NutriScan - Pet Sensitivity & Intolerance Test

Developed by Dr Jean Dodds (DVM), NutriScan is the only clinically predictable diagnostic test for dogs, cats and horses (new) to identify the commonly seen food intolerances and sensitivities in saliva.  It is not a test for the rarely seen true allergies to foods. The NutriScan test is patent protected in the United States and internationally. We believe that Healthy pets = happy pet parents, and therefore are partnering with leading experts in the industry, local and globally, to bring remote consulting and diagnostic services to your doorstep.

This test measures antibodies to certain foods in dog saliva. High antibody levels indicate that the dog has a food sensitivity and intolerance to that food or foods.  It is not a DNA test or a cheek / gum swab test.

By contrast, cheek or gum swabs alone do not generate sufficient biological fluid to quantitatively determine specific food reactivities. Simple positive or negative results, for instance from tissue swabs, do not provide information about the specificity or sensitivity of the assays used. Therefore, selection of foods based upon this type of information is medically and scientifically unreliable.

The NutriScan test measures the levels of IgA and IgM antibodies in the saliva. These antibodies are produced by the body in order to fight food sensitivities, so they offer the perfect measure of a reaction taking place. In fact, a food intolerance can lead to one of these antibodies showing up in the saliva as early as five months before bowel disease shows clinical symptoms. And, sometimes these antibodies can show up in the saliva without even appearing in the blood.

What is Tested?

How Does the Test Work?

Testing with saliva is more sensitive than traditional blood testing because blood tests look for food allergies, which are actually rare. Most pets (and people) suffer instead with food sensitivities and intolerances, which are a different kind of problem from a true food allergy.

As opposed to food elimination diets that can take weeks and even months to attempt to figure out the offending food or foods, NutriScan requires only that a small piece of cotton rope (provided in a kit) be inserted in your pet’s mouth for a couple of minutes. After the kit is submitted by you or your vet’s office, you’ll have the results back in only weeks.

Additional Information:

• Using Saliva to detect Food Sensitivity and Intolerance in Dogs to Gluten and Other Food Ingredients [ref (requires Adobe PDF Reader)];
• Canine Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Testing through Salivary Diagnostics [ref (requires Adobe PDF Reader)];
• Benefits of Salivary vs Serum Food Intolerance Testing [ref (requires Adobe PDF Reader)];
• Nutrigenomics [ref (requires Adobe PDF Reader)];
  
• Novel Approaches in Nutrition [ref (requires Adobe PDF Reader)].
  

View a sample report here (requires Adobe PDF Reader).

How to Order?

Select your kit (canine or feline) in the online store. Upon receipt of payment, we will ship the NutriScan kit to anywhere in the country (that being South Africa), with all the return documentation completed for the on-shipping to the laboratory in the United States.

The test kit contains:

• 1 cotton rope
• 1 plastic tube
• Customer info & letters
• Envelopes
• Detailed instructions

The fee associated with the test kit include the on-shipping to the United States and the laboratory testing.

The Collection Process