Food Sensitivity, Allergy & LAb Testing
Convenient Food Sensitivity Testing Without A Doctor Visit.
Affordable lab test pricing
No doctor visit required
Webinars explaining what your results mean
Electronic PDF results report
Free shipping across the U.S. (except NY, NJ, RI)
Most FSA/HSA cards accepted
Home/work blood draw available
Easy finger prick kits for some tests
Blood draw sites across the U.S.
Not Sure Where To Start? Get In Touch
Best Sellers
Curated Tests by Award-winning Functional Medicine Doctors
How It Works
Place your order, and immediately receive a confirmation email with next steps.
Your test kit is shipped to your door & your order form is emailed to you.
Bring your order form with your test kit to your nearest blood draw center.
For fingerprick, urine, or saliva samples collect your sample at home.
Access your results through a secure platform within 2-3 weeks.
Review your results with a health coach or watch an educational webinar.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I’ve never had specialty lab testing, where should I start?
Vitamin/Mineral and Leaky Gut/Wheat Sensitivity Panel are foundational tests that are a great place to start. To learn more about how a vitamin mineral testing can help you get on the right regimen for you check out this article.
Can I get lab tests ordered through WellAheadChicago.com interpreted?
Yes, for tests that are indicated *CONSULT*, we can connect you with a health coach to review your results at no additional charge. If you would like order to have your tests ordered thru WellAheadChicago.com interpreted by the doctor, an initial strategy session and case review would be needed. Click here to learn more about health consulting.
What is the difference between food allergies, food sensitivities, food intolerance?
The short answer is that food allergies are an immediate reaction to ingesting a food whereas food sensitivities are a delayed reaction to a food (72 hours to 3 weeks). Because of the time between ingesting the problematic food and experiencing a reaction, a food sensitivity may be less obvious and require more investigation. Food intolerance is caused by difficulty digesting a particular food, which can result in digestive symptoms within a few hours of ingestion and also leaky gut.
My food sensitivity test is negative for wheat, does this mean I’m not sensitive?
NO! There are multiple proteins in wheat, dairy, corn and eggs that people can react to. Most food sensitivity panels that test 100 or 200 other foods only test for one of those proteins, so it could have been a false negative. Specialized panels are newly available to test specifically for wheat, dairy, corn and egg sensitivity. There is also testing available to determine if you have a genetic sensitivity to gluten.
What types of food sensitivity tests are available?
There are 5 main types of food sensitivity testing available: IgG, IgA, LRA, ALCAT, and MRT. Food allergy testing measures levels of IgE antibodies to foods. IgE antibodies are produced from more immediate allergic reactions. There are several factors to consider when choosing a food sensitivity test. If you have never had a food sensitivity test, a basic 96 food IgG/IgA panel is a great place to start. If there are specific foods you want to find out if you are reacting to, you may want to go with an expanded panel that tests for those specific foods. If you want to find out for if you are sensitive to gluten, dairy, corn you would want to do a more specialized sensitivity test that evaluates sensitivity to those foods more comprehensively. Standard food sensitivities can often give false negatives when it comes to wheat, gluten, dairy, and corn.
IgG testing
Measures the levels of IgG antibodies circulating in your blood that is produced in response to a list of foods. The benefit with IgG testing is some delayed reactions to foods can be identified and the results are reproducible. The limitation is that with this test, only one mechanism of food sensitivity is being measured when there could be others to consider. Also, with IgG testing, foods will only show up as "reactive" if you have eaten them recently, so sensitivities to foods that have not been part of your diet may not be detected.
IgA testing
IgA antibodies reflect more recent exposure to foods compared to IgG. IgA is an antibody that is found only in the mucosa.
Lymphocyte Response Assay (LRA)
The most advanced sensitivity testing currently available. Measures delayed hypersensitivity reactions of up to 450 items in the categories of foods, environmental chemicals, molds, medications, therapeutic herbs, food colorings. Some of the drawbacks are the higher price point and strict instructions have to be followed the day before your blood draw in order to get the most accurate results.
MRT TESTING
Measures several immune related reactions to foods, IgG as well as other mechanisms. One of the advantages of the MRT test is that the blood is exposed to the foods, so they do not have to be eaten in order for a sensitivity to be detected. Some of the drawbacks of the test are the higher price point and fewer foods can be tested compared to the other tests available.
ALCAT TESTING
Measures release of inflammatory chemicals from one type of white blood cell called neutrophils. Some of the drawbacks of this test are reproducibility and high rate of false positives. Sometimes ALCAT test results can show too many sensitivities that would equate with following an overly restrictive diet. The test was invented by the same scientist that developed MRT, so MRT is considered the newer, improved version of ALCAT.
Does Insurance cover food sensitivity testing?
Insurance typically does not cover food sensitivity testing in the state of Illinois. However coverage can vary from state to state. Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) funds can be used toward food sensitivity testing.
Testing Refund and Cancellation Policy
Due to fees incurred once a test order is placed, we are unable to offer refunds, returns or exchanges on test orders.
