I have long suspected that I have certain food allergies. After all, who isn’t a bit intolerant to wheat, and shouldn’t we all be cutting down on sugar and dairy? But equally, weren’t most of us perfectly happy eating these things a few years ago?

I’m not going to give up chocolate cake without proof that I need to, so I went for allergy testing at London’s Hale Clinic, a respected centre for complementary medicine. Bethany Eaton, my therapist, used to be a policewoman until she underwent nutritional health screening using the “Asyra” system a few years ago to try to tackle her digestive problems. Asyra employs a machine developed in the 1950s that is designed to measure the body’s “energetic responses” to a gamut of different minerals and food types. Eaton’s health problems were so eased that she changed careers. I have to admit, I had my doubts about a machine that can simulate 300 different foodstuffs, but I was attracted to the fact that I would have the results in under a minute.

After a quick chat about any health issues, I take hold of two brass bars connected to the testing equipment. In a flash, my results appear on a computer screen. Eaton nods knowingly. I am deficient in iodine and tryptophan, indicating sleep or circulatory problems; I suffer from both. Next: food-types. I brace myself. The results are surprising. Wheat doesn’t feature, nor does sugar (joy!), but to my horror some of my favourite staples appear high up on a list of 40 things to avoid: Parmesan, peas, mustard, salmon, figs, grapes and pears.

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I went cold turkey on peas and cheese. It’s tough, but it could have been worse. I feel a little more energetic, but these are early days. And there is a silver lining: chocolate cake is now guilt-free.

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The details

Nutritional Health Screening, The Hale Clinic, 7 Park Crescent, London W1, 020 7631 0156. A session costs £130