A Norfolk man diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome believes changes to his diet helped him to tackle the effects of the illness.

Eastern Daily Press: Ian Moore with his wife Donna and son Franklin. Picture: Courtesy of marco/richardsIan Moore with his wife Donna and son Franklin. Picture: Courtesy of marco/richards (Image: Courtesy of marco/richards)

Ian Moore, from Horsham St Faith near Norwich, also believes ditching cow's milk and yeast helped him and his wife Donna, 32, conceive a child after months of trying.

The 39-year-old was devastated when doctors told him he had chronic fatigue syndrome - also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME - in November 2017.

He said: "I was suffering from extreme fatigue and brain fog - I couldn't cope at work. I had no understanding of where it was all coming from but I would sit there and not be able to concentrate in meetings or telephone calls."

After the news sunk in, Mr Moore decided to tackle his issues head-on and was recommended YorkTest Laboratories by a friend, which provides food intolerance tests.

As well as cow's milk and yeast, Mr Moore found he had borderline reactions to apricots, elderberries, cashew nuts and egg whites.

Two weeks after making the changes to his food and drink intake Mrs Moore discovered she was pregnant.

After taking control of the family's eating habits by harnessing a whole food approach, Mr Moore insists his son Franklin - now five months old - is also reaping the benefits.

He said: "My wife and I were trying for a child but I had struggled to have any form of libido.

"But two weeks after eliminating the yeast and working out what I needed to do with my diet, we found out she was pregnant. It was like an immediate impact.

"Franklin is now four months old and I'm finding the new regime is having a positive effect on the whole family.

"I'm now cooking virtually everything from scratch and because Donna is breastfeeding solely we're seeing that Franklin is at the 95th percentile for both height and weight."

Keen runner Mr Moore has already clocked up seven marathons including London and Berlin but didn't lace up his trainers for six months after the diagnosis.

Now's he's getting back in shape and has the ambition to run 10 marathons in 10 different countries.