A reaction after eating is a clue—not a diagnosis or a permanent avoid list.
Food allergy, food intolerance, IBS, SIBO and gut-test findings are not the same thing — and a result in one category does not prove another. Our goal isn’t the longest list of foods to remove. It’s the shortest justified restriction, the right measurement for the question, and a clear plan to test foods back in when it’s medically safe.
Start the Gut Snapshot — $725 →We turn a vague food-sensitivity concern into a structured food-response map.
A symptom after eating does not identify the mechanism that produced it, and a laboratory result does not automatically identify which food should be removed. The useful task is to separate the questions — safety, reaction pattern, medical disease, the specific testing question, and what happens during a careful reintroduction — and then choose the smallest useful next step.
Six questions, not one “food sensitivity” label.
These are separate questions asked side by side — not a chain where one causes the next.
Could this be a food allergy or another immune reaction?
Sudden reactions with hives, swelling, breathing difficulty or faintness point to an allergy question — and can be an emergency. Allergy diagnosis and supervised food challenges belong with an allergist. We do not diagnose allergy with stool, IgG, elimination or permeability testing.
Does the pattern behave like a digestive intolerance?
Dose-related, food-specific, timing-linked symptoms (like lactose) may point to a digestive-capacity question — described by history, not proven by a panel.
Does the overall pattern fit IBS?
IBS is a gut-brain-interaction pattern identified from symptoms and appropriate medical evaluation. No single stool, breath, permeability or food test proves it — and normal tests don’t mean your symptoms aren’t real.
Is there a medical condition to evaluate first?
Celiac, inflammatory bowel disease, infection or “alarm” features are medical rule-outs first. Don’t start a gluten-free diet to test yourself before discussing celiac evaluation with a clinician.
Which testing question is actually being asked?
SIBO (breath) · stool microbes (GI-MAP) · barrier behavior (permeability) each answer a different, narrow question — and none answers the others.
What can be safely reintroduced?
When it’s medically safe, the goal is a structured elimination and reintroduction that rebuilds a nutritionally adequate, reasonably broad diet — not a permanent avoid list.
Where do you fit right now?
Reacting to one or more foods?
Structured testing can help determine whether the pattern sounds more like allergy, digestive intolerance, IBS, another medical concern or a question that may benefit from structured tracking or testing.
Already diagnosed with IBS?
We can work alongside your medical care by reviewing food patterns, nutrition, bowel symptoms and selected gut data when useful. IBS does not automatically mean SIBO, food intolerance or a stool-test abnormality.
Already avoiding many foods?
The next step may not be removing more. We help determine which restrictions are justified, whether nutritional adequacy is at risk and whether a structured reintroduction plan is appropriate.
Mainly looking for a gut test?
Different tests answer different questions. The test should be matched to the question rather than ordering the broadest panel automatically.
Different questions, different answers.
Food intolerance is a different, non-emergency category — often digestive (for example, an enzyme or digestive-capacity limit, dose, fermentable carbohydrates, or additives). Timing, dose and reproducibility are context, not a diagnosis, and gastrointestinal symptoms alone do not establish an intolerance.
Build a food-response map — not just an avoid list.
This is the real work: connecting what you notice with what a test can and can’t say — and a deliberate path back to eating more normally.
Food and amount
What was eaten, how much, and whether the portion matters.
Timing and symptoms
What happened, when it began and how long it lasted.
Repeatability and context
Whether the same response happens again, and whether sleep, stress, exercise, illness or other meal components changed.
Reintroduction result
Whether the food recreates the same response when it is medically safe to test again.
When medically safe, temporary restriction can reduce variables. Foods should then be reintroduced deliberately, watching dose, timing and reproducibility. The goal is a nutritionally adequate, reasonably broad diet — not the longest avoid list. We don’t reintroduce a suspected dangerous allergen without allergist supervision, and we don’t remove gluten to test symptoms before celiac evaluation.
What each question can measure — and what it can’t.
