Did you see Watchdog lastnight?

[Flora]

Hi all,
Watchdog had a bit on it lastnight about Food Intolerance testing. Did anyone here see it? What's your opinions?
They had a man with No health problems himself go to 3 different places to see what the results would be.
He went to Holland & Barrett & had a very bizarre test done. No blood involved!
Then I think it was Bionectics in which they used strands of hair.
Then York blood test.
All results were different! Although York test did come out of it looking far better in my opinion than the others.
What do you think & have you done any of these tests?
Flora x

[linny]

Hi,
I didn't see the programme but found out I was dairy intolerant with a York Test.

[yvie]

I saw it. I must admit I find it hard to see how the york test and the others can be useful, when medical consultants say there still isnt a test that can be done that is to be relied on. But best to go with whatever works for you.

The york test he did last night was one blood sample from him (being fit and with no symptoms) but sent as if from 2 different people and the results came back with different conclusions! The guy from York said the results were largely based on what your symptoms are.....thats why the results were different because one of the 'people' had no symptoms!! So thats a bit odd in itelf when the blood test is supposed to be the object of the test. A lot of money spent when the result ISNT based on the blood itself?

I was thinking of having the york test done on daughter a year ago, but both her her consultants have confirmed that apart from the lactose emmision test, there isnt a reliable test as yet for milk protein allergy, and it doesnt change the way in which the person is treated or eats anyway.

My older daughter had the holland and barrett test done and funnily enough her results were as they said last night!
Most people seem to have an allergy to wheat/dairy/citrus fruit. She cut out a lot of food groups from her diet...which isn't a good thing....and still she has eczema a year later. Strange though she had an allergic reaction to penicillin as a child but took it a few months ago without realising it (new doctor, didn't check her notes) and NOTHING happened! (thank goodness)

I guess its prob best to take on board the results of these tests but use caution in any 'diets' and just cut out one thing at a time for a few months and see what happens when you introduce it again. Not if its life threatening of course, but if that were the case the patient would be under medical supervision anyway.

Mushroom and red wine give me migraine so, I just stick to my own little rule...if it makes you ill dont eat it! :D

PS asda extra special strawberry meringues are milk/wheat free and very YUMMY!!! (not egg free though sorry)

[Flora]

PS asda extra special strawberry meringues are milk/wheat free and very YUMMY!!! (not egg free though sorry)[/quote]


I'm off to ASDA!!! :D

I did the York test & I've been sooo much beter for avoiding what they told me to. Their results show you what foods to avoid, what to rotate & what foods you can eat freely. So the test on that man lastnight on watchdog was fine for both blood tests (both being from the same man) on 40 foods & only on one of the tests it was ok on all 42 tested & the other test showed he should rotate 2 foods. The answer to this was that it may have been a slight reaction & one person would say to rotate & the other would not see the result significant enough to mention in the rotate part of results. Hope that makes sense! I think that was what the man from York test was trying to say! :unsure:

But anyway, it's like you say, it's whatever works for you.
I would of paid any sum of money to find out what was making me so ill (not that I'm loaded, far from it!) anything to stop the pain.
I have my days when I wonder if York test were right but then I've only gotta eat bread or have a glass of milk & I'm soon reminded!

Flora x

[matt]

i am a cynic, i think they are all out to fleece the sick. at the end of the day you'd only go to these people if you had a problem like ibs or migraines. and then it's a matter of sooting ducks in a barrell.
they are fairly safe to suggest the usual suspects like dairy whheat and yeast as the chances are it will make you feel a little better.
if you don't ? well they've still got you as there must be something else, why don't you come back/ send some more blood for the next test.
i think he summed it up by saying it only works for those who are ill. what total £$%^£$%"£. that's psuedo science.
and the hair bloke going on about energy and quantum physics? complete £%£$"£!!!

really the only way to find out is to remove the suspected culprits from your diet and see what results you get. you don't need to spend loads of money to do that.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!

[Copper]

I am lucky that I only acquire an intolerance to one food at a time so it is easy to work out which food is the problem. I have not done the York tests as I am hoping that I have found all of the culprits now. Coconut was the latest and worst culprit (exactly a year ago). My list is quite long and I reallyshould type it out on a card and carry it with me.

[goose]

I was lucky, coz i didn't have to go through all the test stuff , i have related problems anyway, there was a huge difference when Dairy was cut out. So i've never had the York tests etc.

[Flora]

You are a cynic arn't you Matt!!:)

I do get your point & I'm always the first person to be very dubious about spending good money on anything but when I was looking for answers to my problems there wasn't much info around about food intolerance & my Dr's were no help.
So after checking York out & reading other peoples experiences (which as a cynic, you might say are made up!) I thought all these people can't be wrong.
I've had three friends do the test now & one came back with negetive results, the other had an intolerance to coconut & yeast, the other dairy.
If you can do the elimination diet, that's going to save you money for sure. I knew I couldn't do that because I didn't have a clue where to start!
At the end of the day as long as you feel better from any test you've done or diet your on, then it's all good. :)

[cnc]

I've had three friends do the test now & one came back with negetive results, the other had an intolerance to coconut & yeast, the other dairy.
If you can do the elimination diet, that's going to save you money for sure. I knew I couldn't do that because I didn't have a clue where to start!
At the end of the day as long as you feel better from any test you've done or diet your on, then it's all good. :)


Wow, you actually know someone who had a negative test, that's amazing!!Sorry, I'm of the cynic camp as well.

The elimination diet involves more than just cutting out random food groups though.

Your final point is very true though. Whereabouts in Cambridge are you? If you want any advice on places to get dairy free stuff from in the city centre then let me know.

[matt]

yes i know i'm a cynic but look at the facts.

if you are suffering from ibs, migraines or the other standard intolerance/allergy symptoms then it is a fairly safe bet that some foods are the cause or aggravating factors.
so by giving the list of the usual suspects means that there will almost definately be an improvement. like shooting fish in a barrel for york.

again they lost it when they said the test only works for people who are ill! what the body acts differently somehow does it? i'm afraid that it's all rubbish and just a way of fleecing the unfortunate sufferers.

the snag is our national health is woefully inadequate so people are left thinking that they have no option but to try to figure it out themselves and that can be very intimidating. hence the likes of york look like a safe and easy way out.

i'm amazed that you know someone who got a negative result. did they actually have any symptoms?

[Flora]

i'm amazed that you know someone who got a negative result. did they actually have any symptoms?[/quote]

I'm not going to go into details, that's my friends personal details.

You do have strong opinions on this & I'm not on here to convince you or anyone else that York test is the way to go. I'm not on commission!!:)

Like I've said before, if tests or diets work for the individual & they feel better for it then great.
With sites like this one with people offering good advice then maybe some won't feel the need to do expensive tests.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my question. It's good to read your views.:)

[goose]

It's good to see everyone's opinion on tests etc, it just shows that everyones case is different to everyone else's. Thanks for raising the question Flora, it's been interesting .:)

[matt]

sorry if i appeared overbearing and so on not my intention at all.:)

hopefully with the advice on here and a few friendly faces we can help people avoid some of the more dodgy people out there. and help them come to some sort of stable life with their problems.

i do sometimes go off on one though:lol2:

[Lan]

Matt go off on one? Now that's a new thing. LOL!!! :p:p:p

Hi again all.

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:

[goose]

At least Matt said it before we did.:lol2: :lol2: :lol:

[Flora]

Sounds like Matt's got a bit of a reputation!! :D
I'm sure his intentions are all good & his apology is accepted :)