Foods Matter readers will be delighted to know that the FAIR food intolerance nurse programme that we reported on in October 2008 has been accredited by the Royal College of Nursing and will be rolled out across the UK in the spring of this year.

At the launch last month Professor Jane Ogden, who led the original research, described how practice nurses will be trained to run the clinics in which they will, initially, take histories and evaluate patients’ diets.

All patients will first be put on a two-week healthy eating diet. (The research suggested that this resolved the problems of nearly 50% of patients.)

Those who are no better will then go on a two-week dairy and wheat-free diet. Those who benefit from neither can be referred for further investigation.

This will be a cheap and efficient way to help patients who currently get very little help from their GPs.

More information from FAIR director, Hazel Clayton, on 01750 21838 / 07773 872197 h.clayton@allergyresearch.info

First published in March 2009

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