Elimination Diet
Theo166
Posts: 2,564 Member
Anyone have experience with the 'elimination diet'?
I'm starting one next week, more in support of a family member than a personal need to identify food allergies.
I'm starting one next week, more in support of a family member than a personal need to identify food allergies.
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Replies
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Best wishes. I hope they figure it out.1
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I'm starting one next week, too. I'm the person who is actually doing it, although I guess my family will have to along with it (for dinner, anyway). I don't have food allergies (at least that I know of), but have food sensitivities, I guess.
What foods do you have to eliminate, and what is the schedule for adding them back in?
My diet next week will be very limited, but I don't mind. However, I'm finding that food items that you think would be single or maybe a few ingredients often have one ingredient that I "can't" eat. I was going to buy frozen cod, but unfortunately it had some preservative added to it.0 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »What foods do you have to eliminate, and what is the schedule for adding them back in?
My diet next week will be very limited, but I don't mind. However, I'm finding that food items that you think would be single or maybe a few ingredients often have one ingredient that I "can't" eat. I was going to buy frozen cod, but unfortunately it had some preservative added to it.
I still need to educate myself on the specifics. My family member has done it before and I'm tagging along on another round, to jumpstart my recent slow weight loss. I just know the basics, that it's very restrictive the first week then you slowly add back foods and look for a reaction. At most I'm anticipating I may discover a minor issues with dairy.
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I'm jumping on the bandwagon starting Sunday. (Was gonna be day after Easter, but my family is celebrating a day early). Mostly it's because my last food allergy test said I was allergic to the entirety of the top 8. But I'm unsure if it's because my arm was sensitized from an allergy shot the week before, or if it's because I'm suddenly allergic to everything. So, crash elimination diet activated.
Be cautioned though. A lot of them for are quite restrictive and full of health woo. Don't be discouraged for not following it absolutely perfectly.0 -
I'm just trying to eliminate chips from my diet. That's a big step for me just in itself.11
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Since you didn’t mention what kind of elimination diet, I feel I have to warn in case it’s the FODMAP used to treat IBS. In its full elimination mode it’s very restrictive, and it’s not meant as a permanent solution. I have IBS and have personally figured out my specific triggers, and I also know someone who got stuck in the elimination mode. After observing her behavior around food for years, I think she is nearing an eating disorder with all its limitations and the effect it has on social situations (up to the point where she refuses to go to restaurants since they ”don’t know what they’re doing and there won’t be anything I can eat anyway”). The fodmap diet’s elimination phase is meant to ”clean the slate”, so to speak, and then start reintroducing things group by group to see what the person’s triggers are. Best of luck to you and your family member, and hopefully the reintroduction phase goes smoothly as well.2
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Since you didn’t mention what kind of elimination diet, I feel I have to warn in case it’s the FODMAP used to treat IBS. In its full elimination mode it’s very restrictive, and it’s not meant as a permanent solution. I have IBS and have personally figured out my specific triggers, and I also know someone who got stuck in the elimination mode. After observing her behavior around food for years, I think she is nearing an eating disorder with all its limitations and the effect it has on social situations (up to the point where she refuses to go to restaurants since they ”don’t know what they’re doing and there won’t be anything I can eat anyway”). The fodmap diet’s elimination phase is meant to ”clean the slate”, so to speak, and then start reintroducing things group by group to see what the person’s triggers are. Best of luck to you and your family member, and hopefully the reintroduction phase goes smoothly as well.
Thanks for the heads up. I'm not doing the FODMAP elimination diet, but the LEAP protocol designed around the results of my specific test. It is very restrictive. Even after completing the first phase, I can only start reintroducing foods one at a time. My main concern/question is: "When can I have my coffee back?!?!" Apparently coffee isn't a reactive item for me, but caffeine was close to the "reactive" side. I would rather suffer some bloating or slight discomfort than giving up coffee
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I began my weight loss with the IFM.org elimination diet recommended by my GP, in an effort to help identify the source of exhaustion and joint pain.
It was a simple one page chart that said how much to eat of various food types, and which ones to avoid.
I had reached a point I couldn’t take it any more. She had given me this chart every visit and urged me to try it. This time I sat down, pulled up and read the website and it just made sense to me, and I said,”OK, Me. We’re gonna do this.it can’t hurt to try.”
Within two weeks, the GERD From Hell vanished and I had lost ten pounds.
