The Elimination diet
The elimination diet is good for people who think they might have a food allergy but aren’t sure what food exactly could be to blame. Experiencing digestive issues, skin flare-ups, lack of energy or focus but can’t seem to figure out the solution to make them go away.
An elimination diet is a short-term eating plan that eliminates certain foods that may be causing allergies and other digestive reactions – then reintroduces the foods one at a time in order to determine which foods are, and are not, well-tolerated.
The main reason for doing an elimination diet is to pinpoint exactly which foods are the culprits for digestive and other health-related issues. Symptoms that might drive someone to do an elimination diet include persistent diarrhea, bloating, constipation, eczema, and acne. It might also just point out a food “intolerances” or “sensitivities.”
Which Foods Are Removed During an Elimination Diet and for How Long?
Eight foods account for about 90 percent of all food-allergy reactions:
- – Milk
- – Eggs
- – Peanuts
- – Nuts
- – Wheat/Gluten
- – Soy
- – Fish
- – Shellfish
Elimination diets range in terms of what exact foods are permitted and eliminated, but in addition to the list just mentioned most will additionally cut out:
- • Refined/added sugar
- • Corn
- • Alcohol
- • Usually all packaged, processed or fast foods
- • Pork
Most elimination diets last for about 3–6 weeks. It’s believed that antibodies the proteins your immune system makes when it negatively reacts to foods take around three weeks to dissipate. So this is usually the minimum time needed for someone to fully heal from sensitivities and to notice improvements in their symptoms.
Even if you’ve opted to have a food allergy test done at a physician’s office in the past, you still might be missing something because it’s common for allergy tests to show negative results for underlying food sensitivities that are not true allergies yet can still cause negative symptoms.
When food protein is ingested that isn’t well-tolerated, it can trigger a range of reactions that may cause symptoms like rashes, hives, swelling, trouble breathing and various digestive pains.
Food sensitivities and allergies are correlated with an increased chance for developing:
• Chronic fatigue
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Mood disorders, including depression and anxiety
• Skin flare-ups like eczema, hives, and acne
• Autoimmune disorders
• Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries, a precursor to heart disease)
• Cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia
• Learning disabilities like ADHD
• Trouble sleeping or insomnia
• Muscle and joint pain, such as from arthritis
• Weight gain and obesity
• Migraine headaches
• Kidney and gallbladder problems
Many times people have no idea they have intolerances to certain foods like eggs, dairy, wheat or legumes. But in addition to uncovering food allergies, an elimination diet can help reduce symptoms like skin irritation, digestive issues and mental issues like ADHD and more.
During an elimination diet, someone cuts out all culprit foods, usually for about a 4-6 weeks, and then reintroduces them one by one to see how they feel when they eat the food once again. If the inflammatory responses stop when the food is removed but then return once reintroducing the food, then it’s clear that the food should be eliminated altogether.
People who can especially benefit from doing an elimination diet include:
• Anyone struggling with autoimmune disease or metabolic syndrome
• People with body aches and pains caused by inflammation
• Those with skin irritations, blemishes, and rashes
• Anyone with low energy levels despite eating a healthy diet
• Anyone with known food allergies that is still experiencing symptoms (since oftentimes one type of allergy, such as gluten, can be linked to other kinds of sensitivities, such as dairy)
• Mood disorders
• ADD/ADHD
• Addiction
• Migraines
• Kidney problems
How to Do The Elimination Diet
Here are the steps to follow in order to effectively do an elimination diet:
1. Stop eating all common allergen/sensitive foods from the list below for about three weeks.
During this time, carefully read food labels to make sure you’re really avoiding even trace amounts of these foods. In fact, we recommend keeping a journal during the elimination phase and tracking any physical, mental, or emotional signs and symptoms because when they go away people often overlook them not realizing. If you feel better during the elimination period (i.e. more energy, better sleep), it may indicate that a food you commonly eat is causing you a problem.
2. After three weeks, reintroduce one food group at a time. Eat the suspicious food daily if you can for about 1 week and record your symptoms. Notice any changes in symptoms between the elimination phase and the reintroduction phase.
If symptoms return after beginning to eat one of the suspicious foods, you can confirm that this food is a trigger by eliminating it once again. The goal is to see if the symptoms clear up once again when the food is removed. You can see that the process is a bit of trial and error, but it shouldn’t take more than 4–6 weeks to pinpoint foods that can finally improve your symptoms for good.
What symptoms are you looking for exactly?
