How an Elimination Diet Can Change Your Health. Do you struggle with unexplained symptoms such as bloating, brain fog, weight gain, headaches, or fatigue? Here’s a super simple way to determine if food sensitivities might be the culprit…
The idea behind elimination diets is to help people identify subtle, gradual reactions to common food groups such as gluten, dairy, egg, soy, corn, peanuts, sugar and alcohol. By completely avoiding those foods for at least 4 weeks, a person is able to clear out any antibodies and will usually notice an improvement in symptoms. After 4 weeks, each food is added back one by one to test the body’s response. When you go on an elimination diet, it is like hitting the “reset” button and most people feel dramatically better and may lose some weight!
Here’s what you should ditch:
- Gluten (wheat, rye, and barley)
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Soy
- Corn
- Peanuts
- Sugar
- All artificial preservatives, additive, dyes, sweeteners, etc…
Unless you eliminate all foods 100%, you may not notice a difference in how you feel. In addition, many people have strong sensitivities to more than one food. If you only go off one thing at a time, you won’t feel partially better and you may feel no better at all.
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Plan ahead by shopping for foods that you CAN eat. Make a grocery list of organic protein sources (fish, chicken, bison, beef); healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil or coconut butter, olive oil, grapeseed oil, organic ghee; milk alternatives, like coconut milk, almond milk, or coconut yogurt. Be sure to stock up on snack foods, like hummus, chia pudding, guacamole, cashew spread, raw nuts, seeds, and nut butters. Most important, make sure to get a variety fresh fruits and colorful vegetables and vow to try something new each week! Make sure to read all labels carefully to find hidden allergens. Eat a wide variety of foods and do not restrict your calorie intake. If you don’t notice an improvement during the four weeks, you either don’t have any food sensitivities or you may need further testing, such as comprehensive stool analysis or organic acid testing.
But I’m still hungry…
If you find yourself hungry during the elimination diet, first ask yourself “Am I really hungry?” Other reasons we eat are out of boredom, loneliness, fatigue, or anger. If you are not experiencing any of these emotions and really find yourself hungry you are probably not eating enough fat. Increase your intake of healthy fats. Add avocado to smoothie or on top of burgers. Use organic ghee or coconut oil on top of roasted veggies and salads. Snack on nut butters or coconut butter.
The first few days will be the hardest as your body goes through withdrawal from sugar and your cravings will be more intense. Symptoms you may experience in the first week or so can include changes in sleep patterns, lightheadedness, headaches, joint or muscle stiffness and changes in gastrointestinal function. Such symptoms rarely last for more than a few days. You may find yourself walking around looking for something to eat and nothing sounds good. This is usually because we have trained ourselves to snack on processed sugary foods, especially when we are bored or tired! Be sure to start your day with healthy protein, like a spinach berry protein smoothie.
What do I do after the elimination diet?
The goal of the elimination diet is to reconnect you to how food makes you feel. There is no typical or normal response and each person may differ in how they feel. The key is that you reestablish your connection with food and begin to understand how food affects the way you feel. After the four weeks, you may begin to reintroduce the foods you’ve eliminated but it is important to do so one by one, with only one new food introduced every 2-3 days. That way you can monitor your body for return of symptoms, such as brain fog, water retention, or bloating. If you notice symptoms with a certain food, take that one back our and try something else. At the end of your elimination diet you should come away with a sense of what foods you do well with and which ones make you feel terrible. Hopefully, you will feel improvement during the elimination diet and continue avoiding the foods that make you feel the worst.
I know changing habits, especially involving food, can be difficult. I promise you the health reward will be well worth it. And soon you’ll be feeling so much better that you will not even miss the foods you’ve given up! If you need additional guidance or further testing, please give our office a call for an appointment.
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Great article Jill and another tool I will use to continue my evolution into functional health.
Thanks Jill!
I love seeing other MD’s doing the same for patients—I’ll direct patients to your site for great information
Thank you for this article. I am confused about one thing. You do list the gluten to eliminate but under foods that are allowed, you don’t list any grains (e.g. rice, quinoa, oats, etc). Are gluten-free grains allowed on an elimination diet? Thank you!
