Patient Experiences

FOOD INTOLERANCE TESTING

CNSCambridge Nutritional Sciences

Forward

The case studies contained in this booklet are based on real-life experiences from patients who have taken a food intolerance test using either the Food Detective™ self-testing kit or FoodPrint® laboratory test, and have utilised the information obtained to eliminate problem foods from their diet.

Changes in symptom severity and frequency were assessed by means of postal questionnaires issued to patients three months after receiving their test results.

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences

CNSCambridge Nutritional Sciences

Aches and Pains ........................................................................1

Chronic Fatigue ........................................................................2

Gastrointestinal Discomfort ..................................................4

Migraines and Headaches ...................................................10

Skin Conditions ......................................................................12

Weight Loss ............................................................................14

CONTENTS

Lesley, a retired PA from Ashford, Kent and mother of 5 children suffered from

aching joints and muscles and flu-like symptoms. Lesley often noticed her

symptoms were worse after she had eaten wheat (especially bread) and dairy

together.

“The doctors had tested me for food allergies but they all came back clear, but I

knew that if I drank milk my nose would run, I’d have a sore throat and my lips, as

well as my eyes, would be very itchy.”

So in August 2005 after reading a nutrition book Lesley decided to do a food

intolerance test with Cambridge Nutritional Sciences. Lesley tested positive for

wheat, yeast, cola nut and pineapple. “I found the Nutritionist at CNS very helpful,

she explained that whilst the test didn’t show positive for dairy that I should still

avoid it because if you have avoided a certain food or food type for some time

prior to taking a test, the blood sample may not react to it.”

Lesley saw an improvement in her symptoms immediately and quickly settled

in to finding alternatives to replace the wheat and yeast in particular. Lesley has

tried reintroducing some foods but finds that she reacts on each occasion. “My

husband knows when I have cheated; I’m sat there snuffling away!”

Lesley

Aches and Pains

1

Tansy, a 36-year-old psychotherapist from Horncastle in Lincolnshire, spent four

years off work with M.E, the debilitating illness which causes chronic fatigue. At

her worst, Tansy would be bedridden for up to ten days a month. “It was like

having a continuous terrible hangover or a bad bout of flu and I really couldn’t see

any way out.”

In desperation, Tansy decided to experiment with her diet after a friend advised

her to try excluding certain foods. “I tried taking nuts and eggs out of my diet. I did

feel slightly better after doing this and the process got me thinking.”

Next she tried excluding wheat and replacing it with rye – a move which made her

feel worse. “The procedure of trying to eliminate every possible food intolerance

by trial and error was time consuming and an almost impossible feat.”

That is when she opted to take the Food Detective™ test from Cambridge

Nutritional Sciences. The test showed that she was reacting to 20 foods, including

wheat, dairy, soya, nuts, egg white, rye, barley and crab. Ironically, she reacted

more to rye than wheat.

Tansy took the offending foods out of her diet and within the first week began to

feel slightly better. “As I became more and more strict with it, I saw the benefits

and there was a greater improvement. I had more energy and the overall feeling

of being seriously unwell increasingly reduced,” she says.

Tansy

Chronic Fatigue

2

Business studies undergraduate, Sean was becoming increasingly concerned

about his complete lack of energy; he felt constantly drained, was always tired

even after a good night’s sleep and was finding it virtually impossible to stay

motivated at university.

His parents, believing there might be something more sinister wrong with their

son took him to see their local GP. Sean was sent for an array of different tests,

but each test came back negative or normal. Sean’s father, Andrew explains,

“Although we were pleased the tests hadn’t showed up anything serious we

just knew there was something not quite right. Our local GP wasn’t interested

in pursuing the problem further and, to be honest, we felt he just thought it was

down to teenage boy lethargy.”

“We then came across food intolerance and wondered whether this might explain

some of his symptoms, so went to Cambridge Nutritional Sciences who carried

out a food intolerance test. It was very easy to do and we got the results of

the FoodPrint® test quickly. They showed an intolerance to soya bean, barley,

corn, rye, maize, yeast, wheat and grape - many with very strong reactions. Sean

immediately excluded the problematic foods, finding suitable substitutes where

possible.”

“The change in Sean was virtually instantaneous. He suddenly had lots of energy

and seemed so much more alert. Although it has been hard for him to change his

diet so drastically, the results have been life changing.”

Sean

Chronic Fatigue

3

Sandra, 54, from Crawley, West Sussex, was on the verge of giving up her career

as an air hostess because of agonising bouts of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). “My

IBS symptoms started seven years ago after I suffered two bouts of salmonella

and campylobacter in quick succession. I started having terrible crippling pains in

the right hand side of my stomach and chronic diarrhoea that would last for days.

