An elimination diet is a food trial that takes course over the period of many weeks, typically a minimum of 5-8 weeks but sometimes more if there are multiple tolerances suspected. Foods which are commonly considered to be questionable are completely removed from the diet for a short time and slowly reintroduced one by one while monitoring the worsening, diminishing, or onset of symptoms before, during, and after consumption.

Many will think the time and effort it takes to properly do an elimination diet is too much to embark upon. However, once one considers the amount of time already spent seeking medical help, looking for answers and not getting the right ones, or trying medication after medication, a few weeks is a drop in the bucket of time. At worst, one will feel better due to eating a healthier diet for a short time. At best, you will accurately identify what it is you are eating that is making you sick and by eliminating it go on to live a full, happy and healthy life free of the bothersome or debilitating symptoms that have been plaguing you for so long. Once this is considered, the elimination diet is not such a daunting task. While on this diet, if symptoms improve and you feel better, it means that something you are eating or drinking is either causing or contributing to the severity of your symptoms.

When one does have a food sensitivity/intolerance the symptomatic effects can linger anywhere from days to months, so it is a wise idea to remain on the ’safe food diet’ for at least a week, or two if symptoms are severe, before starting the process of reintroducing foods. This allows the body to eliminate as much of the offending food as possible and begin the slow process of healing. Additionally, you can add a pro-biotic regime during this time. Pro biotics are good bacteria that is essential to the proper balance of flora and function in the digestive tract. By taking this time to properly prepare for the diet, you will most likely begin to notice a relief of many symptoms and you will also be more readily aware of the onset of symptoms when an offending food is ingested.

Keep in mind that food intolerances/sensitivities are many times the delayed type, persisting for a while after the offending food has been eliminated and once symptoms improve it can begin recurring again sometimes immediately and sometimes only after repeated daily exposures.

Why The Diet?

The elimination diet, or “Cave Man Diet” or the “Rare Food Diet” avoids many commonly eaten foods. This regimen closely resembles the diet of a stone-age hunter-gatherer.
Due to the fact that the immune system is more likely to become sensitized to foods which have been eaten frequently in the past, repeated and continued exposure can lead to sensitization and re-sensitization. Alternatively, foods which are not commonly eaten are less likely to cause adverse reactions. Because of this all sensitizing foods are eliminated during the same period of time, for a month or more, in order to allow enough time for symptoms to begin to dissipate. As previously stated, if multiple intolerances are suspected, this time can easily extend. Adequate improvement and proper identification can be missed by eliminating only one or a few of the sensitizing substances. By not being adamant in removing all possibly offending foods, you can skew the results and will have wasted the time spent restricting foods and making notes. It is essential to be very strict in following the elimination diet. Adverse reactions to not only foods, but beverages as well are very common, however are often completely unsuspected. Favorite foods that one believes to be needed for well-being may in fact be causing symptoms of illness. Read labels, suspect everything.

It has been shown that dietary carbohydrates cause yeast to multiply in the body thereby bringing about symptoms. Yeast is highly stressful to the immune system and can greatly increase the severity of food and chemical sensitivities. This is a which came first, the chicken or the egg. Some believe yeast is a main causative factor that contributes to the severity of symptoms. And then it is purported by many that an overgrowth of yeast occurs because of the imbalances caused in the digestive system by a food intolerance. Either way, yeast is more often than not an issue for anyone with a food intolerance/ sensitivity and should be addressed either before or when starting the diet. You may choose an anti-fungal prescribed by your physician, or many people have success with a good pro biotic regimen. Pro biotic therapy can balance out the flora in the intestinal tract and bring a yeast overgrowth under control.

Unrelated to their carbohydrate content, milk, protein, wheat, corn, and other starchy grains are highly sensitizing to the immune system. Grains belong to the grass family and it is widely known that grass pollens are the most common cause of nasal allergy and hay fever. This also applies to foods in the grass family. For unknown reasons, milk and dairy products are also highly sensitizing, maybe due to the high grain diet fed to the livestock. Lactose intolerance is also common, however in many individuals the lactose intolerance is a direct side effect of another existing food intolerance. Once the other food intolerance is identified and the gut has healed, milk and dairy products can oftentimes be reintroduced to the diet without issue.

Preparing for the Elimination Diet

Begin by getting a notebook that you will use as your journal. Keep this journal with you everywhere you go and use it to write down your symptoms and what you eat. Be detailed and thorough in your notes. What may seem insignificant today can become quite significant when tracked over the course of the elimination diet.

