Food Intolerance Testing and Me!

Last year the Daily Mail published a fantastic story about a woman who managed to stop her migraines after cutting out corn and dairy products from her diet – with the help of a nutritionist and a food intolerance test!  She had suffered terribly on a weekly basis for years on end, which is so sad to see when the cause was something as simple as eliminating a couple of foods from her diet.  Food intolerance testing can help people tackle all sorts of conditions be it head related, stomach problems or skin conditions. I’m so glad I found out about it!

I first developed eczema at the age of around 14 during my standard grade exams.  The doctors put it down to stress, and not knowing any better, I simply agreed and went along with it.  It was a pretty stressful time in my school life, and having never had any real problems with my skin prior to this, I guess it made sense at the time.  Seven years later though, when the medicated creams failed to work time and time again,  and the eczema kept coming back more and more aggravated each time, I began to question whether there could be something more to my flare ups than just stress.  I visited Beverley in April last year for a food intolerance test – after my little brother had received his results for his own testing with regards to his abdominal pain.  I was amazed that the test had managed to narrow down his problems to  specific foods and as my brother had done so well and his symptoms had gone away I  wanted to know if the foods I was eating on a day to day basis could be the culprit for my irritated skin!

My results came back just one week later, and I took out  chilli, garlic, ginger, yeast, gluten and dairy and was recommended to avoid these for 3 months and then re-introduce slowly and see how my skin reacted. It was definitely a thought to begin with – I was so used to eating whatever I wanted be it chocolate, crisps, pizza etc., I was a sucker for convenience food!  I can honestly say now that my diet is much more varied and relatively healthy now which is a huge benefit having gone through this process.

Since having switched my diet, I have seen a huge improvement in my overall health, not just my skin.  My eczema has improved tremendously, and although it has flared up a little on my hands right now – this normally happens when the weather goes from one extreme to another.  When my diet was mostly rubbish based, I would often take a nap during the day as I would get quite tired around 3pm.  I can now function like a normal person from 6am – 11pm without a nap, which is a massive improvement as I can actually do things after work and with my evenings!  Finally, the results that I have been most pleased with is my stomach.  I no longer feel bloated on a day to day basis.  I no longer need to eat and eat and eat to feel full, and I’ve lost around about a stone – solely from switching around my diet (and eating more!), and no extra exercise, which is amazing. 

I’ve since introduced all of the spices back into my diet with no problems as of yet – and I’m currently playing around with yeast too.  At the moment I have no intentions of introducing dairy or gluten foods back into my diet.  Of course this is all still a work in progress, however I’m absolutely delighted with all of my results.  I feel a whole lot healthier on the inside and out - and would very much recommend a visit to a nutritionist if you feel that your diet could be improved, but you don’t know how to go about it. I also highly recommend Food Intolerance testing as it is life changing and saves years of unnecessary visits to the doctor and endless rounds of steroids. Wish I had done it sooner!

- Lauren, Aberdeen

If you would like to find out more about food intolerance testing or book an appointment pop in and see us at Nourishing Insights, 44 St Andrew Street, Aberdeen, AB25 1JA or call 01224 969637.

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