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Byline: KATE WHITING; NADINE UTCHIGADOO

THERE could be good news for arthritis, IBS, psoriasis and migraine sufferers. New research into this group of complaints, collectively known as Chronic Inflammatory Disease (CID), has found that food allergies could be at fault.

Cutting problem foods out of your diet could ease the painful, nagging symptoms of these conditions, a study by York University and YorkTest found.

Just under half (45%) of us suffer from some kind of CID, and the study suggests that food allergens from processed produce could be leaking from our gut into our bloodstream and causing the conditions.

The survey of more than 5,000 people identified antibodies to certain foodstuffs in people with chronic and unexplained inflammatory conditions, such as joint pain. When those foods were eliminated from their diet, there was a 75% improvement in their symptoms.

GMTV's Dr Hilary Jones, the Patron of Allergy UK's Food Intolerance Awareness campaign, explains: "Until very recently, modern medicine measured antibodies against raw food, but it didn't recognise that when you process food, the proteins become modified and therefore you can react to a processed tomato when you wouldn't react to a raw one."

Hilary says we may all be experiencing CID more these days because we eat more processed -as well as more exotic - food.

"When we process food, it creates what are called neoallergens, as the protein gets altered and modified. But we're also seeing a far greater range of raw food in the first place - for example kiwifruit and star fruit, different kinds of cooking oils -that weren't present in our culture 10 or 20 years ago."

So if you're worried about your CID symptoms, what should you do? "First of all, speak to your doctor, get the proper examination and have the orthodox tests carried out," says Hilary.

"If they're negative and the doctor has no further ideas that might help you, why not think about having a reputable, scientifically-validated, reproducible test such as YorkTest? "They can measure you against 113 foods to identify which ones might be worth eliminating from your diet on a trial basis.

"It's worth looking at your diet and thinking, 'Is there anything I eat a huge amount of?' Most people eat a huge amount of wheat, cereals for breakfast, pasta for lunch - the volume of that foodstuff might be excessive.

"We know that some people react to gluten in a major, so look at your food diary and see if you're eating a lot of one thing and that might help you to find out the cause."

. Dr Hilary Jones is GMTV's health and medical advisor, and Patron of Food Intolerance Awareness (www.foodintoleranceawareness.org). Visit www.yorktest.com for more information about YorkTest.

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Cycling is a simple, relaxing way to keep fit at any age.Inset: Dr Hilary Jones