If nuts leave you bloated or uncomfortable, a simple hair screen gives you a shortlist of nuts worth exploring first through a structured elimination — so you stop guessing at random. Your £49 Gold screen covers 700+ items, and your report arrives within 3 working days of your sample reaching our UK lab.
What this screen is — and what it is not
What it is
A useful starting point to explore which nuts might be worth removing first
Non-invasive (just 9 or 10 strands of hair) with results within 3 working days of your sample reaching our UK lab
A springboard for a structured 6-week elimination plan to work out your personal pattern
A way to narrow down which nuts to test first, so you aren’t cutting out everything at once
Backed by our 90-day money-back guarantee — follow your 6-week elimination plan, keep a food diary, and if your symptoms haven’t improved we’ll refund you in full
What it is not
NOT a validated method. There is no robust published evidence that screening hair identifies which foods do or do not suit you — the report is a starting shortlist, and it is the elimination diary that shows a link.
An allergy test of any kind — and never a tool for anyone with a diagnosed or suspected nut allergy, which belongs with your GP or an allergy clinic
A diagnosis of coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, or any medical condition
Proof that you’ll always react the same way to a nut — reactions can vary by form (raw vs. roasted), amount, and how your gut is doing that day
A verdict on your health — your report is a shortlist of foods worth exploring first, nothing more
Something that settles your symptoms on its own — the real work is the elimination and reintroduction process
Nut Intolerance vs. Nut Allergy: What’s the Difference?
A nut allergy is an immune response — your body’s IgE antibodies recognise a nut protein as harmful and trigger immediate histamine release. This can cause itching, swelling, breathing problems, or anaphylaxis within minutes. That’s serious and needs a GP or specialist, never a home screen.
A nut intolerance is completely different. There’s no IgE allergy involved. Instead, your digestive system may struggle with certain nuts, which some people link to bloating, wind, discomfort, or loose stools hours after eating. It’s uncomfortable rather than life-threatening.
Our hair screen is a non-clinical screen: it flags which nuts to look at first so your elimination has a focus instead of cutting everything out at once. It does not test for allergies and won’t pick up a true nut allergy (which needs specialist testing arranged through your GP). The screen is a starting point for an elimination process, not a verdict on your health — any improvement you notice comes from the elimination process you follow.
One more twist: pollen-food syndrome (oral allergy syndrome) affects some people with birch pollen allergies — raw nuts such as hazelnut or almond can cause lip tingling or throat itching because the nut proteins share a structural similarity with birch pollen proteins. Cooking the nut breaks down these proteins, so the same nut is often fine roasted. If that sounds like you, it’s a GP conversation rather than an elimination project.
Does this sound like you?
Bloating or wind shortly after eating nuts
Stomach cramps or dull abdominal pain
Loose stools or changes in bowel habits
Nausea or feeling uncomfortably full
Mouth or throat tingling with raw nuts (this points to pollen-food syndrome — a GP question, not an elimination project)
Hives or itching around the mouth (skin reactions like these are a GP question, not something to self-explore with a food trial)
Nasal congestion or sinus pressure after eating nuts
Tiredness or brain fog that appears within 1–3 hours of eating nuts
Related foods worth checking at the same time
Tree nuts share closely related proteins: almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans and hazelnuts, so noticing one can make the others worth watching in your diary
Peanuts are legumes, not tree nuts — but a sizeable minority of people who notice one group also notice the other, so test them separately during reintroduction
Hazelnut and almond are linked with birch pollen (pollen-food syndrome); if you get spring hay fever, raw versions might cause lip or throat tingling — a question for your GP, not an elimination experiment
Cashew and pistachio often appear together because they share closely related proteins
Sesame seeds sometimes show up alongside tree nuts — not because they share nut proteins, but because shared processing facilities make cross-contact common
Foods and items commonly linked to nuts
These are the kinds of items people most often look at for this topic. For the definitive list of what each screen covers, see the full food list and the non-food list.
Almond
Brazil nut
Cashew
Chestnut
Hazelnut
Macadamia nut
Peanut
Pecan
Pistachio
Walnut
How to run a focused elimination
Plan for 6 weeks of core elimination (all nuts out), then structured reintroduction one nut at a time.
Week 1–2: Remove all nuts completely — almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts, plus nut butters, oils and milks. Check labels carefully; nuts hide in granolas, cereals, baked goods, pesto and sauces. Start your food diary on day one.
Week 3–4: Keep nuts out and log how you feel each day — bloating, digestion, energy. Some people notice a difference by week 3; others need the full plan, and both are useful information.
Week 5–6: Stay nut-free and let the picture settle. A diary kept across the whole six weeks is what makes your reintroduction readable — and it’s also what the 90-day guarantee asks for.
