This month I’m so excited to share with you my December sponsor, EverlyWell, who provides at-home lab testing with the EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Kit which gives beautifully designed results. The platform empowers consumers to order, self-collect, and understand their own physician-approved lab tests with the goal of improving health and reducing risk of future disease. Founded in 2015, the mission of the company is to empower people with their own health information so they can live healthier and happier lives.
Check out EverlyWell.com and use code WICKEDSTUFFED to save 15%.
Like a lot of people, I’ve always been curious about my food sensitivities, especially since I started keto a decade ago. Since then I’ve been so much more in tune with my body, that I can often tell when something just doesn’t agree with me (sugar!). I’ve also felt that, compared to other people, I don’t have strong reactions to most things, and have always been able to eat most things, even gluten, without any weird reactions. But I’ve always wanted to know for sure. And also, I know you can develop allergies as you age, so I was curious if there was anything new popping up.
I was excited to do the EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Kit and got it quickly in the mail. It comes with everything you need to clean your finger and give yourself a finger poke (with extra lancets), and even a cute little pack of band-aids for afterward. Each EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Kit comes with a code, that you then register on the EverlyWell website with your personal profile.
The first test I sent I had to re-do because I didn’t get enough blood, so just make sure you fill each of the circles. I did much better the second time by massaging my finger first, and the replacement came in just a couple days.
Once you’re done, you let it dry for an hour or so, then pack it up and put it in the mail. Within a week, you get your test results back online. I was very impressed with how quickly I got mine back!
I logged into the My Everly portal to find out my results! Here’s a link to see them yourself.
Ultimately I didn’t have any major reactivity, everything was on the moderate to low side. What’s nice is EverlyWell gives you the option to join a private Facebook group once you have your test results, so you can talk with others who have also taken the tests. I thought that was helpful to learn more about what to do with the results of my test, or rather, what others have done.
Check out EverlyWell.com and use code WICKEDSTUFFED to save 15%.
The one thing I wish I knew before I started, which may be helpful for you, is that the food sensitivity tests can only measure what you’ve eaten in the last month or so because it’s showing how your body reacts to food that’s been in your system recently. So for example, I expected to be off the charts for shrimp because it’s the one food I am allergic to, but it didn’t register, because I don’t consume shrimp anymore.
I should also note that there is no correlation between IgE (allergy) and IgG (sensitivity) reactivity. If you have eliminated food from your diet because of a documented allergy, you should not see an IgG reactivity because your body breaks down IgG molecules not in use after 28 days.
I also love that with the EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Kit you can opt to print out more detailed results, and also results specifically for your doctor.
Lab testing is cumbersome, time-consuming and confusing. It’s an outdated process, and notably, specialty tests that are crucial to health management and chronic illness prevention are often not covered by insurance (e.g., fertility hormones, weight management hormones, food sensitivity). With the growth of personalized, consumer-driven healthcare ($250B industry) and the rise of out of pocket healthcare costs, EverlyWell is doing a great job making lab testing consumer-friendly and transparent.
If you’re interested in doing a kit yourself, EverlyWell currently has a promo for the month of December. Go to EverlyWell.com and use code WICKEDSTUFFED to save 15%.
The EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Kit has a ton of panels you can test, including Cardiovascular, Fertility and Women’s Hormones, Men’s Health, Heavy Metals, Metabolism, Thyroid, Sleep & Stress, Food Sensitivity, Inflammation & Vitamin D.
Prices start at $49 and are covered by Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts.
Disclosure: EverlyWell offers laboratory testing for wellness monitoring. The tests are not intended to diagnose or treat disease or to substitute for a physician’s consultation. EverlyWell is a sponsor of WickedStuffed.com
