Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to medical testing.

Everlywell is a lab testing brand that sells convenient, at-home test kits intended to help people uncover information about a wide range of health issues, from obesity to metabolic issues to food sensitivity. The brand suggests their tests are for people who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

But are Everlywell's tests actually accurate? Do they use appropriate technology, and how do they compare to medical testing from a doctor's office? And why was our experience purchasing from this company confusing and frustrating?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze three of Everlywell's most popular tests to give our take on whether or not they're worth the money: Food Sensitivity Test, Metabolism Test and COVID test.

We'll also share the frustrating experience that we had when purchasing and attempting to use an Everlywell test kit.

Key takeaways:

• Food sensitivity test uses outdated methodology
• Metabolism test doesn't seem to offer advantages to standard metabolic panel ordered by doctor
• COVID test uses effective methodology

Our Issue With Everlywell

As one of the authors of this article (Calloway), I wanted to purchase and try Everlywell myself.

I bought the Vitamin D & Inflammation Kit, because I thought it would be useful to see how my vitamin D levels fared in the winter when supplementation was the only way to obtain this nutrient.

The kit arrived when I was in the midst of a move:

I did not notice that the kit needed to be used within five months of purchase, and it appears to have expired before I got the chance to use it.

I accept responsibility for this blunder, but I don't feel like the brand made this clear enough in the shipping materials or in my order email.

What's even more confusing is that the box itself shows a much later date (in 2029), and I have no clue what that signifies:

I have reached out to the company and will update this article if they provide clarity or a replacement kit, but I wanted to share this experience so that readers are sure to use their kit soon after purchase.

Overall, I would rate Everlywell 3/10 because this has been a frustrating experience.

Everlywell Food Sensitivity Test Review

Everlywell’s Food Sensitivity Test is the brand's most popular test.

Everlywell claims to test for an antibody response to 204 common foods that may be “causing you discomfort.” By testing for and eliminating these foods from the diet, a patient would theoretically have an improved quality of life.

The idea sounds great on paper, but the problem is that Everlywell uses the less accurate type of food allergy testing.

Everlywell tests for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, and medical research has shown that these antibodies do not play a causal role in food hypersensitivity reactions. The linked study, published in the Advances in Dermatology and Allergology journal, directly states that:

“laboratory tests based on the titrations of sIgG” [which is what Everlywell performs] "should be considered as insignificant in the diagnosis of food allergy.”

While this type of testing is a marker of immune response, it may not accurately diagnose allergy or sensitivity because even healthy, non-allergic patients produce IgG antibodies in response to common food allergens.

The type of tests that are more commonly used for food allergy are called immunoglobulin E (IgE) tests, and this is the type of testing that would likely be ordered at an allergist's office for food allergy testing.

Medical research has shown that IgE-mediation is what causes the allergic responses to food proteins that can result in symptoms like itchiness, difficulty breathing or nausea.

We find it strange that Everlywell doesn’t address this distinction on their product page, and we do not recommend this test.

Not only do we consider IgG food sensitivity testing a waste of money, it may end up being unhealthy if it restricts certain foods from the diet that don't need to be restricted.

Everlywell Metabolism Test Review

Everlywell's Metabolism Test that claims to “test the hormones that influence weight and energy.”

Outside of extremely rare medical conditions, it’s primarily dietary factors like caloric intake and calories burned through activity that have the biggest influence on weight, so we consider this marketing claim somewhat unscientific.

Everlywell’s Metabolism Test tests for cortisol, free testosterone and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

Cortisol is an important hormone that can be an indirect marker for stress and adrenal issues, according to a 2003 clinical trial, however testing for the hormone directly is not the most accurate way to diagnose the root cause of the issue in our opinion.

Testing for overactive adrenals (which suggests too much stress) typically involves a 24-hour free urine cortisol test, a midnight salivary cortisol test, or an overnight dexamethasone suppression test, none of which Everlywell appears to offer.

We don't believe that testing cortisol levels in isolation has much practical application.

A high cortisol level suggests that lifestyle changes like meditation, breathing exercises, improved sleep and increased cardio exercise may be useful to improve metabolic health.

Free testosterone may be a more effective marker for metabolic issues in men than total testosterone, according to a medical review published in the JCLA journal. However, this may not be the most effective way to diagnose metabolic issues in women.

Most testosterone panels contain both free testosterone and total testosterone, and the additional testosterone data would be more useful than what you'd get from Everlywell.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone testing can help assess thyroid health, which is critical to metabolic health overall, but T4, T3 and thyroid antibody tests are usually measured as well.

Overall, we consider Everlywell's Metabolism Test too broad to be useful. We cannot determine any advantage of this approach over standard hormone panels ordered at a doctor's office.

The standard hormone panels are typically more comprehensive. As stated above, if a man gets a testosterone test at his doctor's office, the panel will typically include free testosterone, total testosterone, and sometimes sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and estrogen.

This additional data can be more useful to diagnosing and treating potential issues than the single testosterone marker tested for by Everlywell.

Everlywell COVID Test Review

Everlywell sells a COVID-19 test, which uses the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) method.

This has been shown in recent medical research to be more accurate than antigen testing, and is becoming the standard COVID test.

For patients with high discretionary income, this may be a good option since they can stay at home and minimize the risk of exposing themselves or others while ordering the test if they suspect they have COVID.

For patients on a tighter budget, this exact same test is available for free at many locations in the U.S. ThermoFisher’s website has a resource page where patients can input their information and schedule an RT-PCR test. These tests are usually free, even for patients without insurance, but it’s worthwhile to call and confirm beforehand.

Overall we consider Everlywell's COVID test to be accurate and may help prevent the spread of the virus given that patients can minimize exposure while awaiting results.

However, it may not be the best option for those with lower discretionary income who can get the exact same test for free at public clinics.

Everlywell Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Everlywell in our opinion:

Pros:

• Can help patients understand their symptoms
• More data typically can only help
• Accepts some health insurance
• Accurate COVID testing

Cons:

• Questionable food sensitivity testing methodology
• Questionable metabolic testing methodology
• Expensive
• May be less accurate than standard doctor-ordered blood panels

Conclusion

Everlywell is an interesting brand and we believe in the future of at-home testing for complex health issues. However, we would not recommend two of the three Everlywell test kits that we reviewed in this article.

The brand's food sensitivity test uses IgG rather than IgE testing, which may be less accurate based on a medical review cited in this article. Our concern is that this test may result in "false positive" results causing some consumers to unnecessarily avoid foods that would be healthy for them.

Everlywell's metabolic test only provides data on three disparate metabolic parameters, and we do not believe that the sum of these data points can diagnose or treat any condition, so we consider it a waste of money.

A blood panel ordered by a doctor would be much more comprehensive, and would typically cost less.

The brand's COVID-19 testing uses the most accurate method and we would recommend it, although there are many free clinics offering COVID tests that use the same methodology.

We haven't come across much evidence that Everlywell provides significant value beyond standard labwork ordered by a doctor or through a company like Quest Diagnostics.

While convenience is nice, accuracy should be the most important qualifier for medical testing, because an inaccurate or incomplete medical test could have lifelong consequences.

One of the authors of this article purchased a test kit from Everlywell, but was unable to use it because he missed the test collection date (even though there is a different, much later date on the packaging). The experience was confusing and frustrating.