Food intolerances. What are they? Not to be confused with food allergies, food intolerances are digestive issues that occur after eating or difficulty digesting certain foods. Unlike allergies, food intolerance symptoms take longer to become apparent.
If you’ve experienced…
- bloating
- feelings of heaviness
- fatigue
- migraine and headaches
- gas
- congestion
- brain fog
- achey joints
- acid reflux
- food cravings
- stomach aches
- weight gain
…after eating certain foods, you might be intolerant without even realizing it!
A very common cause of food intolerance might be a digestive enzyme deficiency. Nearly all foods we eat require a particular enzyme for proper digestion. For example, those that are lactose intolerant lack the lactase enzyme needed to break down milk/dairy sugar, lactose. If some of these digestive enzymes are missing, or insufficient, proper digestion may be undermined.
Additionally, it turns out you can also develop intolerances to certain foods if you consume them too much or too often! An example might be if you have avocados in every meal or eggs for breakfast every day. Just remember, everything in moderation and change up your meals every now and then. I know for me, that was hard at first, since I am a creature of habit.
With these points in mind and from what I have researched, I had a feeling I had intolerances to some foods because I’ve experienced at least few of the listed symptoms. However, when I tried to make an appointment with a regular doctor to try and figure out what foods were causing the sensitivities, the earliest appointment I could get was in five months.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Plus, who’s a fan of getting pricked by a needle numerous times?
My Pinnertest Food Intolerance Test Results
That’s when I discovered Pinnertest, “The Next Generation Food Intolerance Test”. I’ve been wanting to try Pinnertest for quite awhile now, so when they sent me one of their kits I was overjoyed! Who knew someone could be so excited about a food intolerance test?
The kit comes in a little box with two prickers, a blood collection pad, instructions, the Pinnertest form, and even a little bandaid and alcohol wipe to sterilize your finger. All that’s required from you — the patient — is a couple drops of blood (I was too much of a chicken to prick my finger myself so I asked my dad to do it for me).
So once the worst part (all the blood collecting) was over, all I had to do was send my blood sample and the completed form in the little envelope that was provided. Then about two weeks later, they emailed me the “results”.
The results are broken up into two categories…
Anything in the RED column means that you have an intolerance to particular foods which should be avoided and try to eliminate from your diet.
Anything in the GREEN column means that you do not have an intolerance to particular foods and can be eaten without restriction unless you know from experience that those foods do not work for you.
In addition, there are also three different reaction levels to your intolerances…
+1… LOW REACTION
+2… MODERATE REACTION
+3… HIGH REACTION
So, without further ado, MY PINNERTEST RESULTS…
*drumroll*
+3 egg yolks
+2 coffee
+2 cane sugar
+2 yeast
I have to admit that some of the results were shocking.
I always had a feeling that I might be intolerant to eggs because I would eat them every day for breakfast and feel really heavy, full, and bloated after eating. I just assumed it was just because of their protein and healthy fat content.
Little did I know that I was EXTREMELY intolerant to EGG YOLKS! Interesting that it was just the yolks, and nice that I am still able to eat egg whites.
It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve cut egg yolks from my diet and I already feel much better. From now on, I just eat egg whites for breakfast every other day for balance and am more careful reading ingredients of all my favorite baked paleo treats and snacks! (One step closer to becoming vegan someday.)
Now COFFEE really surprised me. It’s funny because I actually don’t drink coffee because I’ve never been a fan of the taste. I’ve always been and probably will be a TEA person, specifically green and herbal teas.
CANE SUGAR, on the other hand, I generally stay away from it due to it being high-glycemic and will spike your blood sugar (resulting in a “sugar high”), so this result was not too much of an issue. But, be warned: cane sugar can be hidden in vegan yogurts, ice cream, baked goods, and even salad dressings.
Let the incessant label, ingredient, and nutrition fact reading begin.
Ok so far so good, except for the egg yolks.
However, what really shocked me was to find out that I am very intolerant to YEAST and not gluten or dairy! I know crazy, right? But, being my curious self, I already starting researching about yeast intolerances and it turns out that that in fact the LACTOSE in dairy products feed the bad yeast bacteria in your gut. Gluten is kind of self-explanatory since gluten and yeast kind of go together (i.e. bread, pastries, pasta, etc.).
This was a complete eye-opener and would explain whenever I used to eat both dairy and gluten I would feel terrible, had some skin issues, and lots of digestive problems! So even though dairy and gluten did not show up as a reaction I will probably continue to stay dairy, gluten, and grain-free because that’s what I’ve noticed what works for my body and makes me feel my best.
Yeast on the other hand loves, feeds, and grows on SUGAR, FLOUR, DAIRY, and FERMENTED foods. Plus, from what I’ve noticed from my researching, it turns out many people who thought that they were gluten intolerant are actually yeast intolerant!
Below are some common yeast containing foods…
- most breads, processed foods, and baked goods
- yeast extracts/baker’s yeast
- refined grains
- malted products
- cane sugar (Oh my gosh!)
- coffee (OH MY GOSH x2)
- fermented foods and drinks like soy, miso, kombucha, beer, and wine (not into drinking alcohol anyways)
- all sauces, vinegars, and vinegar containing foods like ketchup, mustard, tamari, relishes, pickles, pickles vegetables, olives, sauerkraut, mayonnaise, marmite, and most salad dressings* (bye bye daily ACV shots)
- dried fruit/certain fresh fruits higher in sugar or susceptible to mold (i.e. figs, dates, grapes, prunes, raisins, etc.)
- processed fruit juices
- dairy products
- cheeses (especially blue cheese)
- nuts like peanuts and pistachios
- any mushroom or fungus
The list goes on…
Sigh, now I must be even MORE careful reading labels, pay attention to expiration dates, and make sure I wash my fruits and vegetables very carefully to check for mold that may be hiding on the surface.
I must admit some of the new eliminations to my diet might be very VERY difficult. But, if I really want certain food items listed above, I will not deprive myself of it! I just have to know I can’t have it all the time. And that’s alright. Everything in moderation!
If you’re interested in purchasing a Pinnertest Food Intolerance Test, make sure to use my promo code “TIPPYTOEGIRL” for $60 off and free international shipping! You will NOT regret taking this test; it’s definitely money well spent.
For more information about Pinnertest and food intolerance tips visit Pinnertest’s website.
P.S. If you think you might have an intolerance to yeast make sure to check out Pinnertest’s page specifically dedicated to yeast intolerances.
*Freshly squeezed lemon juice may be used as a substitute for vinegar in salad dressings prepared with avocado/olive oil or tahini. I will probably still have salad dressings containing vinegar but just not all the time.
Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party
Thank you for sharing that, I will for sure do the Intolerance test.
fantastic!
That stinks you’re intolerant to egg yolks! I can’t imagine not eating the whole egg lol, but that’s good for the other stuff you will still have when you want it. I thought you were never gonna eat those again and i’m like wow you really got a strong self will! I definitely want to check out the test for myself since I often get bloaty, gasy and have headaches :/ anyway great post and thanks for repying to my comment/question on your foam roller post! Xoxo
What a great article!! I’ll definitely look into this test. I know a lot of our food doesn’t have the enzymes anymore; my husband and I actually take Goodzymes, a digestive enzyme supplement, anytime we eat something processed or that we’re sensitive to. (and he’s allergic to fruit, so that’s inconvenient).
great blog! are you plugged into the Dance Bloggers group?