What is Food Intolerance Testing?
Product Review
A Yorktest food intolerance test is a D.I.Y. blood sample kit that you send to Yorktest laboratories for food intolerance testing. The first step in this process is a simple positive or negative answer to this question: Do I have food intolerances? The next step comes at a cost, but provides you with an in-depth analysis of your specific intolerances and a guidebook to help you initiate and execute a plan to eliminate problem foods from your daily life.
Why a Food Intolerance Test?
Everything that we eat will have some affect on our bodies but not all foods that we put into our bodies agree with us. If you suffer from fatigue, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome or depression, singling out food intolerances could be the first step toward recovery.
The Test
The first food intolerance test costs £20 and determines if you have any food intolerances. You receive a simple yes or no answer. Therefore, if you don’t have any symptoms of food intolerance, your money is probably better spent elsewhere.
We reviewed the second stage of this process, which costs £265 and determines specific intolerances and outlines ways to combat them. I was sent a nicely packaged, hygienic blood sample collection kit with clear and very easy-to-follow instructions. It even included a little band-aide for my finger! I filled out a short and simple customer information form, which took less than 5 minute, then sent my swab in to be processed (I posted it on Sunday and got my results the following Saturday).
What You Get:
- A print out of your intolerances to 113 different foods
- A free phone consultation with a dietician employed by Yorktest
- A guidebook to food and nutrition
- Personally tailored food intolerance test pamphlets with a guide to substitute foods
- A food diary
- Recipes with alternative options to your reactive foods
My personal print out was clear and easy to read. Foods I should avoid were featured at the top, and foods which showed no response at the bottom.
The Guidebook
I found this to be one of the most helpful and interesting parts of the packet. It was nicely laid out and was a very easy read. It broke down foods into 6 essential categories and went on to explain what nutrients, vitamins and minerals are in each group. A particularly nice aspect of the guidebook was a chart for achieving the recommended daily dose of vitamins and minerals, with options for vegans, vegetarians, white-meat only diets and meat-eaters.
Its FAQ section wasn’t answering self-evident questions either. Questions were as follows: Is gluten-free the same as wheat-free? What is the milk we test? Where can I get calcium from if I cut out milk? Can I drink wine or beer?
You and your food
Your booklet is specially tailored to your intolerances. Since mine were yeast, egg whites and milk, my booklet contained information on these types of intolerances and what foods work as substitutes for them, which was very helpful because I didn’t have to go searching for that information.
A template for keeping a food diary arrives in the materials you receive as well. This was a great part of the program – it added an element of self-motivation to the whole scheme. Included in the diary is a 12 week calendar for you to record what you eat each day. A written prompt appears next to the calendar for you to record how your body reacted to particular foods. Which days do you feel horrible? Which foods did you eat that day? It helps you reflect on what you are putting into your body and the consequences that it has on your overall health.
If you are interested in food intolerance testing you may also want to see Allergy Testing, Bio Detox,or Iridology. Information on Dietics, and Diet and Nutrition may also be useful.
