I’ve spent a lot of time in my adult years wondering what the heck is making me feel so bad.  I’ve struggled with debilitating migraines, low energy, poor digestion and occasional weight-gain with no clear concept on “the why”. 

As you read last week, I’ve gone back and forth between being vegetarian and eating meat.  And like just about everyone out there, I’ve self-diagnosed and claimed possible intolerances to certain foods without the actual correlation to prove the causation.  I knew it was probably time to try a food intolerance test, and I had my eyes on Pinnertest. 

But let me back up; you may be asking: what are food intolerances exactly?  How are the different from food allergies?  According to Pinnertest, “food intolerance occurs when your body cannot properly digest and convert the foods you eat into the necessary nutrients that fuel your system. This maldigestion causes inflammation, which leads to many negative food intolerance related symptoms including fatigue, migraine & headaches, eczema, bloating, gas, congestion, weight gain, brain fog, joint aches, acid reflux, food cravings, diarrhea, skin rash and more.”

Man.  I could raise my hands to several if not all of the symptoms listed above, and I couldn’t explain why!  It was actually driving me crazy, to be honest.  So the more I thought about it, I knew I wanted to get the legitimate proof about how my body was reacting to certain foods.  

It took me a long time to pull the trigger with ordering a kit.  I don’t know about you, but getting testing for food intolerances sounds like it would be an intrusive, intense, and potentially expensive experience.  Fortunately, Pinnertest claimed to be a next generation blood test that can determine your individual food intolerances, all from the comfort of your home—well, and them in their lab!  It included an easy, at-home kit that was sent to me within 3-4 days of ordering.  And all I needed to do was prick my finger for two drops of blood to be sent off to their lab with a prepaid return label.  

I eagerly awaited the results in the mail, which came a little less than two weeks later.  The results were SHOCKING and so fascinating!  As stated above Pinnertest is all about intolerances that your body currently has basically meaning you’ve overdone it so much on certain foods your body can’t handle them or digest them properly anymore.  Which is completely different than being allergic to specific foods.  Because of that they specifically stress that if you know you’re allergic or intolerant certain foods to keep that information in mind regardless of what your test results come back saying.  A great example of that for me is dairy.  I became severely intolerant to specific types of dairy, mainly heavily processed dairy, in my twenties so regardless of what my test results were I knew dairy wasn’t making its way back into my every day diet.  The other thing to note about Pinnertest is it rates your tolerance level from a 1-3 and it does state that you may be able to eventually bring these intolerant foods back into your system, stressing that this test is all about what your body can digest currently.

So back to the results…I tested to be intolerant for grapes, avocados, salmon, canola oil and egg yolks.  As many of you know, I’m a huge wino, and the news about the grapes was absolutely disheartening, but not shocking.  I had been recently getting massive migraines and ill from only a glass or two of wine so I knew something was up.  Equally as devastating  was the news about the avocados!  I can only think that the intolerance to the canola oil and the egg yolks is a result of years and years of baking.  

I don’t know if I’ll give up wine for good—ha!—but I’m so grateful to know that these triggers are affecting me so I can make sound decisions about when it’s worth it or not.  While Pinnertest is not meant to act as a diagnostic tool, it definitely served me as sound advice for my everyday wellness because it pointed out the foods that I should avoid.  

And just a little FYI; this post is in fact not sponsored.  I just knew I wanted to share my experience with you in hopes that Pinnertest can help you, too!  I’d highly recommend ordering the easy, at-home kit to discover what may be slowing you down.  Has anyone else struggled with unidentified food intolerances?  Have you been tested?  I’d love to know!  Truly, MKR

P.S. I’m getting a lot of questions about the cost.  I’m so sorry but I don’t remember exactly…I believe it was around $400 which is much more reasonable then getting your bloodwork done for these sort of tests at a doctors office.  I do suggest signing up for a free account because they do send out really great promos to get the test at a discounted rate.  Truthfully, I’m super thankful I got the test done and plan to do it again in a year after eliminating or seriously cutting back on my intolerances.