People suffering chronic illnesses such as migraine and eczema were given fresh hope today by a York laboratory that could help them enjoy healthier lives.

A York University professor said more than half the people who changed their diets after undergoing food intolerance tests by the York Nutritional Laboratory had reported significant reductions in their symptoms.

And Professor Trevor Sheldon, of the Department of Health Studies, said that if the improvements were as effective as people were claiming, it could make a significant difference both to the welfare of patients and to the cost to the NHS.

York mother Karen Burdass, of Shipton Road, says both she and her 21-month old son, Cameron, benefited hugely after taking the test.

She said Cameron had been suffering from eczema and been generally unhappy with sleep problems when she decided to send a small pin-prick of blood to the labs at Osbaldwick for analysis. The tests showed he was reacting adversely to wheat, oats, milk and nuts, and so these were taken out of his food.

The eczema cleared up and he was much happier until Karen let his diet slip at Christmas parties - and the eczema came back. She again took the offending items out of his diet and the eczema went away.

Professor Sheldon was asked by the British Allergy Foundation to conduct an independent audit of patients who had sent blood samples to be tested by the York Nutritional Laboratory.

He concluded that 52 per cent of sufferers had reported a significant reduction of their symptoms after changing their diet to remove offending foods from their diets. Of these, 70 per cent said they were still enjoying the benefits one year later.

Prof Sheldon said rigorous analysis via clinical trials was now needed.

The lab said three clinical trials were either underway or planned, including one involving migraine sufferers in the York area.

Updated: 11:07 Monday, January 22, 2001