How to Start an Elimination Diet for Food Sensitivity

Stay away from milk, eggs and wheat when starting an elimination diet

Whether it's as mild as an unsettled stomach or as serious as your throat swelling closed, food allergies and sensitivities are a common problem. You may not even know what food it is that is causing you that itchiness, headache or upset stomach. The elimination diet is one way to discover which foods may be affecting your health. As the name implies, the diet requires you to eliminate highly allergic foods from your diet to clear out your system and allow you to discover which foods you should stay away from in the future. The most common foods to be eliminated are eggs, dairy, wheat and nuts.

Instructions

1. See your doctor. If you have concerns about a food allergy or sensitivity, bring them up with your doctor first. He may have some idea what could be causing your issues. If your doctor does believe an elimination diet is an appropriate step he can give you tips on how to follow the diet and give you some nutritional guidelines to ensure you are getting the nutrients you would normally get from the foods you eliminated.

2. Plan your meals. When shopping for the beginning of your diet, read all of the food labels of the products you are using. While you may not think that what you are buying contains something you are trying to eliminate, foods such as eggs and gluten products are common to a wide variety of prepared and packaged foods. When dining out, ask about a dish's ingredients and how it is prepared.

3. Begin eating meals without any of the foods you have eliminated in order to clear them out of your system. This can last from around two weeks to four weeks. Keep watch on how you feel as your diet progresses and if your symptoms go away.

4. Keep a journal as you start your diet. Write down what you ate and how you felt without the eliminated foods in your diet. As you reintroduce foods, you will better be able to remember the effects they have on you if you write them down.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not add new foods too quickly to make sure that you can determine which added food you may be reacting to.

• Always consult a doctor before starting a new diet plan.

• If you suffer from anaphylaxis, do not try an elimination diet on your own; you will need to work closely with your doctor to determine the origin of your food allergy.

References

• Cleveland Clinic Health Information: Elimination Diet and Food Challenge Test
• Everydiet: Elimination Diets
• Balance Naturopathic: Elimination Diet

Resources

• Allergy escape: Food Allergy - What You Need to Know