Prior to beginning any elimination diet, make a full assessment of any and all symptoms you are currently or recently experiencing. Symptoms can include: fatigue; skin eruptions, rashes, or lesions; allergy type symptoms; digestive disorders; pain; moodiness; discomfort; psychiatric symptoms; vision changes; anxiety; tremors; etc. Regardless of how insignificant or ‘normal for you’ a symptom is, write it down. I like to do what I call the Top Down approach. With paper and pen in hand, begin literally at the top of your head and slowly work your way down to your toes and really think about any symptoms you may have had in each area. Do you have sores that take a long time to heal? Write these down as you think of them. Also, write down how you feel inside your body. Is there pressure behind your eyes? Is it hard to get a good breath? Does your back hurt all the time? Make a note regarding how you’ve been sleeping lately. Are you sleeping through the night? Do you wake up feeling rested? Are you having night sweats? And lastly, fully detail your moods. Are you quick to temper? Sad? Unexplained mood swings? While on the diet, take notice if you see a change in nasal or lung congestion, foggy thinking, mood swings, joint aches, drowsiness or bloating after meals, flatulence, indigestion, mucous, fatigue, digestive disorders, constipation/diarrhea, gas, fluid retention, pain, urinary problems, and other symptoms that can be caused by unsuspected food reactions.

These pre-diet notes will become the baseline you use to compare to as you proceed through the next few weeks. Keep this list in the front of your journal to use as a reference. Each day you can look through this master list of symptoms and note whether you are experiencing them or not, and to a lesser or worsening degree. One easy way to accomplish this is to number the symptoms on the master list and each day just write down the corresponding number to the symptom you are either experiencing or seeing relief in. By showing not only the symptoms you are experiencing, but also the symptoms which are lessening or no longer present, you will get a clearer picture as to what adjustments in diet you need to make.

What to Expect and How to Do It

Many experience withdrawal symptoms and/or strong cravings during the first week or two they are on the diet. Cravings and withdrawals are oddly also symptoms an existing food intolerance/sensitivity. Most often after a few weeks on the diet, these cravings and withdrawal symptoms will disappear.

By addressing yeast overgrowth, remaining on the safe food diet and abstaining from the foods you identify as problems for several months, previously reactive foods may become tolerated. However, sensitivities or intolerances to wheat, corn, milk, eggs, soy, chocolate, cola, sugar and chemical additives may remain fixed. Gluten grains, corn, and dairy products should be reintroduced last because long-term fixed intolerances to these items are common. In these cases, lifelong removal of these foods and/or additives in necessary for relief of symptoms and to stop the disease process from progressing further.

It is not required that you eat everything on the allowed list. It is an absolute must to avoid all things on the avoid lists. Additionally, if there are foods which you eat very regularly or crave, even if they are on the allowed list, avoid these as well during your food trial. If you already suspect a food that is on the allowed list, avoid that as well. Every individual is different, there is a wide variety of food intolerances, and what affects one negatively may not bother another.

Allowed and avoided foods, along with a few meal are listed below. I will not try to convince you that this will be easy, however do not become discouraged. This severity of the elimination diet is not a lifelong program. It is temporary and only serves as an aid to the identification of the underlying causes and to kick-start your recovery. If you discover food intolerances which persist, you would be well advised to avoid these foods for the duration of your lifetime. Not only can the continued ingestion of an intolerated food bring about miserable symptoms, it can also lead to the start of other, more serious disease processes such as cancer.

When there is a change in diet, new sensitivities can develop. Once you have completed this initial food trial and have learned the principles and procedures, you will be better able to identify and eliminate suspected foods as they come to your attention. These principles and this approach is not typically taught in medical schools, so do not be surprised or swayed if you health care providers do not understand this process. They may even try to discredit what you experience.

Take time to closely review the list below of allowed and avoided foods. Begin the elimination diet by eating only those items on the allowed list for ideally two months, but at the very least three weeks. As mentioned previously, negative effects from ingested foods can linger for quite some time and you want to give your body as much opportunity to recover and become symptom free before you begin reintroducing foods. Grain and gluten containing foods should be the last food groups to reintroduce to the diet as many times these reactions are more severe and more permanent.

Once you have been on the safe food diet for the minimum time, begin introducing new foods one at a time, every 3 to 4 days. Eat this new food at least two times a day during the 3 to 4 days you are testing it. Make a note of what you are eating and detail how you feel throughout the day.

Safe Foods List

READ ALL LABELS CAREFULLY FOR ADDITIVES.

Meat and Seafood

****Only if organic – no chemicals, additives, antibiotics, or growth hormones:

Beef (fresh or fresh frozen)

Lamb (fresh or fresh frozen)

Chicken (fresh or fresh frozen)

Turkey (fresh or fresh frozen)

Deep water ocean fish (orange roughy, wild salmon, tuna, halibut)

Crab

Lobsters

Oysters

Deer (and any other wild game)

Rabbit

Duck

Goose

Clams

Pheasant

Scallops

Cornish Game Hen (fresh or fresh frozen, no additives)

Avoid:

Any meat with additives.

Farm grown fish or shrimp

ALL processed meats (cold cuts, hot dogs, sausage, etc. – these have starch, colorings, sugars, preservatives and other chemicals which may cause reaction)

Fruits and Vegetables

Most fruits and vegetables are safe.

Select fresh or frozen, unprocessed fruits and vegetables.

Canned fruits and vegetables only if no additives. (fruits only in natural juices with no added sugar)

Only have fruit juices which are all natural, and then only in small amounts.

