The Elimination Diet
Have you ever heard of the elimination diet? What’s the deal anyway? The elimination diet focuses on eliminating certain foods to determine if one has a sensitivity to that food without testing (think IgG blood test). Why would someone think they have a food sensitivity? Well, there’s a few things I would consider:
– Bloating everyday or almost everyday
– IBS/ Crohn’s/ IBD/ Colitis or digestive concerns
– Constipation or loose stools
– Chronic headaches
– Smelly flatulence
– Chronic runny nose (clear discharge)
– Chronic sinus or tonsil infections
These are some of the most common signs of food intolerances. Now, here comes the tricky part. What to eliminate? Well, if you’re hardcore you could basically eliminate everything: citrus, tomatoes, potatoes, cacao, eggs, tree nuts, dairy, gluten, wheat (actually, all grains except rice), quinoa, oats, coffee, shellfish, corn, alcohol, peanuts, nitrates, preservatives, food additives… the list goes on. If you do this, you’re a stronger person than I and deserve a badge of honor. Instead, I make a list of what that individual eats on the regular, and eliminate their top offenders. For example, I had a client who would eat peanut butter on toast and a glass of milk for breakfast, popcorn for a snack, a sandwich with luncheon meat for lunch, and pasta for dinner. Do you see what I see? I asked this client to eliminate wheat/gluten, corn, peanuts and dairy. All her digestive issues magically went away. Alternatively, you could get something called the IgG food sensitivity blood test, so you could objectively see what is causing your issues. The downfall to the test is it can’t possibly test for every substance you ingest, but it comes pretty darn close. I think the biggest lesson the elimination diet is trying to teach us is that we as humans require variety in our diets. You weren’t built to eat the same foods, over and over again. Switch it up!
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