It left me feeling so weak I would be laid up in bed for days at time.”

Over an 18 month period, Sandra underwent numerous medical investigations,

including an endoscopy and a CT scan – plus multiple blood tests. “I was desperate

for them to find a cause for my symptoms, but on the other hand I dreaded it

might be something more serious. Eventually one doctor told me I had IBS and

would just have to live with it.”

In desperation, Sandra went to see a nutritionist who suspected she was suffering

from a food intolerance. “She carried out a pin-prick blood test for food intolerance

called the Food Detective and within 40 minutes was able to tell me that I was

intolerant to apples, wheat, almonds, rice, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, cocoa beans,

whole egg and shellfish.”

“After cutting out these foods I began to feel better and within a few weeks my

IBS symptoms disappeared. It was such a relief to find out what was wrong with

me. I couldn’t believe what a difference it made – I got all my energy back and

could eat again without having to worry about rushing to the loo.”

Sandra

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

4

For six years John, a 65-year-old business consultant from West London lived

with the fluctuating diarrhoea and constipation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, along

with an itchy rash on his back and arms.

Numerous visits to private specialists failed to find the root cause of his problems.

John says: “I strongly suspected that particular foods were causing my problems,

but the specialists dismissed this and said, if anything, I had an allergy to my

environment.” John put his suspicions to his GP and was referred to a private

gastroenterologist who suggested that John take a food intolerance test.

John decided to buy Food Detective™, which confirmed that he did indeed react

to dairy, wheat and a whole host of other common ingredients and foods. Milk

was the main culprit, but yeast, egg white, wheat and barley were also on his to-

ban list. “It would have been virtually impossible for me to find out all of the foods

I was reacting to without the test.”

John immediately cut out these foods from his diet and after just a few days, his

digestive problems settled down. Although still gets the odd milder flare up of

rashes, John no longer has to use steroid cream to control them. Since taking the

test, he has also lost a stone in weight, bringing him down to a healthy 12 stone.

John

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

5

Kristina from Turves, Cambridgeshire experienced diarrhoea nearly everyday for

a year. “My GP was at a loss to know what was wrong with me. I was tested

for thyroid problems and to see if I was a diabetic or had coeliac disease,but

everything came back negative. I didn’t have any pain, but I was worried that it

might be something more serious,” says the 38-year-old office administrator.

“As a last resort I started to read up about food intolerance on the internet and

found Cambridge Nutritional Science’s test.” The test showed a reaction to more

than 20 food ingredients – with dairy and wheat showing a strong reaction.

Immediately, Kristina eliminated all of the offending foods from her diet.

Within three days, Kristina started to feel better and within a couple of weeks her

diarrhoea had stopped; she had more energy and no longer suffered from bouts

of cramp in her feet, or bloodshot eyes. “Being intolerant to so many foods it

would have been difficult to identify exactly which I should avoid without having

had the test,” says Kristina. Three months after taking the test, Kristina did start

to try to slowly reintroduce the foods that she was told to avoid and within days

started to have problems with diarrhoea again. “This reinforces to me that food

intolerance is the problem and I have since started from scratch again taking out

the foods which I have been advised to avoid.”

Kristina

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

6

Gus, a building firm manager, experienced intermittent bouts of debilitating

pain accompanied by bloating and constipation. This sometimes caused him

to miss work. “I would be walking around holding my stomach in agony. It was

embarrassing, excruciatingly painful and worrying for everyone.”

Gus tried to establish the cause of his symptoms but after many investigations

was told that some people just get tummy aches” and was diagnosed with

Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He was prescribed antispasmodics which didn’t help

and left him feeling misunderstood and angry for over 7 years. Gus had tried food

avoidance on several occasions over the years but found it difficult to pin down

which food would be the cause of the attacks because sometimes it could take a

couple of days before he would react.

“I caught the BBC Look East News feature about your FoodPrint® service and

thought I would give it a go. The test was simple and easy to complete and the

simple colour coding system on the results meant you could quickly identify the

foods to avoid.”

Gus eliminated wheat, barley, rye, corn, oats, dairy, eggs, crab, yeast and pear.

“The results were immediate, I’d not felt so good in such a long-time. It has

changed my life, I feel much happier now that I have worked out the cause of my

problems and family gatherings are no longer a worry!”

Gus

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

7

Sarah, 33, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, experienced debilitating stomach problems

that ruled her life for seven years. “My gut problems started when I was 19. I

started suffering from agonising cramping pains in my stomach and passed blood

when I had a bowel movement. It was really scary and I seemed to spend my

life dashing to the loo all the time with diarrhoea. I lost a lot of weight and felt

progressively more tired and fatigued.”

