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INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION • FUNCTIONAL TESTING
MRT Food Sensitivity
Testing
WHAT MRT MEASURES
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170 foods + chemicals tested
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Mediator release — not just antibodies
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Captures Type 3 + Type 4 reactions
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94.5% clinical sensitivity
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LEAP protocol included
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Remote testing across Canada
The only food sensitivity test that measures the actual end result of immune reactivity — not just antibodies. MRT identifies your unique inflammatory triggers across 170 foods and chemicals so your diet works with your biology, not against it.
ABOUT THE TEST
What is MRT — and why does it work differently?
MRT stands for Mediator Release Test. It is a patented blood test that measures your immune system's inflammatory response to 170 foods and food chemicals, not by detecting antibodies, but by measuring what antibodies ultimately cause: the release of inflammatory mediators from your white blood cells.
When your immune system reacts to a food, white blood cells release inflammatory chemicals called mediators, such as cytokines, histamines, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes. These mediators are what produce your symptoms. They cause the bloating, the headache, the skin flare, the brain fog.
MRT exposes a small amount of your white blood cells and plasma to each food or food chemical individually, then monitors the blood for changes. If a food triggers a sensitivity reaction, pro-inflammatory mediators are released, the white blood cells shrink and plasma volume increases. That measurable change is your result.
This means MRT is testing the end point — the actual inflammatory response — rather than the mechanism that caused it. Most food sensitivity tests only detect one mechanism. MRT detects all of them.
HOW MRT WORKS — STEP BY STEP
01
Blood drawn
White blood cells + plasma separated
02
Exposed to 170 items
Each food + chemical tested individually
03
Mediator release measured
WBCs shrink · plasma volume increases
04
Result: Green/Yellow/Red
Non-reactive · moderate · reactive
94.5%
Sensitivity
91.8%
Specificity
170
Items tested
WHY MOST FOOD SENSITIVITY TESTS ARE INCOMPLETE
The four types of immune food reactions
Not all food reactions work the same way. The immune system has four distinct mechanisms for responding to substances it perceives as a threat, and most food sensitivity tests only detect one or two of them. Understanding this is the key to understanding why so many people get incomplete answers from standard testing.
TYPE 1 • IgE
True food allergy
IgE antibodies bind to mast cells and basophils. On re-exposure, the allergen triggers immediate degranulation, releasing histamine and causing rapid, severe symptoms. Reaction within minutes.
PRICK TEST • IgE BLOOD TEST
TYPE 3 • IgG + IgM
Immune complex - delayed sensitivity
Antibodies form immune complexes with food antigens. When complexes deposit in tissues, inflammatory mediators — cytokines, prostaglandins, histamines — are released, injuring tissue. Reaction hours to 3 days later.
IgG BLOOD TEST DETECTS THIS
TYPE 4 • CELL - MEDIATED
No antibody involved, invisible to standard testing
Activation of T-cells and phagocytes directly releases cytokines in response to food antigens. No antibody is produced. Reaction can be days to weeks. Completely missed by all antibody-based food sensitivity tests — including IgG.
MISSED BY IgG, IgE, IgA TESTS
MRT • ENDPOINT TESTING
Captures Type 3 + Type 4
Because MRT measures mediator release directly — not the mechanism producing it — it captures inflammatory responses from both antibody-mediated and cell-mediated pathways in a single test. This is why it detects reactions that all antibody tests miss.
CAPTURES ENDPOINT INFLAMMATION
THE CLINICAL IMPLICATION
If you've had an IgG food sensitivity test and still have symptoms after following the results, Type 4 cell-mediated reactions are a likely explanation. IgG tests cannot detect T-cell-mediated reactions because no antibody is produced, there is nothing for an antibody test to measure. MRT detects the inflammation itself, not the process that caused it.
