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Eat What You Want Day takes place every year on 11th May.
It encourages people to be less stressed about their diet, and let go of food hang-ups for the day. This could be as simple as treating yourself to a takeaway or going out with friends to celebrate in style.
The benefits of Eat What You Want Day
While 62% of Britons have made a conscious effort to become healthier in their diets, days like Eat What You Want Day do come with their own benefits. Some fitness experts believe that cheat days – a day where individuals take a break from their diet or regime – can have positive effects on weight loss and fitness. However, that’s not the only benefit of Eat What You Want Day:
- It adds excitement and spontaneity into your day
- It gives you the freedom to choose what you want to eat without feeling guilty
- It’s an ideal day to try a new food or drink
- It’s a fun activity that gets the whole family involved
Everything to consider this Eat What You Want Day
While the thought of digging into your favourite meal and saying yes to an extra biscuit might sound tempting, the NHS does advise that a healthy, balanced, and nutritious diet is best. This includes eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily, being mindful of saturated fats, and drinking plenty of fluids.
Recent statistics show that over 25% of adults in the UK are classed as obese and a further 37.9% are deemed to be overweight.
Obesity isn’t the only risk factor of not being mindful of what you eat, however. As a leading health testing laboratory, we know that certain foods can trigger health conditions – each of which can cause a number of upleasant symptoms.
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease that develops over time because of a sensitivity to gluten; a protein found in certain cereal grains including wheat, rye, and barley, and commonly used in food products such as cereal, bread, and pasta.
When a person with coeliac disease eats gluten, this causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissue, causing damage to the gut lining and preventing the body from absorbing nutrients from food. If left untreated, it can lead to severe complications, which can negatively impact a person’s quality of life.
Coeliac disease affects around 1 in 100 people in the UK, but only 30% of these people are diagnosed, leading experts to believe that there are many more people suffering from it.
Lactose intolerance is another digestive issue where the body fails to produce enough of the lactase enzyme, which is required to break down lactose in the body. Lactose is a sugar composed of galactose and glucose and is mainly found in dairy products such as milk.
For those who are lactose intolerant, the body produces little to no lactase, meaning that this sugar remains intact and is fermented by bacteria in the colon, leading to uncomfortable symptoms.
Some of the most common symptoms associated with coeliac disease and lactose intolerance include:
- Bloating and wind
- Stomach cramps
- Diarrhoea
- Nausea and sickness
- Constipation
However, it’s very important to remember that symptoms can vary from person to person, and having the associated symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean that you have either condition.
As both coeliac disease and primary lactose intolerance can be inherited and often run in families, genetic testing is a helpful tool for anyone experiencing symptoms, or for people who have a first-degree relative who has been diagnosed with either condition (i.e. parent, sibling or child).
Genetic testing for coeliac disease and primary lactose intolerance
Our Genetic Coeliac Disease Test can tell you whether you have the genes linked to coeliac disease, while our Genetic Lactose Intolerance Test can tell you whether you have the MCM6 gene variations that indicate primary lactose intolerance.
Each test costs just £99, with only simple cheek swab samples required, and results are available in 4-5 days. Whatever your reasons, a Genetic Coeliac Disease Test or Genetic Lactose Intolerance Test can give you peace of mind or enable you to seek the correct diagnosis more quickly.
Our non-invasive test kits have been specifically designed to enable you to collect your samples quickly and easily at home, before returning them to our state-of-the-art laboratory. All testing is also performed in-house at our UK facilities, by our expert geneticists – so your samples will never be sent abroad.
Need advice on whether these tests are right for you? Call our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Services team on 0333 600 1300 or email health@alphabiolabs.com for more information.
