Several companies advertise that they can help consumers find out their food allergies and/or sensitivities through a simple at-home test. However, some medical experts are cautioning that these tests may be overpromising their capabilities.
Allergist Levi Keller, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in the University of Colorado Department of Medicine, practices at the UCHealth Allergy and Immunology Clinic. He has seen patients who have purchased these kits and cut out foods from their diet, only to discover that their symptoms didn’t improve, and they were not actually allergic to those foods.
“Some people experience digestive issues and symptoms all the time, but they are unsure what the trigger food is. That’s opened an area where, now, we have direct-to-consumer products that are promising to figure out all your problems,” he says. “What I tell people is that if someone promises to fix everything, it’s usually an overstatement and may not provide the whole answer for you.”
We recently spoke with Keller about the accuracy of these tests, how food allergies differ from food intolerances and sensitivities, and the potential pros and cons of at-home testing.
The following interview has been edited and condensed.