Elimination Diet

[curiousgirl]

I've "searched" for this diet on the site, but come up with millions of "diet" posts and lotsa "elimination" posts.

Can anyone share what this diet is? What are the foods you can eat on it? How it works?

Thanks!

[munchkinette]

I believe there is an official elimination diet which involves cutting out foods except just a handful of specific items. New foods are slowly added back in, one at a time, while taking note of symptoms. I can't remember what the specific foods are, so someone else will have to chime in.

In general though, an elimination diet is a really important tool. I think many of us have used various unofficial versions. First, write down all the symptoms you have in a diary so that you have a baseline. Next, eliminate one group of foods (i.e. gluten) from your diet for a few weeks. You keep a food and symptom diary during this time. You record everything including GI symptoms, sleep patterns, energy levels, moods, skin conditions, other health issues, etc. Then after three weeks (or longer, if you want) you add the food in question back to your diet. Keep the food/symptom diary during this time, because it's important to compare. Do you feel better or worse?

It's important to note that once you eliminate one group of foods, your body may heal and become more sensitive to other things that you didn't notice to be problems before. You may need to try eliminating other foods, one at a time. For example, I first did the elimination diet with wheat. I didn't know what I was doing (lots of hidden gluten), but felt enough of a difference to stay on the diet and learn how to follow it more strictly. Two years later I was sensitive enough to realize I had to eliminate oats as well. A year after that I eliminated dairy, and then soy. Now that I've been doing this a while I know that I need to be on a gluten, dairy, soy free diet, and at the moment that takes care of all my issues. That could change in the future. I may need to eliminate something else. I usually go back to keeping a food diary a few times per year for just a few weeks, just to check.

One note- if you haven't had blood tests yet, do that before you start messing with elimination diets. I was gluten free for months before getting blood tests, so most of them were negative. Even if your tests are negative though, trust how YOU feel.

[ravenwoodglass]

An elimination diet guided by an elderly and very wise allergist was how I was finally diagnosed. He checked me for true allergies first, I actually was allergic to 98 of 99 things I was tested for! He said later that was his clue that I was celiac. He gave me a detailed form to fill out with all the foods I normally ate. He then formulated a starting point for me which had all foods that I rarely consumed. I started with turkey, sweet potatoes, peas, pineapple, plain white rice and the only beverage other than water was cranberry juice. After 2 weeks, in which I had no D at all, I had to add one food a week in 'pure' form. If I had no reaction after that week I was allowed to keep that food and add another. 3 days after I added cream of wheat my D was back with a vengence and I was referred to a GI who insistied on another gluten challenge which left me extremely ill.

Long story short, look for an allergist who will guide you in the elimination is IMHO the best way to go. Do ask when you call if they will do that as not all will. You don't want to pay for an appointment with someone who is only interested in true allergy's.

[lucia]

Long story short, look for an allergist who will guide you in the elimination is IMHO the best way to go. Do ask when you call if they will do that as not all will. You don't want to pay for an appointment with someone who is only interested in true allergy's.

Hi curiousgirl,

I asked pretty much the exact same question as you a few weeks ago. Here's the link:

I agree with ravenwoodglass that ideally you'd find an allergist to support this process. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find one (in NYC) who will work with me on an elimination diet. I was told that it's normally something people do themselves or through a naturopathic doctor (which would not be covered by my health insurance). But you may have different luck.

I am on an elimination diet right now, and doing really well! I felt constantly miserable before I started the diet, but now my GI issues have completely cleared up. I thought I'd hate having limitations put on my diet, but I feel so much better that I don't even care about that.

By the way, I went through mad cravings when I started. I rode them out, and I am no longer experiencing them. They seemed to be part of a withdrawal process.

Good luck!

lucia