Hi Linda,
You might start with eliminating gluten, corn, and soy. Patients who don’t have an autoimmune disease may tolerate rice and quinoa without difficultly. Thanks for your question! I do not recommend oats and there is a high level of cross-reactivity in those also sensitive to gluten.
Hi Dr. Jill,
Are you still using the GI Effects since they no longer use the DNA probe? Do you rec just the CDSA 2.0 now instead?
Thanks!
Robert
Hi Robert,
GI Effects is still using DNA technology for microbial testing but has simply changed the parasitology from DNA probes to O&P. I do find the O&P to be less sensitive but I still use this test as first choice. I will use Organic acid testing as well to get a better picture of microbial balance and sometimes follow-up with CDSA or other stool test if there are still questions. Hope that helps!
warmly
Dr Jill
Hi Dr. Jill,
Great talk on the thyroid summit!
I’ve been wondering if I can do a food elimination diet while on Cytomel? I thought that I had been gluten free for several years, and I recently found out that Cytomel may contain gluten?! I’m trying to regain my good health after suffering from thyroid/adrenal issues.
Also, what do you think of the elisa food sensitivity tests? They cover so many more foods than the elimination diet could do….plus molds, etc.
Thanks so much,
Heather
Hi Heather,
Yes, you should be able to do an elimination diet while on cytomel but check with the pharmacist for a full disclosure of ingredients, including gluten. If there is gluten in your medication, you should consult with you physician about going off of it during elimination diet. I typically use IgG testing instead of MRT or Elisa.
Warmly
Dr Jill
If I possibly have auto-immune issues, should I avoid night shades as well? And rice/quinoa etc as well?
Yes, nightshades can be an issue with joint pain/autoimmune issues and may need to be avoided…
Also, does maple syrup/agave/honey/coconut palm sugar count as sugar in this situation? Or is this just referring to white refined/cane sugar?
If you have SIBO or candida overgrowth all sweeteners must be avoided, including dried fruits and juices
Whew. This is overwhelming!
🙂
Several I know have a major issue with histamines, mostly skin breakouts, but all sorts of other problems. I myself have eliminated all those things from my diet for a while and that did not solve my problems. I am now trying to heal the gut while having to avoid certain foods that are high in histamine. I know for certain that I break out from avocado and strawberries. I can tolerate some high histamine foods, but others cause problems. Skin breakouts on my hands or swollen eyes top and bottom, and itchiness to name a few.
Hi Sharon,
Histamine intolerance may be caused by abnormal microbes or yeast in the gut, inability for your body to break down histamine or excess histamine production. Read more here.
warmly
Dr Jil
I also have a question about this. It’s confusing to see the list on histamines with foods to eliminate like spinach and then to see them included in the general elimination diet. It seems that there would be nothing left to eat! I have interstitial cystitis and everywhere I turn I see some list that says don’t eat that. The regular IC diet includes wheat and non-aged cheeses such as cream cheese, but these would be eliminated on an elimination diet. I don/t see a clear path. Wish someone could really help. Thank you.
Hi Susan
Diet is best personalized to the individual and Ig testing may be helpful.
warmly
Dr Jill
Hi Dr. Jill. I see that this post is a few years old but I hope you will answer this question.
How does the elimination diet you have laid out here differ from FODMAP? FODMAP is still confusing for me.
I gave up gluten and dairy 4 yrs ago, all on my own (God’s direction, I am sure) because of severe IBS and bronchitis that lasted for months. At that time, I also gave up sugar but I’m not as diligent with sugar abstinence because it isn’t a trigger like the other two–or maybe I’m living in denial. 😕
About 6 months ago, I started with an allergist because of prolonged bronchitis once again. He gave me a single sheet of paper about FODMAP foods allowed and not allowed. It is my understanding that FODMAP is an elimination /reintroduction diet but the paper he gave me does not explain it. I have found several different opinions about what FODMAP is and how to “work it”, making it even more confusing.
I need help knowing what I am supposed to do. I want to have solid answers for him when I go back.
Thank you, so very much!!
Hi Brenda
Low FODMAP diet is to treat SIBO, the elimination diet is a challenge to determine if you have food allergies… they are each done for different purposes.
warmly
Dr Jill