Recently I took the KBMO FIT Test. I opted for the KBMO FIT 176 Food Sensitivity and Gut Barrier Panel which tests your immune response to 176 foods and additives (there’s also a KBMO FIT 132 option as well) and measures permeability of the gut based on 4 key markers.
The results were quite surprising… more on that below.
The KBMO FIT test uses a patented multi-pathway testing method that measures both IgG antibodies and immune complexes – the most common food-related pathways in the body.
It’s the first food sensitivity test of it’s kind testing for food sensitivities, inflammation and leaky gut all from a single test.
This unique combo is what first intrigued me about the test and is why I’ll be using in my functional health coaching practice when it makes sense.
What’s the Best Food Sensitivity Test?
I often get asked: “what’s the best food sensitivity test?”
My response (usually met with disappointment) is “an elimination diet.”
There’s a reason we consider an elimination diet the gold standard of food sensitivity testing.
Most tests, and particularly direct to consumer food sensitivity tests, are notorious for false negatives and false positives.
That means you may be missing foods you’re reacting to and cutting out foods unnecessarily (read: not eating cheese for no reason, gasp!).
There’s no such thing as a perfect food sensitivity test.
The only way to truly know how a food is affecting you is to eliminate it completely (must be 100 percent) for a minimum of 4 weeks.
This allows for a drop in antibodies, and a more noticeable immune reaction when the food is reintroduced.
Because food sensitivities can be quite stealthy – they can show up up to 72 hours after exposure and their symptoms range from fatigue, to headaches, to runny nose, to gas, going the elimination diet route isn’t near as simple as taking a test.
An elimination diet requires diligence to avoid the suspected foods, and then more diligence through re-introduction to carefully test one food at a time, pay attention and watch for reaction.
I can understand why it’s a disappointing answer…
I’ve stuck with it though through the years because as I’ve seen more and more tests come on the market, more folks are going on restrictive diets with little to no guidance.
I feel for these people because for years that was me, too.
I was gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, grain-free, nightshade-free… the list goes on.
It was completely unsustainable.
And now I’m seeing so many out there going down that same path.
One thing I did do right though was heal my gut.
And that – the gut piece – is what’s missing for so many out there.
Food sensitivities aren’t the problem.
They’re a sign, a symptom, of the real problem…
Leaky gut.
While I was going through all this myself there wasn’t a reliable test to know for sure someone had leaky gut.
Leaky gut has long been a guessing game.
Something you assume someone has based on symptoms.
We assumed I had it because I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
While I eliminated food sensitivities, I also focused on healing my leaky gut. All the while though, I never knew if it was fully “healed.”
Until I took the KBMO FIT Test (with Gut Barrier Panel!)…
The KBMO FIT test is the only test of its kind to include a gut barrier panel which measures intestinal permeability (a.k.a. leaky gut).
Here’s what my gut barrier panel results looked like…
Note: In the time since I took the test, KBMO has expanded the panel to include a marker for Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which is a waste product from microbes in the gut that can be found in the blood with leaky gut and also increases IL-6 which has been shown to loosen the tight junctions in the intestinal lining.
Seeing this was a surprise. It was also proof that everything I’ve put into my own healing work over these years has been working. It’s paying off. And what I would have given to have this kind of validation earlier on in this journey….
I’m thrilled for my clients now to have this kind of test available.
Not only is it included in the KBMO FIT test panels, it’s also available as a stand alone follow up test making it easy to test and track your progress while pursing a gut healing program.
I plan to continue to monitor mine annually going forward to ensure my intestinal permeability remains intact to prevent autoimmune flares or God forbid additional diagnosis.
Easy to Read Food Sensitivity Results – KBMO FIT Test
I love how user friendly this test is too.
Just like the gut barrier panel above, the KBMO FIT test reports all data in an easy to read, color coded format.
It even uses a handy app so your results are always at your finger tips, easy to find, easy to understand, easy to use.
Here’s what my food sensitivity panel looked like…
Just as surprised as I was to find no leaky gut (woohoo!), I was shocked not to see more foods here, particularly gluten and dairy.
I did make sure to eat these foods prior to testing, which I’ve long (more than a decade) avoided to aid in healing my autoimmune disease.
I plan to retest again in a few months to be sure.
In the meantime and going forward I am still avoiding gluten and dairy (only occasionally) as both are so commonly implicated and problematic with autoimmune disease. Gluten all by itself can increase zonulin in sensitive individuals leading to leaky gut.
Comprehensive Food Sensitivity Testing
The test results drill down further giving you a measure of response to all foods tested.
Here’s a sample of mine…
The report continues on for 10+ pages including every category of food you can think of — fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, fowl, shellfish, fish, meats, spices, extracts, additives…
Red signifies the most severe reaction. Orange a high reaction. Yellow a moderate reaction. Light green signifies a mild reaction.
Currently I’m avoiding all foods in the red and orange categories and only very seldomly and selectively have had exposures to the foods in yellow.
I plan to retest in a few months and hope to see that those few sensitivities have fallen off.
That’s what should happen when a food sensitivity is avoided for a long enough period of time (ideally 3-4 months).
As exposure comes to a halt, the immune system no longer has the stimulus to react to. So over time it forgets.
(Now, if I had signs of leaky gut, I’d simultaneously do a gut healing program to prevent new food sensitivities as well.)
With enough time you can safely have that food again with no reaction.
That’s always my goal — increasing tolerance, resilience, so you can eat what you want and enjoy!
None of this just cut out all the foods for the rest of your life to be able to heal… that should never be the answer.
It’s unsustainable and worse can set you up for nutrient insufficiencies, or gut imbalance, or an eating disorder (or all three!) depending on the individual and the level of restriction.
Healing the gut is truly the key to healing.
And is why this new KBMO FIT test is the game changer that it is.
Eliminating food sensitivities without focusing on gut healing is the number one mistake I see people make when trying to heal.
This test is helping to stop that and I’m thrilled to be able to offer it as a solution to help people heal faster.
If you suspect you’re reacting to certain foods, feel inflamed, have joint pain, or if you have an autoimmune condition, I highly recommend this test.
P.S. The KBMO FIT Test is the only test that identifies food sensitivities, inflammation and leaky gut from a single test. This test is a game changer.
Megan Adams Brown, CHC, is a certified health coach based in Austin, Texas. Megan helps people take charge of their health and make “healthy” not feel so high maintenance.
The content in this post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice.
