There are many elimination diets, all aimed at identifying foods or categories of foods that may interfere with the body in some way, by cutting out a single food or a type of food based on chemistry. Sometimes just reducing certain food types will make symptoms reduce or go away, but for several body chemistry problems or for children it may be necessary to completely eliminate foods for a period of time before adding them back.
These may even be healthy, green, raw foods full of nutrients in some cases, but they have some offending part that may cause problems for certain people. These diets are not for everyone, and different foods cause different responses in different people.
They are not called reduction diets because often just reducing the amount of a problem food will not be enough to calm an irritated digestive or immune system. Sometimes the person needs to clear out most traces of the problem food
Some people decide to never add those foods back, and others use the process to reintroduce the foods to discover their tolerance level of the food before they get symptoms.
Why Are Elimination Diets Helpful?
Many food categories can cause problems in the body. Some have proteins that attach to our cells, others increase chemicals in our gut or blood, and others trigger immune reactions. In fact, the most common cause of atopic dermatitis, skin atopy often called eczema, is a non-antibody based reaction to some food.
Completely eliminating a food may not be truly necessary for everyone, but it can help aid in the process of identifying the offending foods once and for all. While some people get better within days of reducing a food, others may need to get rid of the food for many weeks to allow their gut and immune system or even joints to heal and reduce inflammation.
There are a good deal of urine and other lab tests for the components that people try to eliminate, and they can test for these easily. For other food chemistries such as lectins and haptens, there are no lab tests and the only way to truly know is to try an elimination diet. Antibody tests in the blood or skin to foods can help, but many of the food intolerances people have, do not involve antibodies.
If the chemistry matches up correctly, some people will see profound reduction of many symptoms from elimination diets such as headaches, migraines, indigestion, joint pain, numbness and tingling, eczema and rashes, warts and skin tags, cherry angiomas (red spots on the skin), sleep disorders, allergies, menstrual problems, constipation and diarrhea, heartburn, chronic cough and postnasal drip, chronic ear infections,
These diets, when combined with other methods, may even contribute to reduction of mental health symptoms like depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, PTSD and ADHD, autism and the inflammation from new or past concussions.
When beginning an elimination diet, the bowels may become upset or gassy at first as the diet and gut microorganisms change. This is a temporary discomfort and usually only lasts a few days. Bloating usually reduces at the belt line, right after the bowels self-regulate.
What Foods Are Typically Eliminated?
The most common elimination diets seek to eliminate or greatly reduce one of these: histamine, lectins, carbs, seed oils, colors and flavors, grains, sulfur, salicylates, nightshade plants (solanacea foods), citric acid, dairy or processed dairy, eggs, MSG, caffeine, nicotine, oxalates, gluten, fiber (yes fiber!), plant foods, and haptens- a name for artificial petrochemical based preservatives.
Some people with serious problems may decide they need to eliminate more than one of the above at the same time, which can feel really restrictive at first. This involves careful reading of food labels, and learning about the ways food companies can distort the ingredients list legally.
How Long Does It Last?
Simple elimination diets may only require a few days off of a particular food type to see symptoms reduce. Most people need at least 2 weeks to feel a real difference.
For people with lectin sensitivity, the lectins are proteins that latch onto and irritate digestive cells, and these lectin proteins need to decay over many weeks. This means they need 2 or more months on a lectin elimination diet to really feel better.
Those with autoimmune reactions may require 6 months or more for IGG antibodies to reduce back to normal, and some with autoimmune disease will never be able to tolerate the food. Some foods can trigger autoimmune reactions by faking the immune system into responding to a false infection.
Can I Eat My “Eliminated” Foods Again?
Most of the time, people discover a certain tolerance level for foods after an elimination process. They slowly add back the foods and observe for symptoms like indigestion, bloating, gas, eczema, and stop there and watch the symptoms reduce again. In this way they can determine how much they can eat of that food before they pay a price in their body, joints or brain.
Convinced? Here’s How to Start An Elimination Diet
First, read the descriptions of each one, and select one that seems to fit both your symptoms and your consumption. When the diet is full of food that may match the symptoms, elimination is more likely to have success.
What Can I Eat?
People are often surprised to learn that they can tolerate more animal products, more clean animal based and vegetable saturated fats, and some discover a whole world of new fruits and veggies that they did not know about.
What Can I Drink?
I always advise against sugary or artificially sweetened sodas, and I’m not a fan of sugary fruit juices without a purpose. Coffee or tea is sometimes a problem, but not for most people. Vegetable juices can either be a savior or a terrible problem for some. Whether the fiber is kept or discarded in a vegetable juice can also make a real difference, and you may have to experiment with different veggies and their fibers.
How to Come Off My Diet In the Smartest Way
Many relatively healthy people try these successfully with a little self-study. For those with complex health issues or medications, there will be a need to have a doctor help. This is not medical advice, and I believe in health independence and freedom. Rapid changes in diet can upset medications and health conditions, so seek a skilled clinician’s advice before making changes in your diet.
Conclusion
Elimination diets can be a fun way to change your life, and they go easier with a buddy who is doing it with you. A family member or roommate can really make a difference in trying out an elimination diet.
How I Can Help
If you’re ready to dive into alternative approaches to health and wellness, I suggest that you visit our YouTube channel here.
Or you can book a Q&A coaching session with me here.
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