Elimination Diets

[clarkje20]

Hi

I was wondering if someone could give me a nutritional elimination diet.... I need to get healthy and everything that I thought was ok is NOT..... Thanks

[AliB]

What is it specifically that you seem to be reacting to - can you pinpoint anything in particular?

[clarkje20]

  AliB said:

What is it specifically that you seem to be reacting to - can you pinpoint anything in particular?

Honestly I cant even pinpoint it! Im just not getting better... I have only been gluten free for 4 months... But I still feel horrible! My hair is falling out like crazy... I was eating a lot of gluten free products but now I quite those since I think I have issues with whats really in the ingredients.... For instance Rice Dream says its gluten free but there is hidden barley.... So now I was just wanting someone to give me a basic nutritional elimination diet... such as chicken, turkey, veggies,fruit.... all in its pure form nothing on it... is this what I need to do?

[Frances03]

This is what I started doing after I realized I would never be able to tell what bothered me if I didn't do something drastic. I found somewhere online that you should start with simple foods: meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, rice and potatoes, and use salt, pepper, olive oil to season. I am doing this for at least 2 weeks. It's not as bad as I thought it was. I'm making a big smoothie in the morning with a banana and lots of frozen fruit. I've made homemade soup with meat and veggies for lunch, and for dinner, I have a piece of meat or fish, veggies or salad, potato or rice. You could even have cooked brown rice with rice milk and a banana and some honey for breakfast if you want a warm breakfast. I am feeling a LOT better since starting this, not bloated all the time which I was, and I plan to introduce one new food at a time in another week or so. Let me know if I can help!

[mommida]

Keep a food journal!

Eliminate all of the top 8 and if possible peas too.

Keep foods in the simplest forms.

Enjoy life (chocolate chips are AWESOME!) and Cherrybrook Farms makes some edible products.

Research, time, and practice and you can make really great food!

Here is a recipe for cake - gluten free, egg free, casein free, nut free

1 1/2 cups GLUTEN FREE flour

1 cup sugar

3Tbs. cocoa

1tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Keep the dry ingredients seperate and add them in order. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

1 cup of cold water

6Tbs. salad oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1Tb. vinegar or lemon juice

Mix until smooth. Pour into a greased 9 " square pan. Bake a 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Double the recipe for a 9 by 13 pan and bake longer.

Life is good just complicated!

[Jana315]

It can be really tricky to nail down what you're reacting to. For me, gluten first and then I discovered that I was also reacting to nightshades - potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers. That helped tremendously when I first discovered that food intolerances were at the root of my issues. Then, as time has gone on, I've discovered that my issue is NOT celiac and now it seem to be leaky gut caused by a system candida infection that I've had for years. Due to the gut damage, the real root of my problems are carbohydrates and sugars - certain fruits & veggies do NOT agree with me and won't until I have given my gut time to heal. It sucks in some ways but since I am feeling SO MUCH better - like a new person - it is worthwhile!!

I do incorporate a lot of SCD and GAPS diet principles into my daily life, but I'm not all the way. I am just doing enough to make me feel better and am taking supplements to help kill the candida.

To really isolate my triggers, I was able to basically eat white instant Quacker grits, glutino rice crackers and goat cheese and have zero re-action and felt awesome - so I just added thing in from there. I've since limited corn and the rice crackers, but I do still have them occasionally.

Find the things that you don't react to - maybe just 2 or 3 things in a single day and eat that adding 1 new item per day. Google any new items that you want to eat to make sure they are gluten-free and that people haven't reacted to them. For instance, I ate a BIG bowl of baked cheetos Saturday night and was totally gluten-hung over on Sunday. In hindsight, that was stupid because lays products are always risky, but I was hungry and caved....

Anyway, sorry for rambling.

GL - Jana

[Swimmr]

  mommida said:

Keep a food journal!

Eliminate all of the top 8 and if possible peas too.

Keep foods in the simplest forms.

Enjoy life (chocolate chips are AWESOME!) and Cherrybrook Farms makes some edible products.

