1. WOMANSWAY.IE 17
What is food intolerance?
It is estimated that 45 per cent of the
population suffer with food intolerances.
Symptoms can include chronic digestive
discomfort, irritable bowel (IBS), migraines,
headaches, joint pain, skin complaints, weight
gain, low mood and low energy levels.
What causes food intolerance?
There are many different things that can
contribute to the development of food
intolerances; stress, use of antibiotics or other
medications, drinking excess alcohol and
eating processed foods. Sometimes the cause
isn’t clear, but the symptoms are very real.
Why take a food intolerance test?
An ingredient which causes problems for one
person will be fine for another. This pattern
of reactive foods is unique to each individual
and we call this a “food fingerprint.” Making
assumptions without getting properly
tested can lead to unnecessarily eliminating
important sources of nutrients from your diet.
How do you test for food intolerance?
Taking a food intolerance test with YorkTest
is very simple. Following a simple finger prick
blood collection that you can take in the
comfort of your own home, your sample is
returned to our laboratory for expert analysis.
Once you have received your results, you then
have two consultations with one of YorkTest’s
specialist Nutritional Therapists. They will
help you to safely eliminate your trigger
foods and find nutritious alternatives.
To order your test or to find out more
information please visit www.yorktest.ie or call
our expert Customer Care Team on 01 202 2701
*YorkTest define Food Intolerance as a
food-specific IgG reaction.
Please note: if you are concerned about any
symptoms you are experiencing, you should
always visit your GP to rule out any serious
underlying medical condition.
Dr Gill Hart,
Scientific Director
at YorkTest
Laboratories, tells
us about Food
Intolerance*.
WW31_YorkTest_Ad_D2.indd 1 28/07/2016 09:36
Health focus
W
e are often given
tips on what
foods we should
and shouldn’t eat
and these tips often come
from nutritionists. Do the
nutritionists practise what
they preach when it comes to
their eating habits? We spoke
to nutritionist Sarah Keogh
about her food patterns.
What would be your
typical breakfast?
I would eat different things
every day but I always try to
get protein into my breakfast
because I find that I’m more
satisfied when I do, so I often
use nut butter like almond
butter or peanut butter. I’d
often have porridge and an
egg in the morning but I
absolutely love peanut butter
and jam on toast.
What would you usually
eat at lunchtime?
My big focus at lunchtime is
always vegetables, so I would
often have a big salad with
stuff thrown together; things
like apples, kidney beans,
maybe salmon or chicken
if I have it and then there’d
always be seeds as well. I eat
out quite a bit because I’m on
the road a lot so I often go to
Wagamama; that’s a great
place to go. If I’m driving I
would often go into Centra
because they have some
fantastic salads to takeaway.
ByAoibheannDiver
What do you like to
have for dinner?
I’m generally cooking for the
kids so we would do things
like shepherd’s pie, which
they love, but we always have
a big focus on including plenty
of vegetables in whatever
we’re doing. They love things
like roast chicken and they
love pasta, but we always
make sure to have a big side
salad with it. The kids are
actually brilliant for helping
out. While I’m cooking they
usually make the salad. It’s
actually a great way of getting
them to eat vegetables while
the dinner is being prepared.
What kind of snacks would
you find yourself eating
throughout the day?
Snacks really vary depending
on if and when I get hungry
but what I almost always
have as a snack is a bag of
nuts. Mixed fruit and nuts is
something I tend to have a lot
of, particularly hazelnuts and
almonds. I’m not a fantastic
fruit eater, so I tend to try and
mix them into my meals.
Are there any foods you
have completely banned
from your diet?
No and I don’t think that
anything needs to be
absolutely banned from
anyone’s diet. I limit a lot of
treat food, mainly so I can set
a good example for the kids.
Have you guilty pleasures?
Oh chocolate, I absolutely love
chocolate. To be honest, I’ve
actually always loved dark
chocolate. Certainly my huge
treat which I always save for
special occasions is when my
husband buys me chocolates
from Leonida’s.
Your tip for anyone looking
to eat healthier?
Have a good balance of food
on your plate. Half of your
plate at lunch time and dinner
every day should be made up
of some kind of vegetable or
salad, whereas we tend to fill
half of our plate with carbs.
Carbs are important and we
definitely need them in our
diet but they shouldn’t take up
more than a quarter of your
plate at mealtimes. WW
What nutritionists really eat
Sarah Keogh runs a food and nutrition
consultancy giving one-to-one advice
on nutrition and diet as well as working
with some of Ireland’s leading food
companies. She specialises in bringing
nutrition to life through practical,
informative and lively nutrition sessions.
For more information see www.eatwell.ie
Eating like
the experts
darkchocolate
salmon salad
shepherd’spie
WW31 Health Feature 17.indd 2 28/07/2016 15:49