Which specialist performs food intolerance testing?

Food-related symptoms can have several explanations, including difficulty digesting a component, an allergy, infection, reflux, or another bowel condition. The clinician asks what you ate, how soon symptoms appeared, how long they lasted, and whether they recur. Depending on that pattern, assessment may involve a food diary, targeted blood tests, or a planned elimination and reintroduction process. Broad commercial panels may not answer the clinical question, so interpretation matters.

Record meals, portions, symptoms, timing, bowel changes, rashes, and any medicines for several days if practical. Do not remove many foods or start supplements without guidance, because this can make the diet nutritionally limited and obscure the pattern. Do not deliberately eat a food that has caused breathing difficulty or swelling. Bring prior results and tell the clinician about weight change, anaemia, family bowel conditions, or diagnosed allergies.

Call emergency services for breathing difficulty, throat or tongue swelling, collapse, or rapidly spreading hives after eating. Arrange prompt medical review for persistent vomiting, blood in stool, severe abdominal pain, dehydration, or unexplained weight loss. These features need assessment rather than a self-directed intolerance diet.

Ask whether your pattern suggests intolerance, allergy, or another condition; which test is being considered; whether you should continue eating a suspected food before testing; and when to review the results.