Thats what kickstarted me. I had been eating many thousand calories per day, mostly candy, cookies, cake, pie and bread. There certainly wasn’t much room for anything else.
It was like it was sweet relief to my body, mind and digestion to just let the sweets go and focus on the foods I could have. I found I enjoyed it so much I just stayed on it for six months or so. Then, as the weight came off, I tentatively added foods.
Nowadays I eat anything I want, including foods that the GERD prohibited.
TBH, I don’t think my issues were related to an allergy, as much as -in my case- gluttony and weight.
It’s a bit scary though. “Elimination Diet”
is one of those phrases that can mean anything.6 -
Yes, I did it after my first gout flare up as a way of identifying foods that triggered my attacks. It was a long and tedious process due to the slow reintroduction process and occasional setback when I identified a trigger... but I only had to think about the pain of a proper flare up which it was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.
The pay off has been that since I was able to understand which foods were okay for me, I have regained a lot of flexibility in my dietary choices, so in the long run it's worth sticking to carefully because you can learn a lot about yourself.2 -
I did an elimination diet about 10 years ago. I'd know for over 20 years that I was intolerant to dairy; by my mid 40s it was clear that I was intolerant to yeast as well. Working with a specialist in allergies, I eliminated an awful lot of stuff for three months, then introduced items one by one, eating multiple instances (ie mushrooms with breakfast, lunch and dinner over a few days, then including vinegar in each meal etc), so that I could record whether I reacted, what the reaction was, how quickly I reacted and how severely.
I can't say that it was fun but it was useful. It confirmed what had already been determined anyway, but at least I now know that I can eat most things in small doses and, if the cumulative effect brings on a reaction, I know what to eliminate for a week or so to let my body recover.4 -
I did a full elimination diet once to try to figure out my worse GERD triggers. I first ate just brown rice and then added one food at a time every 3-5 days. Not something I would recommend unless you have no other option. It works, but severely limited food gets old fast.3
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Strudders67 wrote: »I did an elimination diet about 10 years ago. I'd know for over 20 years that I was intolerant to dairy; by my mid 40s it was clear that I was intolerant to yeast as well. Working with a specialist in allergies, I eliminated an awful lot of stuff for three months, then introduced items one by one, eating multiple instances (ie mushrooms with breakfast, lunch and dinner over a few days, then including vinegar in each meal etc), so that I could record whether I reacted, what the reaction was, how quickly I reacted and how severely.
I can't say that it was fun but it was useful. It confirmed what had already been determined anyway, but at least I now know that I can eat most things in small doses and, if the cumulative effect brings on a reaction, I know what to eliminate for a week or so to let my body recover.
If you don’t mind me asking what were your yeast intolerance symptoms? And can an allergist test for that?0 -
My GP just put me on FODMAP for a month to give my poor intestines a break, I'd been living with appendicitis (or, apparently, a burst appendix) for 11 weeks until finally getting emergency surgery to have it removed on the 22nd. My abdomen was "a mess" according to my surgeon. I already know about a few food sensitivities that I have, hopefully this episode hasn't created additional ones.
My biggest difficulty is that I am pescetarian although I lean more toward vegetarian and all my favourite fruit and veg seem to fall on the high FODMAP side while the ones I dislike are on the permitted list.
Sigh. It's going to be a long month.5 -
Starting it today, it's fairly restrictive but also simple
2/3 veggies or fruit and 1/3 grain or protein for each meal
No grains for breakfast, which is hard for me since I normally eat oatmeal
No dairy will be a challenge
Lots of other restrictions that I won't bore people with
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Strudders67 wrote: »I did an elimination diet about 10 years ago. I'd know for over 20 years that I was intolerant to dairy; by my mid 40s it was clear that I was intolerant to yeast as well. Working with a specialist in allergies, I eliminated an awful lot of stuff for three months, then introduced items one by one, eating multiple instances (ie mushrooms with breakfast, lunch and dinner over a few days, then including vinegar in each meal etc), so that I could record whether I reacted, what the reaction was, how quickly I reacted and how severely.
I can't say that it was fun but it was useful. It confirmed what had already been determined anyway, but at least I now know that I can eat most things in small doses and, if the cumulative effect brings on a reaction, I know what to eliminate for a week or so to let my body recover.
If you don’t mind me asking what were your yeast intolerance symptoms? And can an allergist test for that?
