Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

IBS girl says ‘no' to turkey this Xmas

IBS girl says ‘no’ to turkey after food intolerance test makes Christmas perfect

Erica Hadley, will be sitting down to her first Christmas dinner in eight years knowing the food on her plate won’t be making her ill. The 24-year old Barnsley girl was living, day-to-day with a chronic case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) until a YORKTEST food intolerance test revealed turkey as one of the foods which were making her ill.

“Sometimes it hurt so much it made me cry and I was in so much pain I couldn’t even stand up”, said Erica. “I couldn’t go out, I didn’t sleep and always felt exhausted from the moment I got up on a morning.”

From the age of 16, Erica went back and forth to her GP over the years and was prescribed several different types of painkillers. He eventually referred her to a specialist gastroenterologist when she was 18 who conducted a colonoscopy – a camera to look at the bowel – and a barium enema. The test didn’t show up anything and the specialist told Erica that there was nothing wrong with her.

Erica was reluctant to believe this. “I knew it couldn’t be true”, said Erica.

Erica tried a varied mix of other treatments in a bid to combat her condition. It wasn’t until she was off sick from work and watching ITV’s ‘This Morning’ programme that she heard a presenter talking of the food intolerance test and decided to give it a go.

‘I didn’t expect it to work but I sent off for the test and received the kit in the post containing a small pinprick lancet and a small container to collect the two drops of blood needed.’

Erica took the YORKTEST foodSCAN 113 home food intolerance test in November 2005. The results showed she was intolerant to wheat, gluten, milk, lamb, turkey, millet, peaches, white fish, cashews, coffee, cola nut, hops, sunflower seeds, tea and yeast.

Within three days of eliminating these foods from her diet, the constant pain had reduced by about 90%. Luckily, Erica had never drunk coffee or tea, but she loved chocolate, so found the 1st two weeks incredibly hard. She is back to normal now and the improvement has continued. Another unexpected benefit is that her skin is much clearer and she is sleeping brilliantly.

Erica considers the YORKTEST foodSCAN 113 home food intolerance test to be the best thing she has ever spent money on. Erica said that it was difficult at first finding things she could eat, but this has got far easier over time as she realises that there are actually a lot of products available on the market for those with food intolerances.

Notes to editors:

According to Allergy UK, around 45% of people suffer adverse reactions to food. A recent and independent scientific study revealed that 75.8% of patients had a noticeable improvement in their condition with 68.2% of these seeing real benefits within three weeks.

Erica is very photogenic and can be contacted for interviews. Further quotes and full case study also available.

For further info please contact Les Rowley at YorkTest Press Office on 01904 428 557 or e-mail les.rowley@yorktest.com

*Note: The helpline number for the YORKTEST Laboratories is 0800 074 6185, www.yorktest.com. Experience elsewhere shows that publishing this number within the story is helpful to both readers and newsroom. The alternative can be a flood of calls to the newsroom from people trying to find the number.

The YORKTEST foodSCAN range contains three types of test. The Food Intolerance Indicator will tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you have a food intolerance and costs £19.99 (rsp). The specific food tests, that tell you the problem foods can then be taken following the Food Intolerance Indicator. A foodSCAN 113 food test costs £250 (rsp), and a 42-food screen costs £135 (rsp). The tests include a telephone consultation with a nutrition consultant, a year's membership of Allergy UK, plus extra advice and support materials.

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