| Clinical question | Measurement or data source | What it may show | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaction pattern | Your record of food, amount, timing and symptoms | A reproducible timing/dose pattern worth investigating | It does not, by itself, identify the mechanism or diagnose allergy, intolerance or IBS |
| Allergy / urgent immune reaction | Allergy history + medical/allergist testing and supervised challenge | Whether an allergy evaluation is warranted (allergist-owned) | Stool, IgG or permeability testing cannot diagnose or exclude a food allergy |
| Digestive intolerance | History of dose- and food-specific timing (e.g., lactose) | A pattern consistent with a digestive-capacity limit | It does not prove intolerance from a lab panel; timing/dose is context, not a diagnosis |
| IBS (gut-brain interaction) | Bowel-pattern history + medical evaluation against IBS criteria | Whether the pattern fits IBS | No single stool, breath, permeability or food test proves IBS; normal tests don’t mean symptoms aren’t real |
| Celiac / medical rule-out | Celiac antibody blood tests (while eating gluten) and, when indicated, biopsy; other medical testing | Whether celiac or another medical condition should be evaluated | A stool or food panel does not diagnose celiac; do not remove gluten before evaluation |
| SIBO | Breath testing (indirect) | A signal that may support a SIBO question, read with clinical context | Certainty of SIBO (results have limits); a stool test does not diagnose SIBO |
| Stool microbial (GI-MAP) | DNA-based stool panel; selected microbial + digestive/inflammatory/immune stool markers | Specific microbial DNA and marker findings | A food allergy, an avoid-list, SIBO, or the cause of IBS; DNA detection does not by itself prove an organism is causing symptoms |
| Intestinal permeability | Selected test-sugar recovery under test conditions | How selected sugars pass the barrier under the conditions of the test | IBS, which foods cause symptoms, systemic disease, the cause of symptoms, or that anything is “leaking into the bloodstream” |
| Structured reintroduction | Supervised temporary elimination + deliberate reintroduction; dose/timing/reproducibility | Which foods reproduce symptoms vs. coincidence — the shortest justified restriction | It is not a lab diagnosis; a single reaction can be coincidental |
| Nutritional adequacy | Diet-breadth + nutrition review | Whether the diet is nutritionally adequate and reasonably broad | It is not a substitute for medical evaluation |
Who does what.
We work alongside your medical and allergy care — we do not replace it.
We can
- Hear the concern and help separate the questions
- Review your symptoms and existing results
- Arrange or interpret appropriately selected tests within scope when a defined question justifies it
- Guide a structured, medically-safe elimination and reintroduction
- Support nutrition and diet breadth within scope
- Coordinate care and refer
Your medical clinician or allergist owns
- Food-allergy diagnosis, supervised challenges and emergency/epinephrine planning
- Celiac diagnosis and management
- Inflammatory bowel disease, infection or structural disease
- Evaluation of bleeding, weight loss, anemia or other alarm features
- Prescribing and medication decisions
When to start with medical or allergy care.
See a medical clinician or allergist about
- Suspected food allergy, or reactions with hives, swelling or breathing symptoms
- Possible celiac disease (evaluate before removing gluten)
- GI bleeding or black stools
- Unexplained weight loss or anemia
- Persistent fever, vomiting or dehydration
- Severe or progressive abdominal pain
- Suspected IBD, infection or structural disease
- Severe dietary restriction or signs of nutritional deficiency
Seek urgent or emergency care for
- Trouble breathing, or swelling of the throat, tongue, lips or face after eating (possible anaphylaxis — can be life-threatening)
- Fainting or severe dizziness after eating
- Severe or unrelenting abdominal pain
- Vomiting blood or passing significant blood
- Signs of severe dehydration or sudden, marked illness
Frequently asked.
- What’s the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance?
- A food allergy is an immune reaction that can be severe or life-threatening and belongs with an allergist to diagnose and plan for. A food intolerance is a different, non-emergency category — often digestive, like lactose — described by history rather than proven by a panel. They are not the same thing, and gastrointestinal symptoms alone do not establish an intolerance.
- Can a stool test or GI-MAP diagnose IBS or SIBO?
- No. IBS is diagnosed from your symptom pattern and appropriate medical evaluation, not from a single test. SIBO is a small-intestinal question usually evaluated with breath testing. A stool test — including a GI-MAP — does not diagnose either; it reports stool microbial and marker findings that may be useful for a defined question.
- Should I go gluten-free to see if it helps?
- Not before discussing celiac evaluation with a medical clinician. Celiac testing usually begins with antibody blood tests while you’re still eating gluten, and removing gluten first can make blood and biopsy findings less accurate.
- Do IgG or “food sensitivity” blood tests tell me which foods to avoid?
- Food-specific IgG or IgG4 generally reflects exposure to a food, not proof of allergy or intolerance. Major allergy organizations recommend against using IgG panels to diagnose food allergy, food intolerance or a trigger-food list. When medically safe, a structured, observed reintroduction can help show whether a food reliably reproduces a reaction. Do not reintroduce a suspected food allergen without guidance from an allergist or appropriate medical clinician.
- What does a GI-MAP actually tell me?
- A GI-MAP reports selected microbial DNA and digestive, inflammatory and immune-related stool markers. It can add information when stool microbial information is the question you’re asking. It does not identify foods to avoid, diagnose SIBO or establish the cause of IBS, and detecting DNA does not by itself prove an organism is causing symptoms.
Not sure which question is yours?
Gut symptoms and food reactions need gut testing — stool analysis and intestinal permeability. Blood testing alone cannot answer them. When digestive symptoms are part of a broader picture, hormone metabolites and bloodwork can be read alongside them. Not everyone needs a test, and medical or allergy care comes first when that’s what’s needed.
When symptoms are not limited to digestion
If digestive symptoms occur alongside thyroid, hormone, cortisol, inflammation or blood-sugar concerns, the Metabolic Blueprint evaluates those systems together with gut testing.
See the Metabolic Blueprint →Reviewed by Dr. Jared Larsen, LN, CNS, DC, MS.