Reported February 21, 2010

HEALTH tests available at private clinics and high street shops, including Holland & Barrett, are misleading consumers by convincing them they have “allergies” that may not exist.

A Sunday Times investigation has found that people are needlessly being told to cut out dozens of products, including oranges, sugar and white wine, after taking so-called food intolerance tests costing up to £265.

Critics say the tests — some of which are available over the internet — are trading on people’s obsession with their diet.

Some doctors now believe the tests could do more harm than good and have seen several patients suffering from serious illnesses, such as rickets, because they have been advised to give up so many foodstuffs.

A healthy undercover reporter took part in seven common tests over a fortnight. In one, a consultant connected the reporter’s hands and feet to an electrical circuit to see how she reacted to various foods.

At the start of each test the reporter — who had been found to be allergy-free by a specialist — complained of occasional tiredness and feeling bloated after eating.

At a branch of Holland & Barrett near Charing Cross station in central London, the reporter was checked for food sensitivities in a “Vega” test costing £49. She was asked to grip a metal cylinder wired to a meter while a metal rod was pressed against the fingers of her other hand. Tiny phials of food were held next to the meter to test for a reaction.

The consultant said the reporter was “intolerant” to sugar, oranges and wheat-based products, such as bread and pasta, and recommended abstaining from these foods for at least a month. The consultant pointed out that Holland & Barrett stocked many wheat-free products, although she said similar foods could also be bought elsewhere.

At the Clapham Common Clinic in south London, a practitioner used a muscle-testing technique called kinesiology — at £50 an hour — to check for food intolerances.

The reporter had to press a knee against the practitioner’s hand while samples of foods were placed on her stomach. The test concluded that she was sensitive to cow’s milk, yeast and white wine. She was advised to massage the outside of her legs regularly to help alleviate the problem.

The Hale Clinic near Regent’s Park, central London, a centre for complementary medicine opened by the Prince of Wales, charges £150 for a Vega test. Here the reporter was told that she had excess yeast in her intestines which could lead to a complaint called “leaky gut syndrome”.

Peter Smith, the practitioner, told the reporter that he could help “treat” her apparent ailment by passing an electric current through her body via copper plates. “The problem with these allergies, or pseudo- allergies as I like to call them, is that they can vary from week to week,” said Smith.

Some tests can be done at home using kits bought online.The YorkTest, endorsed by Allergy UK, a medical charity, costs £265 and checks for intolerances to 113 foods.

After sending a blood sample to a laboratory, the reporter was advised that she should “completely eliminate” coconut, cow’s milk and eggs from her diet.

The “Food Detective” self-test kit, advertised on Allergy UK’s website, is a cheaper option, costing £55. But it flagged up more than 20 apparent food sensitivities. It indicated that the reporter was intolerant to apples, ginger, garlic and blackcurrant, and slightly sensitive to leeks, mushrooms and brazil nuts.

Adam Fox, a consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital, who confirmed that the reporter was allergy-free, advised people against such tests. “They may be misdiagnosing people who are either perfectly healthy or suffering from something more serious,” he said. Fox added that he knew of cases where children were suffering from rickets because their parents had denied them certain foodstuffs after having taken the tests.

Holland & Barrett said its tests were done by consultants from UK Health Partnerships whose spokesman insisted its results were correct given the symptoms presented by the reporter. He said: “One of the reasons for our popularity has been due to the fact that [patients] . . . do not get any satisfaction from their GP.”

At the Hale Clinic, Smith maintained his prognosis, although he added: “I cannot really give you the strength or severity of those problems . . . All allergy testing methods, whether it be the skin prick test, blood tests, what I do — all of them are notorious for producing false positives.”

A spokesman for the Clapham clinic said he could not comment on the reporter’s results: “We have a tremendously satisfied client base.”

Geoff Gower, managing director of Cambridge Nutritional Sciences, which produces the Food Detective kit, said test results had to be read in conjunction with symptoms.

“Any food can cause a response [reaction]. It doesn’t mean it’s serious.” YorkTest Laboratories was unavailable for comment.

Source : Times Online