In January of 2015, I did my first ever Whole30. I learned that I feel AMAZING while I'm Whole30-ing and that, big surprise, when I go back to eating junk, I tend to feel like junk. This has made me wonder sometimes if I have some kind of sensitivity to dairy and grains/gluten.
I've never had a super adverse reaction to either of them, but dairy tends to make me feel a little congested (congested might not be the right word - hard to explain?), and gluten has a way of just making me feel a little "meh," though it's not always super obvious.
So anyways, I've been curious to find out if I actually have any food intolerances, and after doing some research, I felt comfortable with giving Pinnertest a shot!
Pinnertest sent me a test kit, and just so you know, I did not pay for it; but all opinions in this post are my own! Today I'll walk you through the basics of food intolerance and how the testing process works! In my next post to close out the review, I'll share my results!
What is a food intolerance?
Food intolerance occurs when our bodies can't properly digest and convert the foods we eat into the necessary nutrients that fuel our systems. Specifically, food intolerance occurs when something you have eaten can not be properly broken down in the intestines due to a lack of digestive enzymes. When this happens, the proteins cannot convert into amino acids or nutrients, and they start to accumulate in the gut, eventually making their way into the bloodstream.
Your immune system identifies the partially digested proteins as foreign intruders and attacks them, triggering inflammation in the gut and causing lots of negative symptoms.
What does a food intolerance feel like?
Food intolerance can manifest itself in many ways, including weight gain, fatigue, acne breakouts and other skin issues, bloating, joint pain, mood swings, headaches, and brain fog.
What's the difference between food intolerance and food allergies?
An allergy manifests itself almost immediately after the consumption of a particular substance, where as food intolerances may arrive anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of days after consumption.
How does Pinnertest work?
Pinnertest is able to quickly identify which foods may be negatively reacting with your system, identifying any food intolerances you may have.
When you order a Pinnertest, they ship a testing kit right to your door and everything you need is included in this little box. The instructions are super clear and easy to follow, and basically all you have to do is prick your finger (don't be scared - it's only 2-3 drops of blood, similar to a glucose test), collect your blood sample on the included pad, and ship it back to them in the pre-paid envelope.
I was irrationally nervous to prick my finger! It ended up not being bad at all and props to Pinnertest for being thoughtful enough to send tiny band-aids to patch you right up! I actually took a picture of my finger prick but then I didn't want to gross anyone out, so, alas, it didn't make it into the post!
Within 7-10 days, Pinnertest will email your results in the form of a PDF! Every food they test (200 foods!) is included in the report with either a 0 (0 reaction), or +1, +2, or +3 (with +3 being the most severe).
How can I get my own Pinnertest?
If you are interested in taking your own Pinnertest, GREAT NEWS! They are offering free worldwide shipping and $60 off your test if you use the code MARIAMAKES.
Stay tuned next month if you're interested in hearing about my test results :)