My YorkTest Results

They say that when you are young, you always have health on your side, but there hasn't been a month of my life so far that I haven't felt ill and I'm only 23. Since the moment I was born (six weeks early) I've always struggled with bad health and I have so many issues that my problems list as long as my arm. As someone who works out regularly, eats very healthy and doesn't drink or smoke, I should be the epitome of health, but it seems like I'm far from it and even the doctors are confused. One of my main problems that the doctors haven't been able to diagnose is my constant troubles with IBS type symptoms - bloating, fatigue, mind fogs and other problems that would be sharing a little bit too much information. I have been tested for various conditions such as Coeliac disease, Crohns and even had a camera inside me and still haven't had answers.

A part of me has always believed I have some type of allergy or intolerance, but getting doctors to test this on the NHS can be quite difficult as it can be rather time consuming testing all the different food groups. A lot of people tend to do this privately. 

The York test is one of Europe's leading providers of food and drink specific IgG antibody testing programmes, where they can test over 158 food and drinks with one droplet of blood to see if you have a certain intolerance. The Yorktest laboratory have over 30 years experience and their tests are recognised worldwide. 

I was recently given the chance to review the Yorktest Food & Drink Scan and although I was daunted about pricking myself for the droplet of blood, it was all relatively easy. All I had to do was take a small blood sample (2-3 drops) using a small needle they sent in my introductory package and return the sample in a pre-paid envelope provided by the company. The results were then sent to York laboratories for expert analysis and all I had to do was sit back and wait.

My husband and I discussed the test prior to my results and had a sneaky suspicion that some of my problems might be milk related. I can't eat cereal with milk in a morning as it makes me feel sick,  I have to be careful when I have milky drinks and every so often cheese leaves me feeling bloated. The only thing confusing us both is that I don't always have these symptoms when I drink milk, but then again, milk is in so many different types of food that I might not have noticed that it is milk causing my upset stomachs the majority of the time.

When the results arrived it was a letter stating what they had found and a colour chart with red, amber and green boxes showing which food I should avoid in my diet and food that I can continue eating. It came as no surprise that milk came back as the food and drink that I'm intolerant to and that I should highly avoid. What did surprise though was cashew nuts as I eat a lot of them and never really have any symptoms or so I thought.

Since receiving my results I have gone almost dairy free and have temporarily cut out cashew nuts and I have noticed a slight difference with my bloating and I am feeling a lot better so far. As part of your test you also have the chance to speak to a nutritionist about how you are going to adapt your diet, so I'm looking forward to learning a lot more from them and really making a new start on my new healthy eating plan. At £250 the YorkTest isn't cheap, but then again you cannot put a price on good health. Sometimes when you're not getting answers from the people you asking, it's always best to get a second opinion and the YorkTest was the second opinion that I really needed. I feel happier knowing that milk might be something that is causing my problems and I now have something to work on and see if my health improves.  This is only the beginning of my journey to a tummy trouble free life and I'm looking forward to sharing the results again with you in a few weeks time.

Have you tried the YorkTest before?