Earlier this week I cut a few foods out of my diet for a few days because I was pressed for time and not eating much variety. I noticed during that period a health issue I have seemed to improve. It could be coincidence but I am now wanting to try an elimination diet to see how I react.
I can look online and find what all to cut (grains, corn, citrus, dairy, etc). It doesn’t leave much except rice, non citrus fruits, vegetables and dairy alternative,.
For those that do it, did the lack of variety get annoying? I enjoy rice and dairy alternatives, but after a few days may get sick of them. I don’t like vegetables but do like fruit.
Did other people notice anything with this diet? I may buy some soylent and drink that.
My mum had to do an elimination diet for Crohn’s disease and in all honesty she hated it, but it did sort out what foods she can and can’t eat. The results were very surprising for her (e.g. tomatoes, which she loves and has eaten all her life) but her overall health has been immeasurably improved as a result.
I noticed a huge improvement in my digestion when I cut out wheat products, which was confirmed when I started eating bread again with very unpleasant consequences. But it wasn’t a proper controlled elimination diet like my mum went through.
We did one with our dog. At first, she got only brown rice and salmon, but she was quite happy. Next foods added were potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tuna. Turned out her major allergen was corn.
So we found a dog food without corn, and the dog was unhappy about not getting salmon and sweet potatoes anymore.
Do this with a dietician, discuss your concerns, and try to make sure that some things you really like will be added early.
I have been experimenting with an elimination diet for about two months now, in hopes of reducing joint inflammation and pain. On the Do Not Eat list: wheat in any form, tomatoes, corn, milk and milk products (except that butter is ok), potatoes (regular or sweet), peanuts, sugar and alcohol. I have not been able to give up the sugar or the alcohol completely, but for several weeks I was able to cut it way back. So, I can eat fruit, veggies (especially green ones), grain-fed meat, organic eggs, oils, tree nuts, seeds, rice and quinoa.
The first three weeks were fine. I felt hopeful and was busy exploring new ways to cook the stuff I could eat. Ate a lot of salads and steamed veggies which I like, drizzled with good quality olive oil. Pain and inflammation seemed to get a little better. But over time, it’s become a slog. Stress can also increase my inflammation, so I can be eating lettuce and broccoli for a week and still get flare-ups of pain. Not eating bread or pasta is a pain. Let’s face it, we were raised on toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins, donuts and cereal as breakfast foods. I can bring myself to eat only so many eggs each week, and fruit in the morning doesn’t carry me through 'til lunch. And I’ve been craving chocolate.
Lately, I’ve been back-sliding. And, I’m paying the price. My joints ache, I’m not sleeping very well, yada, yada. I"m going to get back on the straight and narrow, because I think it is the best for me in the long run, but I won’t tell anyone that it’s easy.
Yeah, I know, but I don’t think it was on the market yet when we did the diet with the dog-- it was a long time ago.
I think you are confusing “elimination diet” with “restrictive diet.”
With an elimination diet, you eat just two or three foods for several days, and watch for a reaction. If you have none, you introduce one food at a time (usually about one every three days) and watch for a reaction. Most people have an inkling of what their triggers might be, and certain foods are unlikely to provoke allergies, so they are usually the ones on the initial diet. It’s a very specific process used in diagnosis, and most often done under a doctor’s supervision, because for the first few weeks, it won’t be well-balanced.
My boyfriend and I did the Clean ‘diet,’ which is a 21-day cleanse followed by slowly reintroducing potential allergens. Honestly I was most concerned about the cleanse part, but there was enough variety and potential substitutions that we were never hungry, never felt deprived, and had no problems at all. After the cleanse part, I wasn’t taking my daily acid-reducing medication, my boyfriend was sleeping 7-8 hours a night (highly unusual for him), both of us noticed a significant improvement in joints that we had prior injuries in, and my boyfriend (who is an active duty Marine and not a large guy) was dropping weight like he was chopping off body parts.
We moved on to the ‘adding things back in’ and have discovered things we are definitely sensitive to, things that are kind of heartbreaking to not be able to have any more. But the trade-off is worth it. And as I said, there are plenty of substitutions, enough that you can eat a well-balanced, varied diet. We found a ‘clean’ Chipotle knock-off recipe that has become a regular part of our meal rotation, and it’s delicious.
A lot of the “Clean” process is woo-heavy, but the diet portion is solid.