What we eat now

AWARENESS that certain foods can make us ill is growing. An increasing number of people suffering from a wide range of ailments - everything from eczema and irritable bowel to migraine and general fatigue - are opting for food intolerance tests to help identify what might be the cause.

Earlier this year we ran a competition offering readers a free food intolerance test with the York Nutritional Laboratory.

We were inundated with entries and several lucky readers won a free test, which normally costs £245.

The test involves sending to the lab a small pin-prick of blood, to help experts pinpoint the foods which might be causing the health problem.

Each client is informed about what foods to avoid and advised about alternatives they can eat and drink.

To find out how our readers fared, we have followed four of them over the past six months. Here are their verdicts...

Paul Jackson

PARAMEDIC Paul, 36, has suffered from migraines since he was a teenager and has had to take medication daily to try to limit the attacks, which can happen two to three times a week with the after effects lingering for days.

Paul, who is stationed at Haxby, York, loves his job, but his migraines had forced him to take a lot of time off sick.

His test revealed an intolerance to cow's milk and a milder one to wheat and gluten.

Paul admits he was sceptical of the findings, but decided he had nothing to lose.

"I used to drink a glass of milk every night before I went to bed, but I've stopped that now. I don't have milk with cereal and only take a splash in my coffee. I've also become aware of different types of grain I can eat and I am careful," says Paul.

And it's paid off, he reveals. "I've only had one migraine since I changed my diet. It's fantastic. I can lead a much more normal life now. It's a great improvement."

Cameron Patterson

This two-year-old toddler was plagued by eczema and asthma ever since he began weaning. His complaints made him miserable and irritable and he had difficulty sleeping.

Mum Mandy, who has five other children, suspected the problems were triggered by food but couldn't work out exactly where the problem lay. The test carried out by York Nutritional Laboratories identified eggs as a problem, along with beef, cow's milk and potatoes.

Mandy was particularly surprised by potatoes appearing on the list. Cameron liked to eat crisps and she had to find an alternative, which was not as easy as you might imagine.

"At first I gave him Monster Munch which was OK because they were made from maize. Then I noticed he started reacting to them. I was baffled until I read the label and noticed they had added lactose to the ingredients, which is a milk product."

Now she gives Cameron Nik Naks instead. Such care has made shopping a time-consuming business as she had to scan every label. But she has no doubts about the value of such care as Cameron's health has improved remarkably.

"It really has worked miracles," she said. "I will admit I was very sceptical at first. But since we've cut out these foods, the improvement has been unbelievable. I reckon he's 90 per cent better. He's a different little boy - a much happier child."

She added she would like supermarkets to have a food allergy section where special products were on sale.

Charlotte Wood

PROBLEMS of tiredness, bloating, nausea and stomach upsets had plagued 18-year-old Charlotte since she was six years old. Not surprisingly, her ailments were getting her down.

"Lots of times, I feel just too tired to enjoy myself," said Charlotte, from Acomb, before she had her food intolerance test. The results showed an intolerance to cow's milk, which featured heavily in Charlotte's diet.

Since she has switched to soya milk, her health has improved dramatically.

"I'm not having any stomach cramps any more and don't feel as tired or run down," said Charlotte, who will soon begin a part-time course in animal care at Askham Bryan College. "I can go out more and don't feel like staying in as much as I used to."

And changing to soya products - which she buys from Holland & Barrett in Coney Street, York - has been relatively easy.

"I was told to avoid cow's milk and goat's milk, so now I have soya milk and yoghurt and butter. I don't like soya cheese as it's a bit strong, but I even use soya flour to make sauces for things like lasagne. In fact, I prefer soya milk now as it is lighter and not as fatty as cow's milk."

She only feels ill when she slips up and eats dairy products. And it can be hard to stick to the diet, she says, when she eats out, as few places cater properly for people with food intolerances and allergies.

Susanna Dale

Sport is this 18-year-old's passion. A keen cross-country runner, the Fulford School pupil, who has just completed her AS levels, also plays tennis, squash and hockey.

She hopes to study sports science when she leaves school, so was horrified when she began to develop stomach cramps while running, and to suffer asthma-like symptoms.

Her GP prescribed an inhaler, but Susanna was keen to find out if the food she was eating was partly responsible for her problems.

Her tests revealed the main enemy was eggs - which she had always eaten a lot of - with cows milk, wheat, cod and yeast foods to be avoided too.

Since getting the test result, Susanna has completely cut eggs out of her diet.

Luckily, she found an egg substitute at York health store Tullivers and has used it to make cakes and puddings, which were her weak spot.

She's stopped eating cod, too, enjoying other fish instead, and has cut down on milk and wheat.

And the good news is that Susanna is feeling much better and has just completed the Great North Run without any problems.

"It's great," she says. "When you have been ill you really appreciate what it is like to feel well."

For more information about York Nutritional Laboratories call the freephone number: 0800 0746185.