What should you know about IgG food intolerance?

IgG antibodies often show that the immune system has encountered a food. They do not reliably identify the cause of digestive complaints. Food intolerance is different from a food allergy: it may involve digestion or sensitivity rather than a rapid immune reaction. Symptoms can include bloating, abdominal discomfort, wind, or diarrhoea, and they may have several causes.

A clinician looks for a repeatable relationship between a food and symptoms, checks for warning features, and considers other explanations. A food diary can make the pattern clearer. Depending on the history, assessment may include a planned elimination and reintroduction, or Food Intolerance Testing. Testing should be matched to the suspected problem rather than a broad panel.

Record meals, portions, symptom timing, bowel changes, stress, and medicines for a short period. Avoid making several permanent exclusions at once, because that can obscure the pattern and make a balanced diet harder. A clinician or dietitian can help plan a focused trial and reintroduction. Nutrition Counselling may be useful when symptoms have led to restrictive eating, weight change, or uncertainty about replacements. Continue prescribed treatment unless a clinician tells you otherwise.

Seek urgent care for severe abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, marked dehydration, fainting, blood in stool, or swelling and breathing difficulty after food. Arrange a medical review for ongoing diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, symptoms that wake you, fever, or a persistent change in bowel habit. Bloating that is new and persistent also merits assessment rather than being attributed to an IgG result.

Ask what diagnosis fits your symptom pattern, whether testing is appropriate, which foods should be trialled or reintroduced, and how to protect nutrition while symptoms are being investigated.