Intolerances

The NutriCare INFINITY DNA test analyzes 140 genetic variations and presents the results across around 200 pages in eight chapters, with assessments of over 1,000 foods. It answers the question of which foods suit your genetic predisposition and which do not. If you don’t want to be left wondering what to cook on Monday after receiving your results, choose the INFINITY DNA test with the 28-day plan and recipe book.

The sample is saliva, which you collect yourself at home in a tube. No doctor’s appointment, no blood draw, no repeat test. Your genetic makeup stays the same, so the report remains valid even if you don’t look at it again for five years. What it won’t tell you is your current vitamin levels or the state of your gut flora. You’ll find separate tests for those in this category.

The VitalCheck Nutrient & Mineral Test Complete measures 18 values from a blood sample and is the most comprehensive nutrient test in the range. It covers vitamins D, folate, and B12; the minerals calcium, magnesium, and phosphate; the trace elements selenium and zinc; and iron status, including ferritin. The product page lists the exact values included.

It’s right for you if your diet has changed or you’ve been taking supplements for a while and want to know how much of them is showing up in your blood. Your kit comes with instructions, a lancet, and a return envelope. You collect the blood sample from your fingertip yourself. Unlike a DNA test, the result doesn’t show a predisposition, but rather your nutrient status on the day of the sample. If you’re only interested in your mineral balance in relation to sports, you don’t need such a comprehensive test.

Only for the day of the test. A blood test for nutrients is a snapshot, and that snapshot depends on your past week: what was on your plate, how much sun you got, and what medications you take. If you test in February and again in July, you’ll get two different pictures of your vitamin D levels.

That’s how to read a result like this. A value near the edge of the reference range points in a direction; it isn’t a label. A change between two measurements tells you more than a single number. A DNA nutrition test doesn’t replace this measurement because it describes your predispositions, not your current status, and its results remain useful over time. The two tests don’t contradict each other; they answer two questions that are often asked in a single sentence. Find out what a saliva test says about your predispositions in the DNA metabolism tests.

The NutriCheck Complete Food Intolerance Test measures IgG antibodies against up to 300 foods and lists them in 13 reports, covering everything from milk and eggs to grains and legumes, as well as coffee and tea. It’s designed for when you’ve had a list in your head for months and don’t know where to start with cutting things out. You take the sample yourself from your fingertip, and the results are available later in your customer portal.

It’s important to understand what the results do and don’t mean. Allergy specialist associations do not recommend IgG tests for diagnosing food intolerances (DGAKI et al., 2021). Elevated IgG levels indicate exposure to a food, not necessarily an intolerance. They can be a starting point for a temporary elimination phase that you evaluate with professional guidance. They are not proof.

It depends on the question: if an allergy is suspected, an IgE test provides clues; an intolerance is assessed differently. With an allergy, the immune system responds with IgE antibodies, and this happens quickly, often within minutes. With an intolerance, an enzyme is missing or a transport pathway works more slowly, as with lactose or fructose. Symptoms then appear later and depend on the amount consumed. That is exactly why lists of suspected triggers are of little help: when hours pass between a meal and a reaction, no one can reliably remember what caused it.

For you, that means: don’t buy one test if you have the other question. The AllergoCheck Food and Allergy Test measures IgE and provides clues to help answer the allergy question, which you can discuss with your doctor. An enzyme deficiency is assessed differently, and how well you tolerate individual foods in everyday life can ultimately only be determined during a planned elimination phase.

If your question goes beyond individual foods and concerns digestion, the Complete Gut Microbiome Test detects more than 1,500 bacterial species through DNA sequencing and also provides diversity, enterotype, FODMAP index, and eight bioindicators. The Essential Gut Flora Microbiome Test is the more compact version. You collect both samples at home. Analysis takes longer than for the blood test; the product page lists the current turnaround time.

What a result like this can tell you depends on how you interpret it. Studies are examining links between specific groups of bacteria and symptom profiles, and some aspects remain unclear. No conclusions about you can be drawn from this alone. What you get is a starting point for dietary changes and a conversation with your doctor.