IgG food sensitivity testing is available at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine.
IgG food sensitivity testing measures specific IgG antibodies to foods in blood to identify commonly eaten items your immune system has encountered.
It is widely used by naturopathic doctors and integrative and functional medicine practitioners to help guide dietary treatment for chronic digestive or inflammatory conditions.
What does IgG food sensitivity testing measure?
IgG food sensitivity measures the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to foods. Although it is normal to have some IgG antibodies to foods to the foods you eat in your bloodstream, high levels of antibodies may be associated with clinical symptoms.
Removal of the identified foods can result in improvement of symptoms.
For example: You experience chronic joint pain. If potatoes are a part of your diet, it is expected that you will have some amount of “potato IgG” in your blood. However, if you have high levels of “potato IgG” in your blood, and you remove potatoes from your diet, your symptoms (e.g., joint pain) may improve.
IgG food sensitivity testing may provide useful guidance if you experience:
- chronic inflammation
- digestive symptoms
- migraine headaches
- skin conditions
- joint pain
- heart disease
- obesity
- mental health challenges
Research on IgG food sensitivity testing has demonstrated that is offers useful guidance in dietary treatment of:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Crohn’s disease
- Migraine headaches
- Eczema, urticaria (“hives”), allergic dermatitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Obesity and metabolic illness
- Depression
How does IgG food sensitivity testing work?
IgG food sensitivity testing is a blood test. It requires blood sample collection, either via blood draw or dried blood spot.
“Slides” of food antigen are exposed to patients blood samples. ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbant assay) analysis technology is used to detect and measure amounts of antibodies binding to “food antigen slides”.
IgG Food Sensitivity Testing Customization
At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, we have access to multiple laboratories offering IgG food sensitivity testing, including:
- US BioTek Laboratories
- LifeLabs®
- Cyrex® Laboratories
- Mosiac™ Diagnostics
- Alletess Medical Laboratory
- Meridian Valley Lab
- CanAlt Health Laboratories
Each laboratory offers a range of testing panel options including:
- “Basic” panels – typically testing approximately 100 foods
- “Expanded” panels – typically testing approximately 185 to 249 foods
- Vegetarian panels
- Asian food panels (US BioTek Laboratories)
- Chinese food panels (Alletess Medical Laboratory)
- Japanese food panels (Alletess Medical Laboratory)
- Mexican food panels (US BioTek Laboratories)
Each laboratory offers different immunoglobulin testing combinations:
- All IgG combined (1, 2, 3, 4)
- IgG (1, 2, 3) separate from IgG4
- IgG4 only
- IgA “add-on”
- IgE food panel “add-on”
We will help you navigate which option is appropriate for you!
Related Tests
Other tests available at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine that offer a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of your digestive symptoms and potential underlying causes of your inflammatory bowel disease include:
- GI360™
- GI-MAP®
- GI-Basic Profile, GI-Standard Profile, GI-Advanced Profile
- GutIQ
- CSA + P (Comprehensive Stool Analysis + Parasitology
- Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
- Candida Panel
- Zonulin Family Protein (“leaky gut”)
Why work with a naturopathic doctor?
Interpreting IgG food sensitivity testing results requires clinical context. Elevated levels of IgG antibody-antigen complexes must be evaluated alongside symptoms, medical history, lifestyle factors and other laboratory findings.
Our naturopathic doctors use IgG food sensitivity testing to design evidence-informed, individualized treatment plans, which may include dietary therapy, targeted nutritional supplementation, herbal (phyto) medicines and lifestyle interventions.
If you are considering IgG food sensitivity testing, we invite you to book a consultation to determine whether the IgG food sensitivity testing is appropriate for you, and which of the many testing options can best help you reach your health goals.
References
Vojdani A. The evolution of food immune reactivity testing: why immunoglobulin G or immunoglobulin A antibody for food may not be reproducible from one lab to another. Altern Ther Health Med. 2015;21 Suppl 1:8-22. PMID: 25599182.
Karakuła-Juchnowicz H, Szachta P, Opolska A, Morylowska-Topolska J, Gałęcka M, Juchnowicz D, Krukow P, Lasik Z. The role of IgG hypersensitivity in the pathogenesis and therapy of depressive disorders. Nutr Neurosci. 2017 Feb;20(2):110-118. doi: 10.1179/1476830514Y.0000000158. Epub 2016 Mar 7. PMID: 25268936.