20/07-07   -   Press releases

Food test can avert ‘sack’ for thousands of tired employees

It’s a grim reality but eating the wrong type of food could cost you your job. That’s the bad news for people given their marching orders after suffering from fatigue by unwittingly eating the wrong type of food. On a positive note, it is has been proved that with a simple food test, tens of thousands of jobs could be saved.

With foods such as peanut, strawberry, bread, vinegar, peppers and coconut all contributing to the onset of fatigue in the workplace, highlighting the problem could save the careers of many, as well as avoiding social and financial ruin.

Figures from a leading fatigue charity have revealed that 77% of people suffering from a severe form of the illness lost their job as a result of the condition. With 240,000 estimated patients with a condition called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) almost 184,000 people have lost their job through symptoms such as oversleeping, low levels of concentration, and drowsiness. With official figures suggesting 3 out of 4 people get better after taking a food test, the numbers of jobs saved could be 138,000.

Fatigue in its broadest term is now representative of nearly a third of all reasons why patients might take it upon themselves to take a food test to overcome the job threatening condition. With little or no joy from conventional medicine, a food test offered by UK’s leading experts, YORKTEST, would identify those foods which are contributing to fatigue and through elimination, could go some way to saving the jobs for a population the size of Swindon.

According to the ME Association, as many as six million people in the UK may suffer from some form of fatigue.

• A spokesperson for the charity says “Chronic fatigue or feeling ‘tired all the time’ is an extremely common complaint. There are many explanations and only a small percentage of people with chronic fatigue will turn out to have ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."

• “Some people with ME/CFS have food intolerances as part of the syndrome. So identifying any culprit foods through exclusion diets and/or a reputable allergy tests can play a useful part in the overall management of the illness."
ME/CFS is estimated to cost the nation in the region of £6.4 billion a year but with a fatigue condition affecting up to six million people, the total costs would be much higher. High profile sufferers from fatigue include golfer Ian Woosnam, film-maker Lord Puttnam and athlete Dame Kelly Holmes.

• “ME is a hidden illness as sufferers do not have the energy to speak up," says TV’s health expert Liz Tucker. “Many years ago I suffered from ME for 4 years, lost my job and it was a living nightmare of constant pain but it is hard to get people to take you seriously when all you look is a bit tired. Fortunately I made a full recovery and the lack of understanding I received inspired me to retrain as a health professional but I am more than aware that many are not so fortunate."

• YORKTEST patient Adele Feather says “How can you work when you can’t even get out of bed? I tried to go back to work after a prolonged period off but it was no good and I just had to resign."

• “Just getting up and washing your hair and that was it for me. I would have to go back to bed for the day. Your brain just shuts down and works at a basic rate."