inFoods® IBS
About this test
ELISA — 18-food IBS dietary-trigger panel.
What this test can show
Results are reported observationally — describing nutritional status, exposure, and the marker levels and ratios relevant to this panel — to support a practitioner’s clinical interpretation rather than to diagnose any single finding.
Sample type
Capillary blood — Mitra® device
Generic IgG food-sensitivity tests aren’t designed for IBS — they treat every elevated antibody level the same, regardless of relevance to symptoms. Restrictive elimination diets like low-FODMAP work for some but require removing dozens of foods for weeks. inFoods® IBS uses 18 foods chosen specifically because they drive IBS symptoms in randomized clinical trials — and the diet protocol is published in Gastroenterology, the field’s leading peer-reviewed journal.
Precision medicine for IBS — key points
- Clinically proven: 59.6% of patients met the FDA-defined responder endpoint vs 42.1% on sham diet (P=0.02).
- IBS-specific: 18 foods with cut-offs validated in IBS patients — not general food sensitivity.
- Drug-free relief: patients reported >50% average reduction in bloating, with no side effects.
- Validated at Mayo, Harvard and Cleveland Clinic; patented IBS-specific cut-offs; published in Gastroenterology.
The problem with IBS & food
Most patients know food is the trigger; almost none can identify which foods. inFoods® IBS narrows it down to actual triggers.
- 70–80% of IBS patients say food triggers or worsens their symptoms.
- 96% report bloating — often their most bothersome symptom.
- 1 in 4 miss work due to symptoms (~14 hours per 40-hour week).
- >90% already avoid certain foods — usually the wrong ones.
How inFoods® IBS is different
Most food-sensitivity tests use a generic panel. inFoods® IBS uses 18 foods known to drive IBS symptoms in randomized trials — each with its own threshold established by comparing IBS patients to healthy controls. It measures elevated IgG, not just present IgG, because healthy people have IgG to food too. Validated in a multi-center study (Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Cleveland Clinic, Michigan Medicine, UT Houston) and published in Gastroenterology, the AGA’s flagship journal. Most patients only need to eliminate a few specific foods — not dozens like low-FODMAP — lowering the compliance burden.
The clinical evidence
An 8-week, prospective, double-blinded, sham-controlled, randomized, multi-center study of 223 IBS adults (76% female, mean age 40) compared an inFoods®-guided elimination diet to a sham diet.
59.6% on the inFoods® diet met the responder endpoint (≥30% reduction in abdominal pain, FDA-defined) vs 42.1% on sham (P=0.02). The strongest results were in IBS-C (67.1% vs 35.8%) and IBS-M (66% vs 29.5%) — historically the hardest to treat — with >50% average bloating reduction and zero adverse events. (Singh, Chey, Takakura, Cash, Lacy, Quigley, Randall, Lembo. Gastroenterology 2025. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2025.01.223)
The 18-food panel
Every food was selected for clinical relevance to IBS — not arbitrary, not exhaustive — and each has its own IBS-specific cut-off. The report shows which are elevated.
- Wheat · Corn · Oat · Rye · Cow’s Milk · Whole Egg · Orange · Lemon · Grapefruit · Pineapple · Cabbage · Soybean · Walnut · Honey · Cane Sugar · Cocoa · Yeast · Black Tea
Reading the results
Simple positive or negative for each of the 18 foods — elevated above the IBS-specific cut-off, or normal. No ambiguous low/moderate/high levels to interpret. The report includes detailed “Food Facts” pages for every positive food — common ingredients, hidden sources and how to read labels.
In-house at CanAlt
inFoods® IBS is a clinical use-case of CanAlt’s on-licence Food IgG assay, focused on the food triggers most relevant to IBS. It runs on the same in-house assay performed at CanAlt’s ISO 15189 Plus™ accredited Mississauga laboratory under CanAlt’s LSCCLA licence — the same FoodPrint® microarray platform and ND-requisitioned workflow as the broader 220+ IgG Food Sensitivity test; the clinical positioning differs, but the underlying laboratory work is the same on-licence test. inFoods® IBS technology is developed and patented by Biomerica, Inc. It is an immunoassay-based Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) and has not been cleared or approved by the FDA.
- IBS patients — the food triggers most relevant to IBS.
- Constipation-predominant (IBS-C) and mixed-type (IBS-M) patients saw the largest benefit in the trial.
- Best used with a practitioner — naturopath, MD, gastroenterologist or registered dietitian — to plan and monitor the elimination phase.
How is this different from other food-sensitivity tests?
inFoods® IBS uses a patented, clinically-tested approach with IBS-specific cut-offs for each food. Generic IgG tests use the same cut-offs for everyone, regardless of IBS — and most healthy people show some IgG to common foods. We measure elevation above the level seen in healthy controls, which is why results map to actual IBS symptom relief in clinical trials.
Is this an allergy test?
No. Allergy is a Type I IgE-mediated reaction, typically immediate and potentially life-threatening. inFoods® IBS measures IgG antibodies — a Type III hypersensitivity associated with delayed symptoms like bloating and abdominal pain. Immediate symptoms after eating warrant an allergy consult.
Any diet change before the test?
No fasting and no diet change required — the test detects existing IgG antibodies, so eat normally. The one caveat: a food avoided for many months may have dropped IgG, which can read negative.
Can the patient be on medications?
Most medications don’t affect results — antihistamines and antibiotics have not been shown to alter it. Steroids and immunosuppressants can suppress the antibody response, so interpret with that context. Don’t stop medications without medical advice.
What if there are no positive results?
It means none of the 18 panel foods showed elevated IgG. The patient’s IBS triggers may not be food-related, may involve foods outside this panel, or may be driven by other mechanisms (FODMAP sensitivity, motility, stress). A negative is still useful — it helps rule out specific dietary causes.
How long should the elimination diet last?
The trial protocol was 8 weeks of strict elimination of positive foods, with improvement typically beginning within 2–4 weeks; many then gradually reintroduce foods to confirm true triggers. Plan and monitor the elimination phase with a practitioner.
Ordering and pricing are handled in your CanAlt portal — ND, practitioner and corporate pricing is shown once you sign in. Sign in to order or open an account.