Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Intro and where to find Acacia Gum in the UK?

Hi Martin

Firstly, there is a difference between a Nutritionist and a Nutritional Therapist. What you are after is a Nutritional Therapist and they should be registered with BANT. A nutritionist is somewhat similar to a dietician in the advice you will be given (I know cause I worked with them for a while). Nutritional Therapists see the whole picture and take a very detailed history. It's like going to see a doctor privately for 45mins - 1 hour!
As far as allergy testing goes - Doctors don't do allergy testing for food stuffs as it's not what they believe in. I know this cause I was training to be one! You can get allergy tested her in London but you need to see a Nutritional Therapist first to get referred for an allergy test. What they do is take a blood sample from you and that's it. You then go home and wait. They do about 200 tests from your one sample and send you the results. You will get told what you are allergic to and how badly. There is no danger of any adverse reactions to yourself as it's all done from your blood sample. Furthermore very few people are that allergic to things we eat. I also wanted to point out that you should think carefully about the test as it is expensive and only have it done if you're prepared to cut out what your allergic to for good. I haven't been prepared to say goodbye to certain foods and hence haven't gone for the test yet as I know it would be a waste for me!
My husband had the test done and he's allergic to dairy and nuts. He also saw a Kinesiologist some years ago who said he was sensitive to wheat so he's cut that out to.
Cutting out wheat usually stops the bloating for most people. And I've found cutting out all wheat apart from organic wholemeal bread and not too much dairy except a bit of cheese has made me feel better.
So good luck with everything and if you want further info just ask

I'm in the 2nd yr of a Maths degree now in London and yes the workload is hectic. Not the kind of stress you need on top of IBS!

Take care and happy new year

Sarah

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