THE FULL PANEL
170 foods and chemicals — what's actually tested
MRT tests your blood's immune response to every item individually, reporting each as non-reactive (green), moderately reactive (yellow), or reactive (red) based on the volume of mediator release measured.
Category 01
Common Foods
Wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, yeast, nuts, seeds, legumes, and a comprehensive range of fruits, vegetables, and proteins — including many that never appear on standard elimination lists.
Category 04
Herbs and spices
A full panel of culinary and therapeutic herbs and spices — including those commonly used in anti-inflammatory protocols. Reactivity to therapeutic herbs can undermine protocols that appear otherwise well-designed.
Category 02
Meats and fish
Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, cod, salmon, tuna, shrimp, and other commonly consumed proteins. Meat reactivity is frequently missed by dietary elimination and is a clinically significant driver of inflammation.
Category 03
Food chemicals
Salicylates, amines, glutamates, oxalates, lectins, phenols, artificial colours, preservatives, and flavour enhancers. Chemical reactivity is one of the most commonly overlooked drivers of chronic symptoms.
Category 05
Grains and starches
All major grains, flours, and starchy foods tested individually — including gluten-free alternatives that are commonly used as replacements without confirming tolerance.
Category 06
Food additives and other reactants
Caffeine, alcohol-derived compounds, food colourings, and other reactants. Caffeine reactivity is a commonly missed driver of adrenal and nervous system symptoms.
WHY FOOD SENSITIVITIES DEVELOP IN THE FIRST PLACE
The gut connection — what allows sensitivities to form
Food sensitivities don't develop randomly. They develop when the gut lining becomes compromised, allowing large, partially digested food particles to pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream, where they are recognized as foreign by the immune system.
Under normal conditions, tight junctions between intestinal cells act as gatekeepers, allowing only thoroughly digested nutrients through while keeping everything else out. When tight junctions become compromised by inflammatory foods, infections, stress, or dysbiosis, large food particles enter the bloodstream as antigens. The immune system mounts a response, and over time, sensitivities to more and more foods can develop as the cycle repeats.
Secretory IgA (sIgA) — the primary immune antibody of the gut lining and the first marker assessed on GI MAP — plays a central role here. When SIgA is depleted, the gut's first line of defence is weakened. Food antigens that would otherwise be neutralized before entering the bloodstream are no longer stopped, driving further sensitivity development.
Tight Junctions
The gut's gateway
Tight junctions are designed to allow only thoroughly digested molecules through. When compromised, large undigested food particles enter the bloodstream as antigens — triggering immune complex formation and sensitivity development.
Secretory IgA
First line of gut defense
sIgA neutralizes food antigens before they cross the gut lining. When depleted, which GI MAP measures directly, the barrier function is weakened and sensitivity development accelerates. Low sIgA and multiple food sensitivities frequently co-occur.
THE CLINICAL PRINCIPLE
Food sensitivity testing without gut healing = identifying triggers without addressing why they developed. Gut healing without food sensitivity testing = removing the root cause without removing the ongoing triggers. True resolution requires both, which is why MRT is almost always used alongside GI MAP work in clinical practice.
HOW IT COMPARES
MRT vs other food sensitivity approaches
Standard food sensitivity tests are not wrong, they are just incomplete. The question is not which test is better but which immune pathways each test actually covers.
MRT ADVANTAGE
High IgG may reflect frequent consumption, not active inflammation. MRT measures the actual inflammatory response — not the antibody.
Most chronic food sensitivity is non-IgE-mediated. MRT captures the non-allergic inflammatory pathways that IgE testing completely misses.
Type 4 cell-mediated reactions — which require no antibody — remain invisible. MRT captures mediator release from all pathways including T-cell-mediated.
Subjective symptom tracking, and routinely miss reactive foods that don't follow expected patterns. MRT produces objective results from a single blood draw.
GI MAP identifies what is living in the gut and how the gut lining is functioning, MRT identifies which foods are driving inflammation. Both are frequently indicated together.
