Elimination Diet

[Guest Babbia]

Anyone know how to do one of these? Know any good links? I know that the idea is to eliminate foods and slowly add them in, but am not sure about how long to do this or which foods to start with.

[flagbabyds]

you elimintae all the major allergens,for 2-3 weeks then add one in back one at a time for 2 weeks or so, one every 2 weeks, and if you can tolerate it then you are not allergic to it, then add another food.

[ravenwoodglass]

Anyone know how to do one of these? Know any good links? I know that the idea is to eliminate foods and slowly add them in, but am not sure about how long to do this or which foods to start with.

If possible try to get an allergist to guide you through this. They will take details about all the foods you commonly eat now and build your starting diet without them but designed to provide the nutrients you need with non-suspect foods. For example I started with turkey, rice, cranberry juice (the only beverage other than water), peas, sweet potatoes and pineapple- all foods I rarely ate and really didn't like. Because the more often you eat something the more likely you are to develop an intolerance or allergy they like to start with stuff you usually don't eat. Then we added in a new food in 'pure' form, for example when we tested wheat we used cream of wheat and triscuits not bread or a multiple ingredient food. It can be done on your own but it is much easier with the guidance of an allergist or perhaps a nutritionist.

[kabowman]

Also, keep a food diary of everything you eat, while doing the elimation diet including sauces, spices, mixes, drinks, gum, etc. and make sure you have a space to write symptoms, even if they don't seem related somewhere on the sheet. I tracked fevers, swollen glands, aching joints, along with the expected digestive issues.

I prefer a sheet that covers a couple of weeks or more on one side so that you can readily see patterns (doing this with a kid right now too).

By the end of a month I realized that I had identified many foods, I wasn't sick anymore, and my joint pain and fevers were gone. I know the fevers were linked to yeast but I have no idea what got rid of the joint pain, only that it is gone after almost 15 years.

I went down to plain meat (salt and pepper with herbs, home grown) and plain veggies and eggs for a few days until I felt better then started to add stuff back in...

Make sure your pots and pans are safe too - only use stainless steel so no contamination from other foods (I didn't do that and I at grilled food but it didn't take long to figure out that was part of the problem).

Add foods back in, if you react take it back out and add something different in when you feel better again - re-test/try any foods you reacted to and see if you react again - figure out the offending ingredient and elimate!