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Anyone test their blood for food sensitivitities?
Has anyone used blood testing to determine food sensitivities? My NP is suggesting KBMO FIT test for $465; I think it covers 170 foods/ingredients. Insurance won't pay for it. A few years ago I had a food sensitivity panel run at the GI doctor's office and it flagged a few things. Insurance covered that panel.
Has anyone done the KBMO test and if so, was it worth it? MRT is another one. When I google I get mixed reviews, ranging from it changed my life to pundits saying the science isn't there yet to back up these tests. I don't want to throw my money away, but I don't want to miss a chance to move forward on gut health and losing weight.
TIA!
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@sueinmn Ithought about it but haven't taken the next step. My Nurse Practitioner specializes in hormones so that seemed like a good first step. I got a blood draw that will look at thyroid and sex hormones. My friend graduated from a nutrition college course and said what the NP is doing is reasonable. We will see if more is needed. My friend also suggested we do an elimination diet together for a few weeks. Once my dairy products are done we will do that.
@sueinmn Not yet. My nurse practitioner specializes in hormones so that is a good place to start. My friend, who went through an accredited university nutrition program, also offered to set me up on an elimination diet and then guide me thru re-introducing food to determine effect. At the moment I will stay that course but consulting an RD in the future is always on the table. My big question really is whether to follow the NP's suggestion to do that expensive KBMO allergy test that isn't paid for by insurance but covers 170 foods and supposedly answers the question of whether one has leaky gut. So far no one on Connect has had offered experience with it.
@baguette Oh my, it's been several years since the term "leaky gut" was a catchall diagnosis for all kinds of ills. Please take a look at this article, especially the myths surrounding identifying the condition:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11345991/
The puzzles of food sensitivities is complicated, your friend's proposed elimination diet would follow what the pro's recommend and probably give you better answers than the proposed blood tests.
Here is one caveat: No cheating or it doesn't work!
Take a look at this recent discussion of several alternatives, their benefits and drawbacks:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6682924/
Wrap yourself in patience - without immediate allergic or gastric reactions, this type of experimentation can take time and often several tries to find the answers for your body.
I can tell you that I am intolerant of wheat (not gluten) and after about 15 years without eating it, I have a very satisfying diet with a lot of great bread/dessert products that don't rely on it. Yes, sometimes I look twice at delicious holiday breads, but the pain is not worth the momentary pleasure.
@sueinmn Thanks for the additional information. I feel sure that problems in the gut cause problems elsewhere. Sometimes my bones or joints ache a few hours after eating, leading me to believe there was a food that caused the temporary discomfort. I did Low FODMAP, low acid, whole food diets before and they do lead to improvements. So we will start with an elimination diet and take it from there.