IgG antibody Test
Delayed IgG antibody response to foods; measures exposure.
Type 3 only
Misses Type 4
TEST/APPROACH
WHAT IT MEASURES
REACTION TYPES CAPTURED
IgA + IgM testing
Mucosal and primary immune antibody responses; IgA and IgM tests detect only antibody-mediated mechanisms.
Partial Type 3
Misses Type 4
IgE allergy test
Immediate IgE-mediated allergic response; identifies true allergies (fast, severe, reproducible)
Type 1 only
Misses Type 3 +4
Elimination Diet
Symptom response to food removal over weeks; requiring months
Any - subective
Slow, incomplete
GI MAP
Gut microbiome, pathogens, inflammation markers
Different question entirely
Complementary to MRT
IS MRT RIGHT FOR YOU
The presentations that benefit most from MRT
MRT is most clinically useful for people with persistent, unexplained symptoms that have not responded to standard dietary interventions — including gluten-free, dairy-free, or generic elimination protocols. Inflammatory food reactions can produce symptoms across virtually every body system.
DIGESTIVE
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IBS — bloating, cramping, irregular bowel function
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IBD in remission — Crohn's, ulcerative colitis
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Persistent bloating unresolved by dietary changes
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Food reactions that don't follow a clear pattern
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Symptoms recurring after elimination reintroduction
SKIN CONDITIONS
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Eczema not responding to topical treatment
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Chronic acne with dietary component
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Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
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Urticaria (hives) with unknown trigger
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Rosacea with suspected dietary drivers
NEUROLOGICAL + MOOD
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Brain fog and cognitive difficulty after eating
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Anxiety with suspected dietary component
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Mood instability linked to eating patterns
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Chronic headaches and migraines
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Fatigue and sleep disruption with dietary correlation
SYSTEMIC + INFLAMMATORY
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Autoimmune conditions — RA, Hashimoto's, lupus
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Joint pain and fibromyalgia
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Persistent systemic inflammation on bloodwork
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Chronic fatigue without clear cause
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Recurring respiratory symptoms — sinusitis, asthma
THE PROCESS
How MRT testing works at Rewellness
Step 01
Clarity call
Free 20-minute call to discuss your symptoms, history, and whether MRT is the right starting point. MRT is available as an add-on to the Reconnect program.
Step 02
Blood Draw
Arranged by through a lab near you. No fasting required. The MRT kit is shipped directly to the collection site of your choice.
Step 03
Results — 10–14 days
Your full MRT panel returns within 10–14 days. Each of the 170 items is categorised as green (non-reactive), yellow (moderately reactive), or red (reactive).
Step 04
Protocol Session
A dedicated session to review your full MRT results and build your personalized protocol. You leave with a complete, week-by-week dietary plan.
Step 05
Protocol Iimplementation
Begin Phase 1 of your protocol. Most clients experience measurable symptom improvement within 10–14 days of starting the safe food phase.
Step 06
Follow-up support
Follow-up sessions to assess progress, adjust food reintroduction and refine the long-term maintenance plan based on your response.
READY TO FIND OUT WHAT'S DRIVING YOUR SYMPTOMS?
Two ways to get started with MRT testing.
Choose the option that fits where you are right now. Both lead to the same place — a protocol built from your actual results.
THE REWELLNESS TESTING FRAMEWORK
MRT is one of three functional tests I use
YOU ARE HERE
MRT
Mediator release test — inflammatory response to 170+ foods and chemicals, personalised elimination protocol.
CURRENT PAGE
MINERALS
HTMA
Hair tissue mineral analysis — mineral balance, adrenal and thyroid patterns, heavy metal burden over 3 months.
MICROBIOME TESTING
GI MAP
Comprehensive gut microbiome mapping — pathogens, dysbiosis, intestinal health markers, immune function.
GI MAP analysed by Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory
Results interpreted by Emily Enright, CNP
Included in the Restore package