The symptoms were very similar to my dairy ones - stomach cramps / diahorreah at one end and a lump of mucus in my throat / vomiting / difficulty swallowing / losing my voice at the other end. Not all at the same time, thankfully. Different foods provoke different reactions, although the lump in my throat is the most usual, and some foods / drinks cause a reaction quicker than others. Cumulative effect is also a factor.
I did get tested, but whether it's a common / believable test is a different matter - I had a few appointments with Prof. Brostoff (sadly now deceased but was a leading allergy specialist here in the UK) and the first session included applied kinesiology muscle testing whilst holding vials of various liquids. It sounds 'quack' to me - but I can't explain the reactions I had at the time. However, as I went armed with a self-diagnosis, all he did was confirm that diagnosis. Having said that, he also picked up on allergy to grass and silver birch, but I hadn't mentioned my hayfever.
He did have me doing an elimination and reintroduction diet though and, helpfully, I finished with a better understanding of what I reacted to - which is why I went to see him in the first place. I mostly don't eat things that I'm intolerant to but, now, I can eat out and have what I like - knowing that, if I have a reaction, I just have to avoid certain things for a few days to get rid of the symptoms.
Subsequent to this, as a result of the research I then did, it's actually quite possible that my dairy intolerance is in fact due to the yeast in the cheeses that I react to. I'm not a big milk drinker anyway, but I have always loved cheese.2 -
My GP just put me on FODMAP for a month to give my poor intestines a break, I'd been living with appendicitis (or, apparently, a burst appendix) for 11 weeks until finally getting emergency surgery to have it removed on the 22nd. My abdomen was "a mess" according to my surgeon. I already know about a few food sensitivities that I have, hopefully this episode hasn't created additional ones.
My biggest difficulty is that I am pescetarian although I lean more toward vegetarian and all my favourite fruit and veg seem to fall on the high FODMAP side while the ones I dislike are on the permitted list.
Sigh. It's going to be a long month.
Sending warm thoughts your way. I have a pescetarian friend who has IBS, she has luckily identified her triggers and is able to enjoy a balanced diet. Hopefully the same thing happens to you and you can return to your favorites (or find new ones) at the end of this month.1 -
Elimination Diet? Isn't that a really high fiber diet? 🤔0
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Strudders67 wrote: »Strudders67 wrote: »I did an elimination diet about 10 years ago. I'd know for over 20 years that I was intolerant to dairy; by my mid 40s it was clear that I was intolerant to yeast as well. Working with a specialist in allergies, I eliminated an awful lot of stuff for three months, then introduced items one by one, eating multiple instances (ie mushrooms with breakfast, lunch and dinner over a few days, then including vinegar in each meal etc), so that I could record whether I reacted, what the reaction was, how quickly I reacted and how severely.
I can't say that it was fun but it was useful. It confirmed what had already been determined anyway, but at least I now know that I can eat most things in small doses and, if the cumulative effect brings on a reaction, I know what to eliminate for a week or so to let my body recover.
If you don’t mind me asking what were your yeast intolerance symptoms? And can an allergist test for that?
The symptoms were very similar to my dairy ones - stomach cramps / diahorreah at one end and a lump of mucus in my throat / vomiting / difficulty swallowing / losing my voice at the other end. Not all at the same time, thankfully. Different foods provoke different reactions, although the lump in my throat is the most usual, and some foods / drinks cause a reaction quicker than others. Cumulative effect is also a factor.
I did get tested, but whether it's a common / believable test is a different matter - I had a few appointments with Prof. Brostoff (sadly now deceased but was a leading allergy specialist here in the UK) and the first session included applied kinesiology muscle testing whilst holding vials of various liquids. It sounds 'quack' to me - but I can't explain the reactions I had at the time. However, as I went armed with a self-diagnosis, all he did was confirm that diagnosis. Having said that, he also picked up on allergy to grass and silver birch, but I hadn't mentioned my hayfever.
He did have me doing an elimination and reintroduction diet though and, helpfully, I finished with a better understanding of what I reacted to - which is why I went to see him in the first place. I mostly don't eat things that I'm intolerant to but, now, I can eat out and have what I like - knowing that, if I have a reaction, I just have to avoid certain things for a few days to get rid of the symptoms.
Subsequent to this, as a result of the research I then did, it's actually quite possible that my dairy intolerance is in fact due to the yeast in the cheeses that I react to. I'm not a big milk drinker anyway, but I have always loved cheese.
