The pocket-sized breath test that could save thousands from food intolerance agony

A new breath-test device that detects food intolerances could spare thousands lengthy waits for specialist appointments.

The pocket-sized Foodmarble – dubbed ‘the world’s first personal digestive tracker’ – is a portable version of a breath test machine used in hospitals.

The £149 kit contains sachets of sugars extracted from fruit, dairy and a natural sweetener called sorbitol.

Users are instructed to mix a sachet with water, drink it, and then breathe into a tube fitted with a sensor every 15 minutes for three hours. The sensor detects how levels of hydrogen change as the ingredient passes through the digestive system.

When food is poorly digested in the small intestine, it can pass to the large intestine where it is fermented by gut bacteria, producing hydrogen.

A high hydrogen score in the breath indicates a type of food that is not being properly digested.

One in five Britons claims to suffer a food intolerance and some with severe digestive problems may undergo numerous invasive and inconclusive tests.

Source: The Daily Mail

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