Simon Smith

“More energy, less stressed and sleeping better”

51-year-old maintenance engineer, Simon Smith, had suffered with severe psoriasis flare-ups since he was a child. The condition worsened later in life following a period of high stress.

When asked about how these symptoms affected his life, Simon said: “The scald-type reaction on my arm was painful to the touch and stung continuously which made wearing long sleeves uncomfortable. Kneeling and working where my body was in contact with hard surfaces became increasingly painful and led to bleeding. All my activities and hobbies were on pause when the flare-up was at its worst.”

After Simon’s partner tried YorkTest’s food intolerance and allergy testing services and had good results, Simon also decided to give it a go in a bid to get to the root cause of his symptoms.

That’s when he ordered the Premium Food Intolerance Test, with his results indicating that his body was reacting to lemon, cow’s milk and egg yolk.

When we asked Simon how he felt after removing these trigger foods, he said, “Within the space of 7 days the scald-type reaction on my arms had gone down and the other affected areas had calmed down but not gone. Overall feeling a lot better than I have for a long time.”

Our test analyses your IgG reactions to 200 food and drinks – from common ingredients like gluten and cow’s milk, to health superfoods like kale and quinoa.

The process involves sending a finger-prick blood sample back to YorkTest. Simon then received his results within 7-days through the Wellness Hub, in an easy-to-read traffic light-based format.

Eliminating the trigger foods and sticking to his diet plan has helped ease Simon’s symptoms and enabled him to resume his normal life. “My hobbies and activities have resumed although limited due to the season.”

On his experience of embarking on the elimination process, Simon commented: “Shopping was a challenge until I found products that were free from all of the identified markers, it is limiting but worth it for feeling better. It has led to a vegan and gluten-free diet.”

When asked how he found the customer service team Simon said, “They have been really helpful in getting the right tests identified and sent out on the next delivery.”

We asked Simon how life had changed since taking the test and how he would summarise his experience to which Simon remarked: “More energy, less stressed and sleeping better due to a reduction in acid and improvement in skin condition.”