TLDR - Elimination diets are an excellent tool for identifying and avoiding food triggers, as well as for healing the digestive system.
What Is an Elimination Diet?
An elimination diet is a structured eating plan that involves removing certain foods from your diet and then gradually reintroducing them to identify which ones may be causing negative symptoms. This approach is highly personalized because everyone’s body responds differently to various foods. While some foods are generally well tolerated by most people, individual reactions can vary widely. The goal of an elimination diet is to find a diet that leaves you symptom free, then carefully reintroduce foods to identify any triggers.
My Recommended Elimination Diet
Step 1: Begin with a Strict Paleo Diet
The first step in an elimination diet is to start with a strict Paleo diet. The Paleo diet focuses on whole, unprocessed foods that our ancestors would have eaten. Here’s what to do:
Choose Organic Foods: Whenever possible, opt for organic produce and meats to minimize your exposure to pesticides and chemicals that could affect your gut health.
Eat Low FODMAP Vegetables: FODMAPs are specific types of carbohydrates that can cause digestive issues in some people. Low FODMAP vegetables are less likely to trigger these problems.
Select Non Processed Meats: Ensure that the meat you eat is free from additives, preservatives, and other processing chemicals.
Follow this strict Paleo diet for at least a week. Avoid foods you know you have a problem with or are harder for you to digest. If your symptoms improve or disappear, you can skip to Step 3. If not, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: Try a Strict Carnivore Diet
If the Paleo diet doesn’t alleviate your symptoms, the next step is to try a strict carnivore diet for one week. This diet involves eating only non processed meat, eliminating all other food groups. While some people may have sensitivities to meat, most do not, making this a helpful step in narrowing down potential triggers.
Non Processed Meat Only: Focus on high quality, non processed meats like beef, chicken, lamb, and fish. Avoid any meat that contains added ingredients or has been preserved with chemicals.
If your symptoms improve on the Carnivore diet, you can move to Step 3. If not, further investigation into specific sensitivities may be needed.
Step 3: Fine Tune Your Diet
Once you've found a diet that alleviates your symptoms, continue on it until you've been symptom free for at least a full week. This step is crucial for establishing a stable baseline before reintroducing foods. Keep a detailed food diary to track what you eat and any symptoms that occur. This will help you identify patterns and specific triggers as you progress through the elimination diet.
Step 4: Begin Reintroducing Foods
With a stable baseline established, you can begin the process of reintroducing foods. Start with whole fruits and vegetables, as these are generally well tolerated by most people. Note that processed foods are likely to remain problematic until your gut has fully healed. Focus on nourishing your digestive system with whole, nutrient dense foods and my digestive health recommendations.
Reintroduce One Food at a Time: Introduce one new food every few days and monitor your body's reaction. If you experience any negative symptoms, remove the food from your diet and wait until you return to your symptom free baseline before trying another food.
Gradual Testing: This slow, methodical approach helps you pinpoint which foods are problematic and which are safe to include in your regular diet.
Alternative
Alternatively you could use Muscle Testing to Identify Triggers and then Desensitize Yourself to specific foods after your digestive system has healed.
Muscle testing, also known as applied kinesiology, is an alternative approach some people use to identify food intolerances. This method involves testing the body's response to different foods through muscle strength. You can then desensitize yourself via multiple different techniques to reduce your sensitivity to specific foods over time.