Taking Charge of My Health with EverlyWell

Thanks to EverlyWell and Fit Approach for this opportunity to learn how to take charge of my health. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Years ago, I pretty much took life, and my health, for granted. I didn’t really exercise much, didn’t think about what I ate, I even smoked cigarettes. When I was young, I worked in a restaurant where my daily “lunch” was two pieces of fried chicken, french fries, and a “salad” (iceberg lettuce) with creamy dressing.

Taking Charge of my Health

My how things have changed. It certainly didn’t happen overnight, but over the years I started to exercise (then actually changed my whole career to the fitness business), began eating better, eventually committing to a plant-based diet.

As much as I’d like to say that I am this shining example of perfect health, I can’t quite go there. Yes, I am much healthier now at 58 than I was as 38. Yes, I am fit, strong, and healthy. And yet…

I still have frequent headaches and, less frequently, migraines, which have plagued me since I was a child. I wake up with joint and back pain. I occasionally feel bloated. And I have to ask myself, could there be a food connection?

I truly believe that food is medicine and that by eating whole good food we give ourselves the best opportunity for excellent health. But sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, our bodies react poorly to certain foods no matter how “healthy” the food is.

When I had the opportunity to work with EverlyWell and experience the Food Sensitivity test I was thrilled. Maybe I could find some answers or at least a direction in which to go for answers. I have had allergy tests done in the past, with minimal issues, but food sensitivity is different.

EverlyWell: Lab Results You Can Understand

EverlyWell tests for food reactivity, which is an immune response by the Immunoglobin G (IgG) antibody, the largest circulating antibody in our immune system. Some studies suggest that up to 20% of the population may have reactivity to certain foods, and these reactivities contribute to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, headaches, types of arthritis, autism, ADD/ADHD, eczema, chronic ear infections, gut malabsorption, insomnia and many chronic conditions. Identifying possible offending foods can be difficult since we eat so many different types of food.

EverlyWell’s Food Sensitivity test measures your body’s immune response to 96 foods commonly found in the western diet. After signing up, you will receive a kit so that you can send a pin prick blood sample that will be tested in a lab. Your results will tell you how many IgG antibodies are in your blood relative to each of the foods tested.

Each food will then be given a score from Class 0 (no reactivity) to Class 3 (extremely reactive). Your results are documented in an easy to read chart which provides tailored advice about each food and what you should be doing next. EverlyWell recommends trying elimination diets by first removing the most reactive foods to see if you discover a difference in your symptoms, then moving on to less reactive ones. They encourage you to share your results with your own doctor.

 

While I tried the Food Sensitivity test, EverlyWell offers many different at-home tests that let you take charge of your own health, including Women’s Health and Fertility, Cholesterol and Lipids, Sleep and Stress, and others. The one I’d like to try next is the Thyroid and Metabolism, which measures the hormones that can affect your metabolism.

My Experience

Within a few days of ordering my Food Sensitivity test, the kit arrived in the mail. It included everything I need to take my own pin prick blood test, instructions, and even a lollipop for being a good patient. I easily took my own blood, but if you’re sensitive to that you might want a little help from a friend. Then I popped the sample into the pre-addressed envelope and sent it in to EverlyWell. Within a week I had my results delivered via email to a personalized link.

 

 

My Results

The good news? I have no Class 3 reactivity to any food and only one Class 2…to crab which, as a vegan, will not be a problem. I have a few foods that registered as Class 1, which is a mild reactivity, including some of my favorite foods like bananas, grapefruit, avocado, and almonds. Other foods which showed a mild reactivity include wheat and gluten, ginger, mushrooms, spinach, and a few others.

I have no sensitivity to the majority of tested foods, though, which correlates with the allergy tests I’ve had done in the past. Those showed just a slight allergy to cantaloupe and avocado.

The bad news? Well, no concrete answers for my issues. I hate to say that I was hoping to find foods that I was hyper-sensitive to, but I was hoping to find a direction that would lead me to relief from some of my problems.

For my complete results click on the thumbnails below.

        

What’s Next

It is a starting point, though. If I want to do an elimination diet I know where to begin. Even though several grains showed only a mild reactivity, removing them could prove interesting.

Thanks to EverlyWell I have some inspiration to follow through and really find the source of some of my health issues.

If you would like to take charge of your own health with EverlyWell, you can save 15% by using the code YOURBESTFOODS at checkout.

 

Have you done a Food Sensitivity test? Did you find the information helpful? Did it change the way you ate or lived your life?

 

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Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie 
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Weekend Snapshots with Erin
Anything Goes with Marilyn
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Sarah, and Angelena Marie
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