[David]

Hi All:

Several months ago, I went on the elimination diet, and felt wonderful. While I think it did “reset” my system and probably built up my tolerance to certain allergies, I went off of it very unsystematically and ate everything at once. So unfortunately, I didn’t really learn what foods I was allergic too.

I seem to slowing down again, and have a feeling it is the allergies again, so I want to go back on the elimination diet again, and gradually reintroduce different foods so I have a better understanding of what I might be allergic too.

Could someone suggest a plan on how to do this? When I did it before, I thought that was the one part of the elimination diet that wasn’t explained very well. Basically it said “introduce one ingredient at a time, but since 9 times out of you don’t eat a single ingredient, but a combination of several, how do you narrow it down to specific ingredient? If, for example, I start eating potato chips again, and get sick, how do I determine if it’s the potatoes, or the oil? How do I reintroduce the different foods systematically enough that I know its soy, casein or Lactose intolerance?

Thanks,
David

[AliB]

By introducing one food at a time at three or four day intervals. That way you are more able to pinpoint reactions and avoid getting food reactions confused by delayed responses.

You mention both allergies and intolerances. They are not the same. Allergies cause a histamine response of some kind (and therefore respond to antihistamines) whereas intolerances don't. The reaction from those will normally be a specific physical or mental response. You haven't specified what kind of responses you get.

You will likely feel better on the elimination diet because you have removed the foods that are triggering responses - probably not from you yourself, but quite possibly I think from certain bacteria in your gut - Candida maybe.

You might be better off following a Candida Diet for a while - elimination diets are good for figuring out which foods you (or the bugs) react to, but it doesn't solve the issues that are causing the reactions.

[mushroom]

David, on Oct 4 2009, 11:23 AM, said:

Hi All:

Several months ago, I went on the elimination diet, and felt wonderful. While I think it did “reset” my system and probably built up my tolerance to certain allergies, I went off of it very unsystematically and ate everything at once. So unfortunately, I didn’t really learn what foods I was allergic too.

I seem to slowing down again, and have a feeling it is the allergies again, so I want to go back on the elimination diet again, and gradually reintroduce different foods so I have a better understanding of what I might be allergic too.

Could someone suggest a plan on how to do this? When I did it before, I thought that was the one part of the elimination diet that wasn’t explained very well. Basically it said “introduce one ingredient at a time, but since 9 times out of you don’t eat a single ingredient, but a combination of several, how do you narrow it down to specific ingredient? If, for example, I start eating potato chips again, and get sick, how do I determine if it’s the potatoes, or the oil? How do I reintroduce the different foods systematically enough that I know its soy, casein or Lactose intolerance?

Thanks,
David

To go to perhaps a simpler, more basic level, if (using your example) you reacted to the potato chips, you would wait a few days and then just have some baked potato (pure potato, no butter or anything added to it). If you did not react to that you would try some of the oil that the chips were cooked in. But try to keep your reintroductions as pure as possible so you don't have to go to this level. You can go to multi-ingredient foods later on when, say, there is one new ingredient and you know you have not reacted to all the others. You have to take it slowly and simply so as not to muddy the waters. The reintroduction is the most important part of an elimination diet; that's where you learn; just eliminating everything has only taught you that it was one (or more) of those things bothering you.