Yeah my symptoms are mostly "in my head" - chronic sinus problems, lump in throat, vertigo, tinnitus, geographic tongue. All things that GP's tend to brush off and basically want you to live with (which I have for years but now that I am in my 50's it seems to be getting worse.) Although a gastroenterologist did tell me I had ibs at one point. I also have hayfever and lots of environmental allergies, including mold. I saw an allergist a few years ago because I was reacting to chick peas of all things, and he did some quick skin tests for foods, said I didn't react to any of them, but then offered me an epi-pen - so yeah kind of confusing. He actually asked me if I was sure it was chick peas causing the reaction- I mean dude, that is why I am here, you tell me.
So I certainly understand going the alternative route. If your health care system is anything like ours chronic low grade problems like this are not a priority, and they basically just want to put you on steroid and/or antihistamines indefinitely. My GP actually referred me to an ND because she explained that they just don't have the resources in the public system to "optimize" health, their mandate is to diagnose and treat illnesses. Once your blood work and basic tests come back OK they don't really have the time to fully investigate stuff like this.2 -
Eliminations diets cover so many food areas. Elimination diets can be what you make them. My experience when told many years ago of the FODMAP diet my known, previously deciphered salicylate sensitivity crossed all groups, oops, so it was a good idea and none starter. Over time I discovered Histamine Intolerance too. Salicylate intolerance is the difficulty in digesting/eliminating salicylates, including aspirin and for me paracetamol because of the filler/binder cornstarch. Many plants use salicylate as their means of combating moulds and mildews naturally! This sensitivity often cross references with Histamine intolerance, this is a reaction to food decomposition, for some the freshest foods can cause issues. At my worst I was down to about 10 foods and needed a way out. Added to which i reacted to neighbours laundry residues.
Tracking down dietary issues is a mine field though I recommend using blood testing, I can't remember which I used through my BANT (UK) nutritionist so sorry, the NHS can but is reluctant and regrettably they are not always as accurate as private ones. Dietary sensitivities are so wide spread but the General Medical Profession do not stand a hope of getting to grips with it all.
There are several situations which can under pin dietary issues, no particular order.
Poor bile flow, our modern diets are low in bitter tasting foods which causes the bile to be less effective as it could be. I used HCI and Pepsin capsules for quite a time, then found having the juice of half lemon juice in water first thing has been sufficient. I had to be careful which capsules I used because those with peppermint in reacted because, its salicylate.
I also used digestive microbes also seen as pre and pro biotics, I think pre feeds the most helpful microbes. Years of use of antibiotics and different General Medical prescribed medications reduced my microbial function. It took me two years of use to really make a difference.
I know one hears much about Candida Arbican, its an issue which predominantly effects women in part because of prescription preparations directed at them along with antibiotics. Doing a sugar elimination diet is very helpful here because sugar directly feeds our least helpful microbes. I think it can also assist in combating HPolori.
Having a diet high in copper is also counter productive. It is known to be a good metal for door handles and the like to combat common colds and flu, the easy transfer of unhelpful bacteria too. Copper can come from your water pipes and your diet. The vegetarian diet is naturally higher in copper than the omnivore diet because the vegetarian consumes much less zinc the antidote to copper, I can't remember the balance.
Dairy issues can be lactose but in most persons its the casein. Bovine (cow)dairy is predominantly type 4 casein, Goat and Sheep dairy is predominantly type 3, this more closely resembles human milk. Persons who react to type 4 often do well on Type 3 dairy and some lactose intolerant persons loose their lactose sensitivity because the body is not working so hard to cope with the type 4 casein. There are bovine herds which are type 3, the milk is often sold as A2 milk. If one does react to dairy elimination brought relief after 2 days though it can take longer.
Trying to eliminate grain protein, gluten intolerance is more difficult especially if you use proprietary prepared foods. For those with issues in this area it can take up to a year to reduced the symptoms though many will find relief within days or weeks. Those for whom it take towards 12 months all it will likely take to set off their symptoms again is one mishap with the substance.
Dietary reactions often accompany endocrine issues, most commonly autoimmune conditions. My experience has been, they are not taken seriously enough, not tested for properly with symptoms often dismissed. Thyroid conditions have over 300 possible symptoms, many are emblematic but are often dismissed as, "women's issues" because predominantly women suffer more than men, something like 12 women to one man. Then when it is finally agreed a woman is hypothyroid she is not generally tested for autoimmunity. General Medicine say the treatment for Hashimoto's along with dietary hypothyroidism is the same but restoring digestive integrity has been proved to reduce the degree of autoimmunity and give the sufferer a better, if not totally restoring their quality of life.
