I had one of those Allergan tests where they take blood and then report back to you the foods you’re likely to be allergic to. By “allergic” reaction I mean phlegm producing.
I found the results surprising and after thinking about it for a couple of months, largely inaccurate, not useful.
They put allergens into four categories and in my strongest category of food allergy was egg whites and milk products. And the second category was egg yolks, and some other things.
I eat eggs all the time. I’m not reactive to eggs.
I MAY be reactive to a certain load of milk products but the little bit I use in my daily coffee does not set off anything. Meanwhile, there is a certain substance used in SOME, commercial baked goods that always produces phlegm. This test apparently was not sensitive enough or wide ranging enough to identify that substance.
I took a skin prick test a year prior to identify environmental allergens, and that test came back telling me nothing I didn’t already know. my lifelong allergies are about pollen and environmental things. On a five point scale, I would say two or three for cat dander, but I knew that. I just don’t let the cat sit on my face.
My bottom line is this: All tests were a waste of money, didn’t reveal anything of use, and I suspect this kind of testing must be in its infancy. On the other hand, we have used the environmental test (a blood test) for rescue bulldogs often and those results are useful.