Sarah’s doctor referred her to hospital several times for investigations and gave

her leaflets on nutrition, but no one suggested how her diet could affect her

symptoms. When a friend who’d been having health problems went to see

a nutritionist and was diagnosed with an intolerance to dairy, he urged me to

get tested too. “I was amazed to see how dramatically his health improved after

eliminating dairy from his diet.”

She went to see the same nutritionist and was tested using the Food Detective™

test. Within 40 minutes, Sarah discovered that she had an intolerance to milk and

dairy products and was advised to eliminate them from her diet.

“My tiredness seemed to ebb after two weeks and slowly my energy levels came

back up to normal. I’d recommend the Food Detective™ test to anyone who is

troubled by symptoms like mine – it’s such a simple test but it could change your

life overnight.”

Sarah

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

8

Doreen, 58, a probation officer from Llanelli, had to stop working because of

uncontrollable diarrhoea and nausea which left her virtually housebound. “The

diarrhoea was the worst thing – I had no control over my bowels and it severely

limited what I could do. I could only go out of the house for short periods. It was

horrible.”

Doreen had been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and reflux,

but her GP couldn’t explain why she had these extreme tummy problems. All

her doctor could do was send her off for tests and treat the symptoms in the

meantime. All the tests came back negative. Doreen spent the next 10 years

trying to get answers. “I had every test going: Chinese herbalism, normal

herbalism, acupuncture; I tried every diet: Atkins, blood type diet, you name it.

Nothing worked. In the end, I did go on antidepressants just to please the doctor

who was convinced my symptoms were psychological.”

“Eventually, I went to see a nutritionist who recommended the Food Detective™

test from Cambridge Nutritional Sciences.” Doreen’s results showed a reaction to

egg, dairy, wheat, gluten, yeast and some fruits. This has limited her diet to meat,

fish and vegetables cooked in olive oil – quite a tough challenge.

Was it worth it? “Oh my God, yes,” laughs Doreen. “I wasted £50,000 trying to

find a magic bullet for my health problems - I found it in a test that cost a few

pounds.”

Doreen

Gastrointestinal Discomfort

9

Jayne, a part-time hairdresser from Bury had been told that her persistent

headaches were due to hormonal changes after having her daughter. “I have

had headaches all my life but they were becoming more frequent and I would

suffer one nearly every day. I would be waking up with a headache and I even

had my eyes tested to check it wasn’t failing vision.” Painkillers didn’t help and the

headaches only got worse.

A chance conversation with a friend with M.E. who had tried and benefited from

a food intolerance test with Cambridge Nutritional Sciences gave Jayne the idea

that it might benefit her too. Jayne hadn’t considered food intolerance testing but

thought it would be worth a try.

“The FoodPrint® test was easy to do and results were returned within a few days.”

Jayne was advised to avoid wheat, cow’s milk and soya milk, which was a little

difficult to contemplate as she ate a lot of dairy foods. “I just got used to it. I use

rice milk now and have rice salads for lunch instead of a sandwich.”

“I did the test 5 months ago and noticed the results immediately. I haven’t had

any headaches at all since.” Jayne also feels much healthier and has already

recommended the test to a friend. “From start to finish I found your company to

be very efficient and helpful.”

Jayne

Migraines and Headaches

10

Yvonne, a 58-year-old mum from Poringland in Norfolk, suffered for 12 years

from fortnightly migraines. “It was awful. I never liked to book things up in advance

in case I would let people down by getting one of my migraines, which would

typically last three to four days and come every couple of weeks.”

While Yvonne’s GP was helpful in providing medication to manage her migraines,

he never got to the root of what was actually causing them. “I’d visit the doctor

every six months, but although I was given pain management nothing was done

to get rid of the source of the migraines.”

The FoodPrint® test showed Yvonne was reacting to soya bean, wheat, barley,

corn, rye, cow’s milk, egg white and yolk, grapefruit, almonds and cashew nuts.

Yvonne, desperate to feel normal again, immediately avoided these foods and was

better within a week.

“I feel like a different person. I feel more alive with so much energy and I have

started to enjoy life again, meeting up with friends and going swimming twice

every week,” she says. “I think everyone should have this test; it would save the

NHS millions.”

Yvonne

Migraines and Headaches

11

Andrew, 14, from Sauchie, Stirling, had suffered from severe acne for around

18 months, making his life a misery. “At its worst, it was pretty bad and Andrew

would avoid going out,” explains his mother, Sharon.

