Food Sensitivity Tests – Will They Solve the Mystery of a Sensitive Stomach?

For most of my early life I could eat whatever I wanted to without a problem, But, as I got older, my stomach became more sensitive to certain foods. It grumbles, churns, and sometimes passes involuntary wind, especially in the evening when I’m watching TV. You know what I mean, right?

My doctors checked me out left and right and couldn’t find anything wrong. I’ve also been given specific diets to try to detect the food that I have issues with to no avail.  

To be on the safe side, I have a colonoscopy scheduled. However, based on my blood tests and overall good health, it’s just a precaution. I’m not worried about it other than having to go through it, which is not my favorite thing along with going to the dentist.

The whole situation makes me wonder if I should ever pursue another relationship for fear of my stomach making too much noise.

Watch my video talking about my tummy troubles

There are many reasons your stomach can get cranky

As we age, our intestines develop problems like diverticulosis from decades of eating food. That may require limiting foods with seeds, hard nuts, or other irritating items.

Stress can also cause our tummies to complain. God knows we’ve all experienced trauma during our lifetimes. I sure have.

Many times, it’s just food sensitivity. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid spicy food necessarily. Heartburn is a different animal.  The source of indigestion could be something as basic as having an adverse reaction to eating pasta. You may not have experienced issues with it in the past but age and changing body chemistry could have changed all that.

Part 1 – How I took my food sensitivity test

I’ve heard about food sensitivity tests before but have always been skeptical about their accuracy. However, I was given a test kit by Simply Sensitivity Checks to try out. It tests 900 food and non-food items that could be factors for my irritable stomach.

It’s an insanely simple test to take. All you do is order the test (available on Amazon), register on the brand’s website, pull a few hairs out of your head, and mail in your sample. Your results will become available within 5-7 days of receiving the sample.

The sample depends on how long your hair is. The test will need a few more strands if you have short hair. Nothing major. You want to cut or pull out your hair near the root for best results. It doesn’t matter if your hair is dyed.

I figured what do I have to lose?

To purchase a Food Sensitivity test, click here.

Part 2 – My Results

I mailed in my Ultimate Health Sensitivity Test on June 25th and received my results on July 9th. An email was sent to me with two links. One was the results and the other was a food elimination diet guide, essentially a worksheet to track foods you are no longer eating.

The results include a detailed food sensitivity analysis and a non-food analysis of plants, shrubs, trees, flowers, insects, and other organic compounds such as dust.

I was impressed to see it gave me a rundown on any vitamins and minerals I lacked. It was good to know all my vitamins were in range.

The only mineral I was missing was genistein, which I’d never heard of. It inhibits breast cancer cells. Good to know.

Another useful analysis was my gut health. There were 4 probiotic strains I need more of to balance my gut fauna and flora.

Most of the foods and other substances were in the blue zone meaning I was not sensitive to them. Only a few were red. They included rye, oregano (big surprise), strawberries, Chinese Horse Radish, mussels, and vermouth. No martinis for me I guess!

In the orange zone, which means moderately sensitive, most of my sensitivity was types of wheat bread and noodles, pine nuts, water chestnuts, oysters, calamari, oyster sauce, Seitan, John Dory, and rum. Dang, there go those daiquiris too! Otherwise, most food items were safely in the blue zone. I’m a little bummed about the oysters because I love them but at least they were only in the orange zone.

An extensive list of food additives are identified with a code. I can click on links in my report to see what they are. Most, I am not worried about because I avoid eating processed food.

As for non-food items house dust mites were in the red zone and the big Oak tree in our front yard is in the orange zone.

All in all, I found the Ultimate Health Sensitivity Test to be helpful. Just FYI, food sensitivity tests are not the same as allergy tests, which require a swarm of needles in your back. Pulling out a few head hairs is much easier.

To purchase a Food Sensitivity test, click here.

Part 3 – My colonoscopy

I had a colonoscopy scheduled the day after I received my test results which I felt was related as it concerned my sensitive stomach. Colonoscopies are a pain in the butt, literally, but they are important to test for diseases like colon cancer.

Thankfully, mine was clear except for a few pesky internal hemorrhoids. and a slight case of diverticulosis so there is nothing to worry about. diverticulosis is common in older people after decades of living in general. It can cause bloating and gas.

My doctor encouraged me to eat more food with fiber, which I already do. A while back I was concerned I was eating too many vegetables but judging by my food sensitivity test that doesn’t seem to be an issue. Maybe more beans are in order.

I am a firm believer in healing with food rather than taking supplements. Probiotic foods like kefir, plain yogurt, tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles are excellent for healing the gut. According to the test, adding more is a good idea.

The stress factor

I also wanted to mention that I am convinced most of my stomach issues have been caused by stress. I am calm by nature and do not get rattled easily. But . . . after I spent time taking care of my late boyfriend who had pancreatic cancer, moved during the pandemic into a small room and had to share a bathroom with a man I didn’t know, moved again, and then my two dogs passed away, I could tell it had a massive effect on my stomach.

Stress can cause physical as well as mental illness. You cannot discount it.

Would you ever try taking a food sensitivity test? Please leave a comment below.