio-resonance testing, which measures your wavelengths through a sample of your hair.
When you give out your hair to the lab for testing, bio-resonance testing checks the frequency of your hair against all other food and non-food items, depending on the type of test you’ve chosen. Bio-resonance testing can even check for levels of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and minerals in your body and the level of sensitivity.
When you provide a hair sample, it’s also considered your fingerprint and is used to test for sensitivities. You’ll then receive a mail with your sensitivity report telling you what you’re sensitive to and what you’re not sensitive to.
What is a blood food sensitivity test?
Usually, your blood is full of antibodies whose role is to protect your body against invaders like bacteria and viruses. When invaders are in the bloodstream, your antibodies can post them and attack to defend you.
When you have a food intolerance, IgG or IgG4 antibodies are produced by your immune system to deft the body against these “harmful “substances. However, in the case of food sensitivities, the foods you’re consuming aren’t harmful but rather trigger this reaction because you have a sensitivity.
When IgG antibodies are released into the bloodstream, they attach themselves to food molecules, informing your immune system that these are harmful. Your immune cells, therefore, release inflammatory cytokines, which end up hurting you and cause sensitivity symptoms.
So, when taking a sensitivity test at the lab, scientists use your blood to measure against whatever number of environmental and food objects are in your chosen test to determine whether you are sensitive to these items. They do this by checking the IgG antibodies in your bloodstream when these items are introduced.
Hair vs. blood food sensitivity test
In order to choose a hair or blood food sensitivity test, you need to know exactly what you’re looking for. A Hair Sensitivity Test is your best bet if you only want to know about your food sensitivities. That’s because a hair sensitivity test is non-invasive, cheaper, and requires a lot less from you. The ordering process is also very simple.
All you need to do when ordering a hair sensitivity test is add it to your cart and pay. Then, you’ll get an email with a short questionnaire you need to answer. Once you’ve filled it out, collect your hair sample as indicated and send it to the lab for testing. You’ll then receive your results within a week. It’s such a simple and non-invasive method.
A blood food sensitivity test is also good but has a process. After purchasing your test, you’ll wait three days and receive a package in your mail. The package includes a tube to collect your sample and instructions on how to do so. Then, following the instructions, you’ll prick your finger and send your sample to the lab for testing. You’ll then wait a week after your sample arrives in the lab to receive your results.
Both methods work well for sensitivity tests, but hair sensitivity testing is much shorter and less tedious. However, if you want an allergy test with your intolerance test, it’s wiser to do a blood test that includes both allergy and sensitivity testing.
Final thoughts
A sensitivity test can include a blood test or a hair test. Choosing which method of testing you want depends on your preferences. However, they both work well enough, and Hair Sensitivity Testing is less tedious and cheaper. If you want to get both an allergy and intolerance test, you’ll have to do a blood test because allergy testing can only be done on a blood sample.