Rowena

“It was the best reason to get me eating more healthily and know my body”

38-year-old operations manager Rowena had been suffering for years with recurrent symptoms that ranged from bloating, discomfort, lethargy or having to rush to the toilet shortly after eating. Despite experiencing these symptoms for most of her adult life, over time Rowena’s symptoms increased in frequency and severity.

She explained how these symptoms had affected her during this time, “I would feel worried about eating out or going out shortly after eating meals in case I felt unwell or desperately having to go to the toilet shortly after eating. I found it unpredictable as to what the trigger was but the timing could be anything from 30 minutes to 2hrs after eating.”

Rowena learned about YorkTest whilst doing a search online for food intolerance testing, “Their reviews were amazing. One in particular brought a tear to my eye as it was like a mirror to my symptoms and after doing the test, they solved a lot of the issues. I bought the test within 10 minutes after reading that review.”

After taking a Premium Food Intolerance Test, Rowena found she had high IgG reactivity to cow’s milk, wheat, egg white and medium reactivity to chicken, cocoa bean, goat’s milk, bamboo, yeast, gluten and sesame seeds. After eliminating her trigger ingredients, her digestive issues began to take a turn for the better. “I do not worry about how my body is going to feel after eating now. My symptoms are completely gone if I skip those foods now.”

Talking about her experience with trying to eliminate multiple foods from her diet, Rowena said, “I was a little surprised with the combination of those big food groups, I had never thought about taking both diary and wheat out of my diet before. It took a bit of getting used to and getting to understand the types of foods that might discreetly have wheat, gluten or milk in them (which are a lot) but you soon get used to what those are. I now know the brands that are safe for me so it’s no different from having a favourite brand you go for.”

Rowena continues to follow her diet plan, “Yes, for the majority of time I am being strict but I do give myself time off if I am going out for a meal or on holiday then I can still enjoy myself and pay a small price vs feeling stressed about not finding something suitable to eat. I definitely still think twice before having any of those foods and might lean to fresh foods. They taste better now I know they do not harm me!”

YorkTest analyses your IgG reactions to 200 food and drinks – from common ingredients like Cow’s Milk, Gluten and Egg, to health superfoods like kale and quinoa.

The process, which involves sending a finger-prick blood sample to the company’s laboratories revealed Rowena’s intolerances. Following on from the test, we asked Rowena how she found the customer service experience to which she replied: “Very knowledgeable and responsive during the whole process.”

Similarly, on her appointment with one of our nutritional experts, Rowena added: “It was reassuring to have a follow up call to fill in any gaps in my newly found knowledge but also to learn what supplements might be beneficial based on my restrictions.”

When asked to sum up her whole experience with YorkTest, Rowena concluded: “Knowing my food intolerances has opened my eyes to nutrition, I eat much more in terms of unprocessed and anti-inflammatory foods. It was the best reason to get me eating more healthily and know my body.”