I Just Received My Food Sensitivity Results — What Now?

Jul 4, 2025

I Just Received My Food Sensitivity Results — What Now?

So now you’ve gotten your food sensitivity test results, comes the big questions: What do I do next? Is this forever? Can I help my immune system to not be so sensitive? What happens if I accidentally have a food on my list?

It’s completely normal to feel a bit overwhelmed, especially when you're staring at a long list of potential triggers. But here’s the reassuring part: you don’t have to overhaul your entire diet at once. A gentle, step-by-step process, and some supportive guidance, can help you make meaningful changes without feeling deprived or stressed.

Our functional medicine health coach is here to help you make sense of your results and turn them into simple, practical steps that fit your life.

Remember that your results are not a to-do list, they’re clues. A common mistake is to feel like if you don’t eliminate every flagged food all at once, you can’t make meaningful progress. This mindset can lead to unnecessary frustration and stress. Instead, focusing on consistent changes, like following your plan about 80% of the time, can still produce noticeable improvements. Small, steady steps often make a bigger difference than trying to be perfect from the start.

A smart first step is to focus on just the top three to five most reactive foods or food groups from your test. Beginning with this smaller approach often leads to noticeable improvements while keeping your diet manageable and balanced. Once you settle into that pace, you and your provider can review your progress and begin addressing some of the other foods on your list as needed.

Food sensitivity tests, such as the 184 IgG Food Sensitivity Panel, measure your body’s delayed immune response (reflected through IgG antibodies) to certain foods. This helps shine light on patterns you might not notice otherwise, since sensitivity reactions often show up hours or even days after eating. This is why the results are so helpful; they offer direction where symptoms alone may be confusing. Understanding your test results is just the first step; knowing how to act on them in a practical, manageable way is where the real progress begins.

Instead of outright banning every flagged item, a structured elimination and reintroduction approach is more sustainable and empowering. You remove reactive foods for a few weeks, then reintroduce them one at a time while paying attention to how your body reacts. If symptoms return, you've identified a trigger. If not, it may simply be a food your body tolerates well. Keeping a journal during this process, tracking meals, symptoms, timing, and any flare-ups, can be an incredibly helpful tool. It not only deepens your personal insight but also offers valuable context you can bring to your practitioner.

As you move through this journey, it’s important not to over-restrict. Cutting out too many foods at once can create nutrient gaps and make meal planning feel overwhelming. After all, food is more than fuel, it’s connection, comfort, and celebration. We know how challenging it can be to adjust familiar eating patterns, which is why taking a gradual, step-by-step approach often works best, allowing your body and your routine to adapt comfortably.

Removing foods in phases, rather than all at once, allows your body to adjust, your meals to remain enjoyable, and your lifestyle to stay sustainable. Also, remember that IgG results are only part of the puzzle; they offer hints, but your personal symptoms and history bring the full picture into focus. And don’t be afraid to reintroduce foods. It’s very common to regain tolerance once your system has had time to reset.

Above all, steer your focus toward nourishment, not deprivation. Meals which are rich in whole, nourishing foods that energize your gut, skin, and mood are just as important as removing triggers. Food should feel supportive, not fearful.

Getting test results is just the first step, and it’s completely normal to feel a little unsure about what to do next.

Let us help. The goal is to create a plan that sets you up for success, not stress; one that feels achievable, supportive, and tailored just for you.

References

Bupa UK. (2025, January). Keeping a food and symptom diary. Bupa. https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/digestive-gut-health/food-symptom-diary

Hallak, R. (2024). Using elimination diets to identify food sensitivities. Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/elimination-diet

Malone, J. C. (2024). Elimination diets. StatPearls Publishing. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557841/