What is it?
In a nutshell, an elimination diet is a strict diet that you follow to determine if you have any hidden food allergies.
So what exactly are we eliminating here??
- Dairy Products
- Wheat (oats, barley and rye are okay)
- Corn
- Eggs
- Citrus Fruits
- Coffee, tea and alcohol (herbal tea is allowed)
- Refined Sugars
- Food Additives
Why would anyone do this??
Although I am crazy (just as my title suggests!), I'm not exactly doing this voluntarily. I do try to eat healthy foods and cut out as much junk as possible, but I can admit this is a little extreme. This particular diet was suggested to me by my pulmonary doctor.
How long are we talking here?
The diet itself lasts for three weeks. You have stop eating the restricted foods completely. This does mean spending a little more time reading labels at the store to make sure that you aren't consuming anything with traces or byproducts of the eliminated foods.
After the three weeks you can start reintroducing the eliminated foods one at a time. Pick what you've missed the most and gradually add it back in over a few days. If you don't notice any changes in how you feel, add in the next category until you're back to your normal diet. If you do notice that after adding eggs back in, for example, you start noticing increased mucus production, stuffiness etc, you may very well have an allergy to eggs.
The bottom line is just to see if there is anything out there that may be making you feel less than great. You may find that you feel exactly the same after the diet, but you might also find that by making some adjustments to your diet you can increase your overall well being.
No comments:
Post a Comment