2026-04-12 – Health – www.theguardian.com
A multimillion-pound industry has sprung up promising it can detect sensitivities to certain ingredients with a simple remote finger prick test. But the results can be misleading – and even dangerous
My kitchen table is littered with tiny test tubes, envelopes and plastic lancets. At one end of the table, I have a parcel containing everything I need to take a food intolerance blood test, sold by one of the best-known companies in this market, as well as one of their food and environmental allergy tests, a package deal that cost me just over £200.
At the other end, I’ve arranged everything I need to do a top-of-the-range ALEX2 allergy blood test, which I got from the allergy clinic run by Dr Helen Evans-Howells, a GP and allergy specialist who runs clinics in Hampshire, Belfast and online. This costs £295 and comprises two lancets, which I will soon be using to puncture tiny holes in several of my fingertips; a blood tube; disinfecting wipes; and a return envelope. In the middle…