In my dietary travels I found vitamin C and Vitamin B6 assist in the production of DAO Histaminases which helps resolve histamine issues. There are also digestive enzymes which provide single or multi enzymes to help a persons digestion.
Wishing anyone with dietary restrictions all the very best, I want fewer persons to have to follow the path I have regrettably trodden to get to my lowest ebb, life had to be worth the fight and it is.3 -
I know there were a few of us who had just started an elimination diet, or were going to soon. For those of you who are currently in the beginning stages of one, how's it going? Have you noticed any positives out of it so far?
I started mine Tuesday, and it is quite limited. I'll be honest, I'm a skeptic at heart and thinking "why did I sign up for this?!" a few days this week. Day 1 was the worst, with the caffeine withdrawl and probably a bit of hangover from 2 glasses of wine the night before (what was I thinking?!). However, the withdrawl was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I do feel I'm in a better mood and my joints aren't as achy (especially my low back), and I haven't had to use the Icy Hot on my low back this week. I also have not taken allergy medicine in the past 3 days because I haven't felt I've needed to, and it was getting pretty bad before I started. However, that could just be from eliminating the alcohol, caffeine and even cow's milk. I get to add chicken and rice (among some other things) back in this week, and I never thought I'd be so excited to have chicken and rice!3 -
I've been on one for two weeks. 1st was warm up where you empty out the fridge, 2nd week has been full compliance.
I haven't been logging well but I find I'm eating less and my hunger is also less. I shed a ton of water just after going to full compliance.
Macro wise I was high protein/fat while the elimination diet has cut them back in favor of increased fruit/veggies.
I wasn't trying to address a specific inflammation issue and can't yet identify any benefits yet besides increased weight loss. I am surprised that my hunger is reduced with the lower protein & fat, no dairy.0 -
psychod787 wrote: »Elimination Diet? Isn't that a really high fiber diet? 🤔
It's more like the Eliminate All the Things You Like to Eat diet. It's actually very low fiber since it cuts out all whole grains, most legumes.It's a low irritant diet, supposedly eliminating things that aren't easily digested and bother the bowel.2 -
psychod787 wrote: »Elimination Diet? Isn't that a really high fiber diet? 🤔
It's more like the Eliminate All the Things You Like to Eat diet. It's actually very low fiber since it cuts out all whole grains, most legumes.It's a low irritant diet, supposedly eliminating things that aren't easily digested and bother the bowel.
Sounds F#cking horrible!1 -
I've been on one for two weeks. 1st was warm up where you empty out the fridge, 2nd week has been full compliance.
I haven't been logging well but I find I'm eating less and my hunger is also less. I shed a ton of water just after going to full compliance.
Macro wise I was high protein/fat while the elimination diet has cut them back in favor of increased fruit/veggies.
I wasn't trying to address a specific inflammation issue and can't yet identify any benefits yet besides increased weight loss. I am surprised that my hunger is reduced with the lower protein & fat, no dairy.
I have definitely been low on protein, and I'm feeling it. MY allowed proteins were sole (which you can't find), scallops (tried some-yuck), cod (ok), tuna (ok) lamb (ok, but hard to find and expensive). Today I get to add chicken-YAY! I may be eating chicken at every meal. It seems a lot of the phase 1-2 foods for me are seafood. I hated seafood as a kid, but luckily before all this I started trying to eat some more of it, and my kids really like fish and my daughter LOVES shrimp. I was allowed a couple kinds of nuts/seeds and a couple fruits/veggies and one grain (buckwheat), but have been able to meet my fiber needs.
This next phase I'm allowed more foods, but can only add in one per day. I said it before, but if I would've rolled my eyes at something like this and was only doing something like this based on the recommendation of my physical therapist. Sunday was my heavy lifting day at the gym, so kind of a test to see if this would really do anything for my after-workout aches. I did not have any low back pain, even after my heavy deadlift sets and setting a new 1 Max PR. Definitely can't eat like this forever, though, but supposedly this also "calms" the immune system down so when I do go back to eating some of those higher reactive foods (more sparingly), my body shouldn't react as much. We'll see.1
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