Should you do a Food Elimination?
A Food Elimination can be a powerful tool to discover whether foods you eat are causing you to feel unwell.
Food can cause symptoms and health problems ranging from allergies to mood instability to digestive issues and inflammation.
Many of my patients ask for food intolerance or food allergy tests. These tests can be helpful in that you can see in black and white whether your body is making antibodies (and therefore mounting an immune response) against certain foods. But, you have to understand the pro’s and con’s of doing these tests.
I have had many situations where a patient has done a food allergy or intolerance test and their result is completely clear. No evidence of a food allergy or intolerance on their blood. But they KNOW that if they eat potatoes their digestion is upset, they get bloated or they get tingling in their mouth. So, despite the blood test showing no biochemical sign of reaction, they definitely feel unwell after eating potatoes. The test is not awfully useful in this situation because we would not advise this patient to happily eat potatoes just because the test said they are not allergic / intolerant.
And, on the other hand I have had patients who have symptoms of food intolerance who go ahead and get tested and their results show that they are reacting to EVERYTHING except maybe corn and tuna. So, what should be done in this situation? Only eat corn and tuna for the rest of time?
I often advise my patients who suspect their symptoms may be food-related to hold back on testing, and rather do a food elimination.
A Food Elimination is a relatively easy, inexpensive and safe way to find out how your body reacts to certain foods.
If you want to do a Food Elimination – you must be prepared.
It will take at least 3 weeks and you should preferably not have any major change in your normal routine (or celebrations) scheduled during that time. Get everyone in your household on-board and reduce your potential exposure to temptation.
You will need a place to keep notes (notebook, phone or tablet) of everything you eat and drink, as well as how you feel for the duration of the Food Elimination and re-introduction.
What CAN’T you eat during a Food Elimination?
You will need to avoid foods that are well-known to cause symptoms for 2 WEEKS:
- Wheat and wheat products
- Barley and Rye
- Sugars (including most fruits, honey and sweeteners)
- Dairy
- Legumes and pulses
- Nightshade vegetables: Potatoes, aubergines, tomatoes & peppers
- Carbohydrate-based drinks including sodas, alcohol and fruit juice
- Colourants, preservatives and artificial flavours
What CAN you eat during a Food Elimination?
- Unprocessed meat, chicken, fish and eggs
- All fats and oils (except margarine)
- Herbs and spices
- Nuts and seeds (unless you are allergic)
- Vegetables (all except nightshades)
- Berries
- Gluten-free grains: Rice, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, tapioca, corn, millet
- Sweeteners: Stevia, molasses and maple syrup
After 2 weeks, you can re-introduce foods one at a time and see how your body reacts.
As you re-introduce foods that you eliminated, take note of any symptoms (headaches, heartburn or digestive issues, energy levels, sleep quality, mood etc),
You will learn how certain foods affect you. You will understand your body better. You will be empowered to avoid foods that make you feel unwell so you can feel energized and happy.
If you would like to download a printable food journal template to use during your food elimination, click here (https://lifestyledoc.co.za/diet-diary-and-food-journal/).
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