Can a machine really make you feel better? MAXINE GORDON meets a man who certainly thinks so.

MICHAEL Brookes is the first to admit his method for detecting food allergies and intolerances looks a bit bonkers. The German-built Vegamiditest machine pits the energies from various food products and environmental materials against the energies of your body - with the aim of identifying the substances which make you feel unwell.

In the right hand you clutch a cylinder, while in the left Michael places a small probe at the end of one of your fingers. Both the cylinder and probe are attached to a meter and form a circuit which measures your body's energy levels.

The aim is to establish an energy reading of 100. Then a small phial containing a substance for testing (anything from wheat and cows milk to wool and dust mites) is placed in the top of the machine. Should the energy reading fall from 100, the chances are this substance is causing you harm.

The method can be used to detect substances that trigger ailments such as asthma, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome and general fatigue as well as testing for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

"I know it sounds bonkers," admits Michael, a former RAF pilot and medical equipment salesman. But he also knows that it works, because it worked for him.

Michael first came across the Vegamiditest at a health fair. He was deeply sceptical: "I thought it looked like the most stupid thing I'd ever seen. My background was flying aeroplanes. But I was desperate."

Michael had suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for many years and had lost count of the number of doctors, specialists and tests he'd encountered - all to no avail, until he came across the Vegamiditest .

"The test showed I had a problem with wheat. I was given a diet sheet outlining all the foods I had to cut out. I followed it for a week and I had no irritable bowel symptoms, it was amazing."

In fact Michael was so bowled over by the results that he decided to buy his own Vegamiditest meter and undertake training in allergy testing and nutrition. Today - four years later - it's his full time job and he travels across the North of England holding clinics regularly.

Each month, he runs testing sessions from his brother Victor's dental surgery in The Village, Haxby. Among the patients he has helped is 27-year-old Mark Price, from Scarborough.

Mark is a dental technician and saw a poster advertising Michael's clinic during a work call to the Haxby surgery.

"I had spots and rashes over my back, shoulders and arms and I wanted to know why," reveals Mark. "It was something I'd been meaning to get to the bottom of for a while, but I never got round to it. I'm not one for doctors and I went into this with an open mind."

The test indicated that dairy products were the problem. Mark gave them up and soon saw an improvement in his skin. "Basically, it cleared up," he said. And that's not all. "My asthma improved as well. It was quite tremendous."

One year on and Mark is still doing well, although if he slips up on his diet his skin problems return. "But it's good to know the cause of them - for peace of mind," he says. "And it's nice to know what to do about them."

Michael tells me of some more success stories, including a woman who worked in a printing factory and had a terrible problem with asthma. She brought some of the dust from filters at work for Michael to test using his specialist meter and it turned up positive.

"She needed to pack her job up. When she did, her asthma disappeared," said Michael.

Then there was the mystery surrounding a trucker who had severe eczema on his hands - but only for the past three years.

"I asked him what had changed in his life three years ago. After some thought, he worked out that at work, they'd changed over from using mineral to synthetic oil. He had a sample of it in his car, and it turned out to be that."

Michael works with all age ranges, although most of his patients are aged 40-plus.

A consultation lasts one hour and costs £39. During the test, some 100 different substances are tested. If an intolerance is identified, Michael provides nutritional advice and information.

For example, my test showed up a slight iron deficiency. Michael's guide showed I needed to eat more red meat and offal. Not being keen on this, he suggested an alternative would be to take brewer's yeast tablets daily.

If you would like more information about the testing service, you can call the helpline on 0151 652 4277. To book an appointment at the Haxby clinic, call 01904 762757.