Food Allergy Test: What It Measures, How It Works, and Which Tests Actually Matter
Roughly 10.8% of U.S. adults have a clinically convincing food allergy, yet nearly 19% believe they do. That gap between real and perceived food allergy drives a massive market of unvalidated tests, unnecessary dietary restrictions, and persistent confusion about what food allergy testing actually tells you. The clinical reality is straightforward: true food allergies involve immunoglobulin E (IgE), and the tests that matter measure IgE. Everything else requires scrutiny.