Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between Allergy and Intolerance?

Allergy and Intolerance are often confused or thought of as similar conditions when in reality they are very different.

Allergy is an immediate, sometimes dangerous or life threatening, reaction to a food or drink. This is often present from a young age and always involves antibody type IgE.

Intolerance can be developed later in life and takes longer for symptoms to present themselves, making it more difficult to pinpoint the culprit food(s).

Testing can be beneficial to discover the trigger foods and drinks quicker.

We test for over 400 types of food and drinks. We also test for over 400 non food items like pet hair, pollen and detergents. In addition, we test Vitamins + Minerals and Metals.

A full list can be found here.

We dont test anybody under the age of six.

Optimum nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding is vital for mother and child. To reduce any possible risk to the mother or baby, it is our protocol not to offer tests, advice or lifestyle changes during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding.

No they are not painful at all.

Your hair does not have to come from your head. It can come from your leg, arm or even chest.

This will not have any effect on the results.

A blood test is testing for IgE mediated allergies and will only produce results listing reactions in the immunoglobulin system (these are estimated at only 2% of all allergies).

Our hair sample test is examining changes at a cellular level because the latest science shows that up to 43% of allergies are in fact a reaction in T cells.

The two tests are measuring totally different reactions and will produce totally different results.

If you notice a reaction that is almost instant or within 2 hours max, you would normally consult with your GP and he might consider a blood test.

These are normally essential for more serious allergies. Unfortunately the blood test only captures these types of allergies which only account for 2% of all known allergies.

If your reaction time is slower or you are unable to identify the link between your symptoms, then it is more than likely you have a non IgE mediated allergy.

In this instance, we would recommend our hair based non IgE mediated allergy test.

We have completed many specific tests for clients to help narrow down their allergies.

This has included strange foods, supplements and medication as well as pet hair, feathers and even leaves from house plants.