Do you suffer from headaches; IBS; bloating; acne; depression; unexplained weight gain; fatigue or any of the other conditions listed in the picture above? Then read on…

I recently took a food intolerance test which came back with some interesting results. I’ve adapted my diet in line with these and I wanted to share my experience with you now that I’ve had time to monitor the impact.

According to medical charity Allergy UK, 45% of the population suffer from food intolerances, where the body is unable to fully break down the proteins from certain foods and attacks them by creating antibodies called Immunoglobulin (IgG). This reaction can cause inflammation and a wide range of symptoms which, whilst not life threatening, can have a negative impact on many aspects of daily life.

For as long as I can remember I’ve suffered from a number of minor health issues, including: migraines; fatigue (I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome following contraction of glandular fever in my mid-20s, which lasted around 6 months); swollen, painful joints; persistent dizziness; uncomfortable bloating and various other digestive problems. On top of that I’ve always been a bad sleeper with trouble falling asleep and constant waking throughout the night.

I was occasionally able to link reactions to certain foods, so over the years I’ve limited those items, but as I’ve always eaten relatively healthily I never really considered that what I ate was affecting me beyond the odd headache or bloated stomach. However, about six months ago I developed acne on my neck, after enjoying a relatively spot-free life, and it got me thinking that perhaps there was something about my diet that my body wasn’t liking.

I took a food intolerance test from Lorisian which tests your blood for IgG antibody reactions to 150 food and drink ingredients and is the most scientifically researched test on the market. Each of the foods is graded into three categories: avoid; limit; enjoy. My results came back with:

AVOID: gluten; egg whites; coconut; crustaceans (crab, lobster, prawns, crayfish).
LIMIT: egg yolk; red / white Zinfandel grapes.

Initial reaction… Gutted! I’m a huge advocate of coconut oil: I would add it to my coffee every morning; use it for frying and even use it to clean my teeth (yes, really! Google oil-pulling). Eggs were also a huge part of my diet and breakfast most days was 3 boiled eggs.

When I researched into gluten intolerance it was like reading through a list of the health problems I’ve suffered on and off over the years. Interestingly, I thought about that period of chronic fatigue (a symptom of gluten intolerance) I went through in my 20s and I realised that back then my diet would often be cereal for breakfast, couscous for lunch, pasta for dinner… Gluten, gluten, gluten!

Since getting my results I’ve done what I can to avoid all the food types listed, whilst adapting my diet so that I’m still getting a balanced split of carbs, fats and proteins. Almost immediately I started to notice some positive differences…

Within a couple of days the spots on my neck had almost completely cleared up. About three weeks in I treated myself to an egg at brunch, the next day a spot appeared… Well that solved that one! In addition, I’ve not suffered from any headaches, dizziness or bloating since, all of which had become a regular part of my life that I’d just accepted as normal, and the inflammation I get in my joints hasn’t flared up at all. Probably the most welcome and unexpected change I’ve experienced is that I can now sleep the whole night through. It had never occurred to me that my sleep was being affected so heavily by the foods I was eating, but a good night’s sleep is more than worth the sacrifice of coconut oil! The last difference I noticed, just the other day, is that after a lifetime of weak, brittle nails that were constantly splitting, I now have myself a pair of strong & healthy talons that haven’t broken once!

I really wasn’t expecting to see such speedy and significant differences but my experience is not unique: the picture above is the findings from an in-depth independent study by Allergy UK into Lorisian’s patient results, proving just how effective the test can be at identifying real intolerances.

Looking back, I can’t believe that I put up with so many health issues for so long, when all it took to resolve them was a simple test and a few small dietary changes! I have no doubt that there are countless people out there in the same situation and since I, and the rest of the team here, have been so impressed with Lorisian’s product, we are now registered practitioners for them.

If you suffer from any of the conditions listed, or if you think food intolerances might be affecting you in some other way, then please get in touch to discuss further.