Research, time, and practice and you can make really great food!

Here is a recipe for cake - gluten free, egg free, casein free, nut free

1 1/2 cups GLUTEN FREE flour

1 cup sugar

3Tbs. cocoa

1tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Keep the dry ingredients seperate and add them in order. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

1 cup of cold water

6Tbs. salad oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1Tb. vinegar or lemon juice

Mix until smooth. Pour into a greased 9 " square pan. Bake a 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Double the recipe for a 9 by 13 pan and bake longer.

Life is good just complicated!

What's wrong with peas??? I'm eating them with my lunch today...

[Swimmr]

  clarkje20 said:

Hi

I was wondering if someone could give me a nutritional elimination diet.... I need to get healthy and everything that I thought was ok is NOT..... Thanks

Hey I made some amazing chicken last night. It tastes great even re-heated today for lunch!

Olive oil

Garlic

Rubbed Sage

Rosemary

Salt

Clean and worry-free

[mommida]

Peas are high on the list of reaction. They didn't make it on the top eight list, but they are high on the list.

So use your food journal for any possible delayed reaction.

[babysteps]

I did some research on elimination diets a couple years ago for my spouse. We ended up doing more of a paleo diet for 3 weeks which helped us a lot, but here's what I remember on elimination diets:

They seem to be used more in Australia & New Zealand, so many of the books on the topic come from there.

Many start with a very limited diet of low-reaction foods for a week or so to get any prior irritants out of your system. The most popular combo seems to be lamb, rice and yams (yes, just those 3).

Some are very systematic as to what order they try what foods - working through "amines" and other foods grouped by some chemical/ph balance/irritant likelihood characteristics. But many folks seem to be fine with just trying the "next" thing (from their own body's experience) that is likely to be not so reactive for them.

Many suggest having a lot of the food you are testing for 2-3 days. If you notice any reaction, the suggestion is to go back to whatever your "safe" list has reached (eg drop the latest irritating food!) until your system feels normal again, typically at least 3 days according to many writers.

Judging by this website, candida or yeast is a frequent issue for folks with multiple dietary sensitivities - not for everyone, but for enough people that you may want to consider that, too. Check out more posts on this section of the forum, 'Other Food Intolerance and Leaky Gut Issues'

Happy researching!

And may you find the culprit quickly and achieve good health!!

[Lynayah]

  Jana315 said:

It can be really tricky to nail down what you're reacting to. For me, gluten first and then I discovered that I was also reacting to nightshades - potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers. That helped tremendously when I first discovered that food intolerances were at the root of my issues. Then, as time has gone on, I've discovered that my issue is NOT celiac and now it seem to be leaky gut caused by a system candida infection that I've had for years. Due to the gut damage, the real root of my problems are carbohydrates and sugars - certain fruits & veggies do NOT agree with me and won't until I have given my gut time to heal. It sucks in some ways but since I am feeling SO MUCH better - like a new person - it is worthwhile!!

I do incorporate a lot of SCD and GAPS diet principles into my daily life, but I'm not all the way. I am just doing enough to make me feel better and am taking supplements to help kill the candida.

To really isolate my triggers, I was able to basically eat white instant Quacker grits, glutino rice crackers and goat cheese and have zero re-action and felt awesome - so I just added thing in from there. I've since limited corn and the rice crackers, but I do still have them occasionally.

Find the things that you don't react to - maybe just 2 or 3 things in a single day and eat that adding 1 new item per day. Google any new items that you want to eat to make sure they are gluten-free and that people haven't reacted to them. For instance, I ate a BIG bowl of baked cheetos Saturday night and was totally gluten-hung over on Sunday. In hindsight, that was stupid because lays products are always risky, but I was hungry and caved....

Anyway, sorry for rambling.

GL - Jana

Thank you for this very interesting post!

So, what is the diference between Systemic candidiasis and being gluten-intolorant? How does someone know if it is one or the other? Can a gladin test that shows high gluten sensitivity ever be false if Systemic candidiasis is present, might you know?