To start:
– Stomach ache – pain, gas, bloating
– Headache
– Skin issues – acme or rash
– Acid reflux
Then any other problems you may have had in the past such as:
– Constipation
– Allergies
– Asthma
– Moodiness
– Brain fog
Other negative reactions can include:
• insomnia
• fatigue
• joint pain and/or inflammation
• skin breakouts or rashes
• headaches
• bowel changes or GI pain
• bloating
• brain fog
• sinus or other respiratory issues
Biggest Foods Offenders to Avoid During an Elimination Diet:
- • Gluten (wheat, barley, spelt, Kamut, rye, oats pastas)
- • Dairy (milk, cheese, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, butter, ice cream, non-dairy creamers)
- • Soy (soybeans, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy sauce)
- • legumes (all beans, peas, lentils peanuts)
- • Corn
- • Nuts – (all nuts and seeds)
- • Citrus fruits
- • Hydrogenated oils & fats (margarine, butter, processed oils, mayonnaise, spreads, dressings)
- • Nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes)
- • Added sugars
- • Alcohol and caffeine (alcohol, coffee, black tea, green tea, soda)
- • Shellfish
- • Pork
- • Spices and condiments (chocolate, ketchup, mustard, relish, chutney, barbecue sauce, vinegar)
- • Sweeteners (white/brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dessert)
Why these foods?
– In the U.S alone, over 1.5 million people suffer from sensitivity to gluten, according to a group of researchers out of the University of Maryland. Large percentages of people react to gluten with a type of negative inflammatory response – either from a gluten allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity.
– Dairy is another common allergen because standard dairy pasteurization destroys necessary enzymes that can cause allergies. In North America, most cattle contain a type of protein known as beta casein A1, which is a common trigger for both food and seasonal allergies.
– Why cut out soy and corn? For starters, soy and corn are the two biggest GMO crops in the world. Around 90 percent (or more) of corn and soy products are derivatives of genetically modified seeds. Peanuts and citrus fruits also commonly cause allergic reactions.
– Meanwhile, many studies show that when you are allergic or sensitive to one common allergen, such as soy, there’s a good chance you’re also allergic to another, such as peanuts. This is because protein particles in common allergen foods closely resemble one another and cause similar inflammatory reactions.
– Hydrogenated oils create chronic inflammation throughout the body and can induce disease. On the other hand, good fats are essential to hormone production, weight loss, cellular healing and anti-inflammation.
– Sugar is an anti-nutrient offering insignificant amounts of vitamins and minerals, plus it causes elevated glucose and insulin levels that promote inflammation and low energy.
– Certain alcohols, like red wine or gluten-containing beers, can create allergic reactions and digestive symptoms. But even when they don’t, it’s best to eliminate all alcohol to help the body detoxify itself. Alcohol can increase yeast and harmful bacteria growth in the gut, lower energy levels, depress your mood and only complicate existing health-related issues.
Foods to Include During an Elimination Diet:
During an elimination diet, try to make about 40 percent of your plate fresh vegetables, 30 percent “clean” sources of protein, 20 percent healthy fats and the remaining percent whole-food carbohydrates and fruit.
Most of your plate should be taken up by vegetables that are ideally organic, plus small amounts of fresh fruit. Vegetables that are especially good choices for a healing diet include all leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts, artichokes, fennel, celery, cucumbers, squash, mushrooms, snow peas, radishes, sprouts, sea vegetables, berries, and fresh herbs.
Fifty percent of your plate should come from high-quality proteins and healthy fats. Aim to include plenty of “clean” protein sources – such as organic, grass-fed meat and poultry, wild-caught fish, pasture-raised eggs (unless you suspect an egg allergy), and small amounts of sprouted beans.
Healthy sources of fats include coconut products such as coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados.
You may want to try giving up all grains for a period of time, even gluten-free grains like quinoa and gluten-free oats. If you do want to include grains, make them about 10 percent of your food intake or less, plus stick with gluten-free, sprouted and ideally organic grains.
Best Foods to Have During an Elimination Diet, Plus Recipe Ideas
- • Bone broth: Broth contains collagen and the amino acids proline and glycine that can help heal your damaged cell walls.
- • Probiotics and fermented foods: These help replenish good bacteria and crowd out bad bacteria in the gut. They contain organic acids that balance intestinal pH and reduce acidity and inflammation. Try sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and natto.
- • Coconut products: The MCFA’s in coconut are easier to digest than other fats and nourish a healing gut. Try coconut oil, coconut flour, and coconut kefir (which also contains probiotics and protein)
Disclaimer
By utilizing the information presented on this site, you agree to and understand that author, Bill Farr is not a doctor or any other type of certified health care professional, and his opinion is not a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your doctor or your other health care providers concerning your symptoms and medical requirements before following any of the remedies or other suggestions he offers. His opinion is based on his own research and is to be used for educational purposes only. Bill Farr’s wellness plans and advice are meant to be used in conjunction with standard allopathic or osteopathic medical treatment and care.
