How Do You Start An Elimination Diet?

[givenupgluten]

So, I realize that starting an elimination diet would probably be TORTURE before the holidays...and i'm all about eating! But I was wondering how you start one. Do you need a few weeks of eating very bland, simple, non processed foods, etc before you can start? Or can I jump right in when I'm ready? There are a few things in my diet that seem like suspicious culprits (possibly corn, soy, etc) so I'm just trying to get to the root of my issues (besides gluten intolerance.) I'm guessing I would need to add each item back in one at a time once i've removed them all. Sure seems like I'll be left with nothing to eat for awhile! Any ideas on how to go about this? I'm a vegetarian too...so although I do not make a habit of eating soy that often, I do consume it as a means of protein occasionally...along with beans - which I also think might be giving me some trouble. Any help is appreciated! Thanks all

(Also..how long does this process take generally?)

[ShayFL]

Being a vegetarian, you will want some expert guidance. A health professional or buy a good book:

http://www.(Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned)/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=s...p;x=14&y=26

I am on SCD, but you arent eating meat, so that would be tough.

[Janessa]

I am also a vegetarian and I did an elimination diet several months ago. My doctor had me cut out dairy, corn, rice, soy, eggs, and nuts (I was already off gluten), she had me continue to eat beans because I was a vegetarian. She had me cut all those out for 3 weeks then add one back at a time for 3 days in a row then back to the diet for 4 days then try the next.

So I would eat corn for 3 days then back off everything for 4 days, then eat eggs for 3 days, ect... She also had me eat the challenge food for breakfast to make sure I was getting a good amount on an empty stomach. Some reactions take awhile to show up, corn I had a strong reaction too but it takes 2 -3 days to show.

You definitely need to plan ahead before you start so you always have something to eat if you get hungry. She also told me not to eat too much potatoes or refined sugar. Sweet potatoes are not related to potatoes and are really good, just microwave like a baked potato, I also made a lot of buckwheat blueberry pancakes (let me know if you want the recipe, I'm not home right now) and lots of roasted veges, yum.

It is really hard but worth it

[Janessa]

I also wanted to add you can use buckwheat groats or quinoa as a substitute for grain, both have good protein and just serve with cooked veges.

mung bean noodles you can find some places and are good in soup with veges

Also had a lot of fruit smoothies

[AliB]

If you trawl through a lot of the other posts on this forum you will find that you problem echoes a lot other people's. They find that just dropping gluten is not the answer as they are very often intolerant to other foods as well, particularly other carbohydrates.

I am convinced a lot of us are struggling with rogue bacterial infestations. The carbohydrates act as food for them especially when the gut is damaged and the carbohydrates are partly or fully undigested.

As you are vegetarian you would find it very difficult to restrict carbs and get the bacteria under control as many of your foods are carb-based.

As Shay said, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet would undoubtedly help your gut to heal and give you the tools to get the beasties under control, but it relies fairly heavily on meat, fish and poultry.

The problem with elimination diets is, if it is bacteria that is the problem, you may find that even if you manage to figure out which are the problematic foods and drop them from your diet, a short time later you may then find that you start to get problems with different foods as the little beggars adapt to a different food source.

I don't want to be depressing about this but just feel that you need to have all the info at your hands. You certainly aren't alone and many of us also have very similar issues. By all means try the elimination diet, but just don't be surprised if it doesn't work! I hope for your sake it does.

[ShayFL]

I suppose if you can tolerate eggs and eat the SCD yogurt, you could manage it. After the introductionary phases, certain beans can be added in. It would be doable, but a lot less variety.