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Elimination diets are often used to self diagnose a multitude of health concerns. This is an inexpensive way to find out if there are certain foods that might be causing a condition without having to go through other tests. Allergies and food intolerances are very often discovered by using this technique. Other discomforts such as migraines arthritis, ADHD, or skin conditions are also common reasons to use an elimination diet.
What is an Elimination Diet?
An elimination diet has two phases, first is elimination and second is reintroduction. During the elimination phase, all foods that are common allergens will be eliminated from the diet completely for a period of 1 week for children or 3-4 weeks for adults. After the elimination phase is complete, each food on the “do not eat” list will be reintroduced to the diet one at a time. As each food is reintroduced into the diet all symptoms and feelings should be recorded. On day 1 after elimination phase is complete, choose one food to test and on that day eat 1-3 servings of the food of choice, the following two days go back to the elimination diet and record all symptoms. Your symptoms will tell you whether this food is your issue or not. On the fourth day, introduce another food and repeat this process until online casino all foods have been tested.
What foods should be eliminated?
The foods that should be eliminated are all foods that commonly cause allergies or other health problems. The foods you should avoid are:
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Soy
- Eggs
- Corn
- Pork, Beef, Chicken, shellfish
- Beans
- Coffee
- Citrus fruit
- Nuts and seeds
- Nightshade vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, casino online eggplant, peppers
- Alchohol
- Caffeine
- Chocolate
- Sugar, artificial sweeteners, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup
This sounds like a lot! Remember, its only temporary. You will be able to eat these foods again (most of them). Getting these foods out of the system for a period of 1-4 weeks will help the body to reset. Notice how you are feeling without these foods as a part of your diet.
What foods can be Eaten in Elimination phase?
- Rice, buckwheat, quinoa
- All fruits other then citrus
- All vegetables other then nightshades
- Fish, turkey, lamb, duck, wild game
- Unsweetened rice milk or coconut milk
- Olive oil, flax seed oil, coconut oil
- Water (LOTS of it!), Herbal caffeine free tea
- Sea salt, herbs, spices, vinegar
- Stevia, brown rice syrup (if needed)
Recording your Results
The most important part of this diet is to record your symptoms as each food is reintroduced. One added benefit of doing this diet is that it really makes you become more conscious of the reactions in your own body. So often we are busy going about our day and don”t even notice how our bodies are feeling. Going through this process forces one to really take notice of what is going on. Take the time to think about how you feel and record it in a small journal or notebook that you carry with you. Just doing this will amaze you and really give you a clear picture of how foods affect how you feel.