After week 6: Reintroduce one nut at a time, waiting 2–3 days between each. Start with a small serving (a small handful, or a tablespoon of nut butter) and note any bloating, cramps or other changes over the next 48 hours.
Never reintroduce a nut you suspect you’re allergic to. If you have ever had swelling, breathing trouble or a rapid whole-body reaction, reintroduction is a clinical question for your GP or allergy specialist — not a home experiment.
Work through the rest of your shortlist the same way. By the end you’ll have your own map of which nuts suit you and which don’t — built from what you observed, not from a label.
Reintroduce one nut every 2–3 days in a small amount (a small handful, or 1 tbsp of nut butter) and keep notes on bloating, digestion, energy and mood for each one. Some nuts may consistently line up with symptoms; others you may find fine in specific forms (roasted but not raw) or amounts. Take your time — the 90-day guarantee asks you to follow your plan for at least 6 weeks with a food diary, so start your diary on day one. And if you suspect a true nut allergy, do not reintroduce that nut at all — speak to your GP.
Common questions
Can IntoleranceLab’s test detect a true nut allergy?
No — and this matters. Our screen does not test for allergies of any kind. It produces a shortlist of foods worth exploring through a structured elimination, and that is all it claims to do. True nut allergies cause immediate, sometimes life-threatening reactions. If you’ve ever had facial swelling, breathing problems, or a whole-body reaction after nuts, please see your GP or an allergy specialist for proper allergy testing — and call 999 if a reaction is happening now.
Why do some nuts make my mouth tingle but others don’t?
That’s often pollen-food syndrome (oral allergy syndrome). If you’re allergic to birch pollen, your immune system recognises similar proteins in raw nuts such as hazelnut and almond, which can cause lip or throat tingling. Cooking breaks down these proteins, so roasted versions usually cause no symptoms. Your GP can confirm with a simple pollen allergy test.
I’m allergic to peanuts — do I need to avoid tree nuts too?
If you have a diagnosed peanut allergy, please don’t use this screen — or any intolerance screen — to decide which nuts to eat. Whether you can safely eat tree nuts is a clinical question for your GP or allergy specialist, and new nuts should only ever be introduced under their guidance. Our screen is for slower, non-allergic, digestive-type reactions only — it has nothing to offer an allergy decision, and we’d rather lose a sale than blur that line.
How soon might I notice a difference after eliminating nuts?
Some people notice less bloating within 1–2 weeks; others take longer, which is why the core plan runs to six weeks. It depends on how much nut you were eating, how sensitive you are, and whether other foods are also part of the picture. The clearest signal comes during reintroduction after your 6-week plan, when you can see what happens as you add specific nuts back in.
Does cooking nuts make a difference?
Yes, especially for pollen-food syndrome. Raw hazelnuts and almonds can cause tingling if you have pollen allergies; roasted versions are usually fine because heat breaks down the cross-reactive proteins. For digestive-type reactions, roasting may make some nuts a little easier on the gut, but if you’re sensitive, cooking alone might not prevent bloating.
My report lists multiple nuts. Do I have to avoid all of them?
Not yet. Your report is a starting hypothesis, not a list of foods to ban forever. During the elimination and reintroduction phases, you’ll discover your own thresholds and reactions. You might find one nut genuinely bothers you whilst another listed nut is perfectly fine — or that small amounts are okay but large portions aren’t. The process is about tailoring nuts to your own body.
A nut came up on my report — does that mean I can never eat it?
No. Your report doesn’t mean ‘never eat these’ — it’s a shortlist of nuts worth exploring first. Many people comfortably reintroduce listed nuts and keep them in their diet. The elimination process is what shows you which ones suit you and which don’t. And remember: if your concern is an allergy rather than digestive discomfort, that’s a GP question — never test it at home.
When should I see my GP instead of doing this screen?
See your GP straight away if you’ve ever experienced swelling of the face, lips or throat, difficulty breathing, or any whole-body reaction after eating nuts — and call 999 in an emergency. If you have ongoing digestive issues but aren’t sure what’s causing them, talk to your GP before or alongside using our screen; they can rule out conditions that need proper medical testing. If you suspect a pollen allergy, your GP can test for that too.
When to speak to your GP. Our intolerance screen is not a medical diagnosis and is never for suspected allergy. If you experience facial swelling, throat tightness, breathing difficulty or a rapid whole-body reaction after eating nuts, call 999 immediately. If you carry a prescribed adrenaline auto-injector, use it without delay. For ongoing digestive symptoms, please talk to your GP so conditions that need proper medical testing can be ruled out before you rely on an elimination process. If you suspect pollen-food syndrome, your GP can arrange pollen allergy testing. Our 90-day money-back guarantee asks you to follow your 6-week elimination plan and keep a food diary — if your symptoms haven’t improved, we’ll refund you in full.