Andrew had already been prescribed Tetralysal/Lymecycline by his GP, which

after a nine-month stint failed to work. A dermatologist at the Stirling Royal

Infirmary recommended changing his prescription to another drug, but his mother

was reluctant for her son to take stronger medication.

Sharon suspected that food was playing a role in his condition, but was unsure

about how to go about monitoring which ingredients were causing problems.

“It would have taken forever trying to find out which food to avoid. Also, the

dermatologist told me that it was absolutely rubbish that Andrew’s acne had

anything to do with what he was eating.”

Instead, Andrew’s tried a food intolerance test from Cambridge Nutritional

Sciences. After discovering that foods including the cocoa bean and oats were

likely to be contributing to his skin condition, Andrew cut these foods from his

diet.

The results were almost instant and the improvements – despite one or two minor

relapses after eating chocolate – have been sustained. “It’s amazing! Andrew has

gone from at worst being covered with facial acne to having very few spots now.

It has made such a difference to his confidence at a time in his life when this is

most important,” says Sharon.

Andrew

Skin Conditions

12

James, 31, suffered from eczema for as long as he could remember. “Sometimes

it was so bad that I would be awake during the night scratching. It was frustrating

and made it difficult to function normally at work,” explains James.

“Over the years I had been prescribed various steroid creams and emollients

but nothing seemed to address the cause of the eczema. This left me feeling

quite disillusioned, especially when it flared up, so I started doing some research,

reading books on eczema and searching the Internet.”

“The link between food and eczema seemed logical and I decided to try the food

intolerance test from Cambridge Nutritional Sciences. The test results showed a

reaction to cows’ milk, egg white and also grains and yeast.”

James reduced all the foods that he was intolerant to and the effect on his eczema

was astounding. “Literally within a couple of days it had completely cleared up. I

was sleeping through the night and feeling much better for it.”

Occasionally, James has a meal containing dairy foods or enjoys a couple of beers

and the next day his eczema will flare up again. “Because I know what’s causing it,

I simply avoid having those foods for the next week.”

James

Skin Conditions

13

Tina, 41-year-old from Forest Row, East Sussex, was told by her doctor that she

would need a gastric band unless she lost weight. “My BMI was dangerously high.

I felt so low and depressed that I knew something had to be done.”

“I visited a local nutritional therapist who suggested I might be intolerant to some

foods and this could be inhibiting my weight loss. She gave me a home-testing kit

called Food Detective™ which was really easy to use and I got my results within

40 minutes. It was great that I didn’t have to wait weeks for the results, I could

take action straight away!”

Tina tested positive to cow’s milk, citrus fruits and durum wheat. “Initially I

panicked, wondering how I would cut these from my diet. I drink several cups of

tea a day and love pasta, but most of all I didn’t want to turn into one of those

‘fussy eaters’ when I eat out with friends in a restaurant.”

Tina started using nut milk on cereal and in tea and stopped eating oranges and

pasta. “Within weeks I noticed the difference, the weight just dropped off. My

face and body changed shape and I no longer looked bloated or puffy. I felt much

more active and felt better in myself. People commented that my skin looked

fantastic and I could see the differences in so many ways.”

Tina

Weight Loss

14

Melanie, 43, from Lamberhurst, Kent gained weight after both her parents

became terminally ill and died within two years of each other. Her weight shot

up from 10 stone to 12 stone 13lbs and she felt permanently tired and suffered

bloating and puffiness around her face. “It was devastating losing both my parents

so close together and over the next five years. I put on nearly three stone and can

only put it down to the amount of stress I was under – I didn’t really eat any more

than before - just the wrong type of foods.”

“My sister recommended a programme called Zest4Life which was run by a

nutritionist at my local gym and I decided to give it a try. I ate foods like fish,

salads, berries and nuts and within nine months, without too much effort I’d lost

a stone. Unfortunately, I still felt quite bloated and lethargic and my weight lost

appeared to have hit a plateau and I was left wondering if I’d ever get back to 10

stone.”

Melanie’s nutritionist told her she suspected she was suffering from a food

intolerance and recommended Melanie take the Food Detective™ test. “The test

revealed I had intolerances to tea, yeast, cashew nuts, freshwater fish including

trout and salmon, soya, rice, eggs and strawberries – ironically many of the foods

I’d been eating more of since I started the healthy eating plan!”

After eliminating or reducing most of the foods from her diet Melanie began to

feel better and her facial puffiness and fluid retention problems seem to disappear

within weeks. “I seemed to get a lot of my energy back and suddenly lots of

people were noticing how much weight I had lost. I’m now down to 11 stone 5lbs

and losing more every week.“

Melanie

Weight Loss

15

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