[Swimmr]

BUMP

Ok I did some research today for elimination diets.

However I found contradictories from one site to the next.

Meats That Are Safe:

Lamb, halibut, orange roughy, tuna, snapper, wild salmon, crab, lobster, deer, duck, rabbit, goose, cornish game hens, clams, pheasant.

The contradiction is shellfish; crab, lobster, fish in general

Vegetables That Are Safe:

celery, okra, cucumbers, green peppers, yams, sweet potato, cabbage, squah, asparagus, cauliflower, artichokes, lettuce, carrots, brussel sprouts, spinach.

Contradictions: none found

Fruits That Are Safe:

peaches, pears, apples, raspberries, grapefruit, grapefruit juice (in small amounts), bananas, melons, grapes, kiwi

Contradictions: strawberries, apples, grapes and melon. Grapefruit and any citrus.

Condiments That Are Safe:

gelatin (?), flax seed oil, coconut, 100% carob powder, salt, sweeteners (stevia or honey or maple syrup), jellies (?), jams (?), extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil, almond butter, sesame butter.

Nuts That Are Safe:

coconut, hazel nut, almonds and pecans BUT only unshelled natural unprocessed nuts.

Contradictions: All nuts. One website said NO nuts, while the other stated the above listed.

So I found extremely strict ones and then found some that included all of the above foods.

Obvious food to avoid:

vitamins aspirin beer coffee gum milk eggs beef chicken fish* pork wheat strawberries* fruit juice* nuts* cocolate corn tomatoes shellfish* oranges cola's white potato peas beans apples* any legumes

* is the contradictions...need some clarity please.

[BRUMI1968]

The previous poster listed all veggies as no high allergens, but actually NIGHTSHADES are a common problem: potato (not sweet potato), peppers (not black pepper), eggplant, tobacco, tomato. Symptoms TEND toward joint aches and the like, but I have poop issues with them, and avoid them. They also require a lot of calcium to digest, and many celiac sufferers are low in calcium chronically.

The hair falling out makes me wonder about your thyroid. I'd have it checked if I were you.

Take care. Good luck.

[Swimmr]

  mcphena said:

This is what I started doing after I realized I would never be able to tell what bothered me if I didn't do something drastic. I found somewhere online that you should start with simple foods: meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, rice and potatoes, and use salt, pepper, olive oil to season. I am doing this for at least 2 weeks. It's not as bad as I thought it was. I'm making a big smoothie in the morning with a banana and lots of frozen fruit. I've made homemade soup with meat and veggies for lunch, and for dinner, I have a piece of meat or fish, veggies or salad, potato or rice. You could even have cooked brown rice with rice milk and a banana and some honey for breakfast if you want a warm breakfast. I am feeling a LOT better since starting this, not bloated all the time which I was, and I plan to introduce one new food at a time in another week or so. Let me know if I can help!

Thought vegetables are on the "no" list.

ya'll I need some help and I'm seeing so many different things that I literally don't even know where to start with it.

[AliB]

The best thing for elimination diets is to take just a handful of foods that you don't regularly eat - like the lamb, rice and yams/sweet potato - the SCD uses chicken/turkey and carrots - and start with those.

It is often the foods that they eat the most which are the ones people tend to react to - that is the wisdom behind rotation diets.

As has been said, if you start with foods that you are sure are fairly safe for you, you can then add in a new food every few days and see what happens. If it is ok then you can move on to the next one and so forth.

Carbohydrates and starchy foods very often seem to be problematic for many - I know they were for me and I have had to avoid them for some time, but I have figured out now that I am acutely dehydrated. Underlying dehydration not immediate dehydration. Something that has built up over many years.

The IBS didn't help either because it was drawing even more water out of my body.

I have been re-hydrating now for two weeks, and taking a little pure sea/rock salt to help keep my electrolytes up with all this water going through me, and to provide a good mineral supply so that my body can use the water properly and aid gut healing, and my hair has finally stopped falling out. My weight, which had stuck for some time is finally shifting too which I am very pleased about.

