Functional Medicine Tests Explained: What They Are and Why They Matter

Food Allergies vs. Food Sensitivities: Not the Same Thing

Many patients assume they’ve already had their food reactions tested. Usually, they’ve only had allergy testing, which checks for IgE antibodies, the ones tied to immediate, often severe reactions. If you eat something you’re truly allergic to, you tend to know it right away.

Food sensitivities work differently. They involve IgG and IgA antibodies, and the response is delayed, sometimes showing up hours or even a day later. Because the reaction isn’t immediate, most people never connect the symptom to the food that triggered it. If you’re constantly eating foods your immune system reacts to, you’re quietly stoking an inflammatory response without realizing it.

“I always meet patients where they are. Some want every answer as fast as possible; others need to go one step at a time. Either way, we work through it together and figure out what fits.” Dr. Scott Simon

Explaining the Levels of Testing

Not every patient needs the same workup. At Oak Creek Relief & Wellness, testing is tiered based on each person’s needs and what makes sense for them.

A basic food sensitivity panel may be done in-office with a simple finger prick. It tests whole-food proteins against blood to identify immune responses. A more in-depth option tests foods at the peptide level, capturing reactions that a whole-protein test might miss. Common culprits at this level include gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, and nuts, foods that show up in almost everything and tend to be more reactive for many people.

These peptide-level tests can be bundled together, keeping costs reasonable compared to running each one separately.

What are the Next Steps?

Testing is just the starting point. Once results are in, the goal is to connect the dots between what the labs show and how you’ve been feeling, then build something practical from there.