This is The Guardian.

Sat in her kitchen, surrounded by tiny tubes, envelopes and disposable needles,

food and health writer Rebecca Seal decided to run an experiment.

I lined them all up on the table. I thought the best way of doing it scientifically, although

obviously I'm a study of one, was to do it all at the same time.

She had ordered several intolerance tests. Rebecca pricked her fingers and dripped the blood into tubes,

cut off a sample of her hair, and sent it all off.

Around the world, allergies appear to be on the rise.

Some, like hay fever and exma, are unpleasant and uncomfortable, but ultimately

manageable. Others have the potential to be deadly. Either way, if you have an allergy, you're

likely to know about it. Intolerances also seem to be getting more common, but they're a bit more

tricksy.

It can be hard to tell exactly what it is, that setting off the stomach aches, bloating and exhaustion,

which is why lots of people turn to intolerance tests like the ones Rebecca was trying out.

When she got her results back, she was faced with some surprisingly long and obscure lists.

I'm apparently very sensitive to environmental allergens including bees, European beach,

Leburnham, primrose, tamarisk and wallflowers.

The thing is, Rebecca wasn't running the experiment to find out what she should avoid.

She already knew the answer to that.

I don't have any allergies and I don't have any intolerances.

No.

She was testing the tests themselves.

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