I do wonder if people react to certain food groups simply because their bodies are too dehydrated to process them, and the linked chemicals within them properly.

[clarkje20]

  mcphena said:

This is what I started doing after I realized I would never be able to tell what bothered me if I didn't do something drastic. I found somewhere online that you should start with simple foods: meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, rice and potatoes, and use salt, pepper, olive oil to season. I am doing this for at least 2 weeks. It's not as bad as I thought it was. I'm making a big smoothie in the morning with a banana and lots of frozen fruit. I've made homemade soup with meat and veggies for lunch, and for dinner, I have a piece of meat or fish, veggies or salad, potato or rice. You could even have cooked brown rice with rice milk and a banana and some honey for breakfast if you want a warm breakfast. I am feeling a LOT better since starting this, not bloated all the time which I was, and I plan to introduce one new food at a time in another week or so. Let me know if I can help!

Thanks so much for that information! I am going to give it a try! Thanks again!!!!!

Jill

[Jana315]

  Lynayah said:

Thank you for this very interesting post!

So, what is the diference between Systemic candidiasis and being gluten-intolorant? How does someone know if it is one or the other? Can a gladin test that shows high gluten sensitivity ever be false if Systemic candidiasis is present, might you know?

Lynayah, Systemic candida can cause gluten intolerance (the bugs put holes in your gut - aka Leaky Gut that causes gluten intolerance), so I don't think it would be considered a false positive. I AM gluten intolerant - just as much as anyone with Celiac, at this point in my life. I suppose the difference is that at some point, I may be able to heal enough to tolerate gluten in very limited amounts - I'm not sure, but I'm so far away from that (years?), that I don't even consider the possibility.

I don't know how candida is diagnosed - I'm planning to see my Naturopath next week. She'll probably recommend a stool test - she always does, but I haven't cooperated yet! Anyway, I'll speak with her in detail. The big clue in for me with candida was that I tested negative for Celiac DNA & my symptoms were not alleviated fully by going gluten free - I'm super sensitive to anything with high carbs and night shade veggies. I can do cheese & milk - no issues there. I also have skin discolorations that come & go - tinea versicolor, think it is called. It is a yeast infection that shows up on the skin. Funny thing is that I've had that since I began having the gluten-intolerant symptoms (during my first pregnancy).

- Jana

[Lynayah]

  Jana315 said:

Lynayah, Systemic candida can cause gluten intolerance (the bugs put holes in your gut - aka Leaky Gut that causes gluten intolerance), so I don't think it would be considered a false positive. I AM gluten intolerant - just as much as anyone with Celiac, at this point in my life. I suppose the difference is that at some point, I may be able to heal enough to tolerate gluten in very limited amounts - I'm not sure, but I'm so far away from that (years?), that I don't even consider the possibility.

I don't know how candida is diagnosed - I'm planning to see my Naturopath next week. She'll probably recommend a stool test - she always does, but I haven't cooperated yet! Anyway, I'll speak with her in detail. The big clue in for me with candida was that I tested negative for Celiac DNA & my symptoms were not alleviated fully by going gluten free - I'm super sensitive to anything with high carbs and night shade veggies. I can do cheese & milk - no issues there. I also have skin discolorations that come & go - tinea versicolor, think it is called. It is a yeast infection that shows up on the skin. Funny thing is that I've had that since I began having the gluten-intolerant symptoms (during my first pregnancy).

- Jana

Jana - thank you for this information. I did not know that Systemic Candida can lead to gluten-intolorance. I've been haunted by trying to figure out what caused mine. I do not know if SC caused it or something else, but I'm on a quest to find out!

All of this is like being caught in a maze. As soon as I think I may have found the route I need, something blocks it (such as learning about this), and then I am headed in another direction, trying to find the way out.

It's really tough trying to figure things out when medical science is equally confused. Thank goodness for the support we all have here.