Avoid:

corn, white potatoes (even if skins are red), tomatoes, peas, beans, legumes, citrus, and apples.

(lemon and lime for flavoring should be fine)

Nuts

Fresh, untreated and unflavored nuts.

Avoid peanuts (these are actually a legume)

Oils

Use only cold pressed oils with no additives.

Safflower

Sunflower

Sesame

Flax seed

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Condiments

honey in very small amounts as a sweetener.

Stevia is highly recommended as a natural sweetener.

Sea salt is allowed.

Avoid:

NutraSweet®, Equal®, aspartame and saccharine, which are artificial chemical sweeteners.

Beverages

Bottled mineral, spring, or distilled water.

Filtered tap

Pure juice (in small amounts, no sugar added)

Carbonated water (unsweetened) but naturally flavored is fine.

Use only vitamins that are yeast free, gluten free, additive and chemical free.

Foods You Must Strictly Avoid

Avoid milk, cheese, yogurt, egg, all grains, corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, sugar, oranges, grapefruit, legumes, beans, peas, peanuts, beef, chicken, pork, apple, white potato, food colorings, chemical additives, emulsifiers, yeast, preservatives, chocolate, cola, processed and packaged foods, coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages.

Because wheat, corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet, and other grains are common causes of intolerance, and because all grains belong to related food families, avoid grains while on this diet. This means you must avoid all breads and other foods made with any kind of flour. Although buckwheat, amaranth, milo and quinoa do not belong to the grain family, many grain sensitive people react to those grain substitutes and they should also be avoided. Go ahead and get used to the idea of not having a sandwich.

Avoid milk, milk containing foods and dairy products entirely. Read all labels carefully. Avoid: cheese, butter, breads, ice cream, margarine, yogurt, cream soups. Casein, whey and lactalbumin are other names for milk protein. Butter, since it is mostly fat and not protein, is typically more easily tolerated.

Avoid manufactured and processed foods. This is one of the more challenging aspects of the diet as most food which can be purchased at a grocery has been processed or manufactured. However, it is also these foods which contain the most offending ingredients. This is one of the most important foods to properly eliminate, so ensure you put forth the effort to avoid these foods properly.

Avoid grain, flour and wheat containing foods. Avoid ALL breads. Wheat, corn, rye, barley, rice, and all other grains and food that contains grains. This includes all breads, cookies, crackers, cereals, batters, luncheon meats, pancake mixes, candies and a wide variety of other packaged and processed foods. This one is also difficult to completely remove but extremely important due to the severity and commonality of the reaction. Also, these items, or derivatives of them, are found in almost all processed foods.

Avoid eggs and egg-containing foods: Avoid eggs or any foods containing egg, including custards, cakes, cookies, ice cream, pies, macaroni, salad dressings, noodles, pancake mixes, and all other manufactured or processed foods.

Avoid all cold cuts, tenderized, spiced, processed or otherwise treated meat products of any kind. This includes hot dogs, sausage, etc. Much of the shrimp which is sold in the US has been farmed in Asia and raised on human waste, antibiotics, etc.

Avoid citrus fruits such as orange, grapefruit, and foods containing those citrus fruits.
Avoid cane sugar, beet sugar, carbonated beverages, corn sugar, fructose, glucose, and brown sugar. You must be diligent because sugar is hidden in dozens of foods including ketchup, pickles, relish, and salad dressings.

Avoid legumes such as peanuts and beans and peas of all types. This includes green peas, lima beans, soy beans, baked beans, field peas, black-eyed peas, string beans,and vegetable gums. Soy bean protein, also called textured protein, is hidden in a variety of manufactured foods.

Avoid chocolate. However you may substitute 100% carob powder for cocoa powder as long as it has no added sugar or starch.

Avoid yeast containing foods such as bread, dried fruits, mushrooms, wine, and vinegar.

Avoid all tea and coffee beverages, including caffeine free and instant. Avoid alcoholic beverages (most are made with grains) Avoid soda.

Avoid chemical exposures such as tobacco smoke, exhaust fumes, solvent fumes, perfume, chemical fumes and use scent-free laundry and house cleaning products that have no chemical odor.

Use only hypoallergenic, scent-free toiletries and cosmetics.

*************

If there are foods on the ‘offender’ list that you truly feel do not bother you, select these foods as the first ones to begin reintroducing to your diet. The egg, wheat, gluten (grain), soy, and dairy are more common as offenders and I would recommend reintroducing those last.

If after reintroducing a food you find you have a reaction, regardless of how slight, take that food back off your ‘allowed’ list, leaving it off for the duration of your diet trial. If after you complete the elimination diet you really want to try that food again, them proceed following the procedures you learned here. If it causes another reaction, remove it from your diet.

Mainly avoid processed foods for the entire duration of the experiment. Processed foods are full of commonly intolerated ingredients and additives, are devoid of beneficial nutrition, and just really don’t have much to offer the body. You may even to decide, as many have, to forgo processed foods entirely after you finish your elimination diet.

Elimination Diet is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living

Elimination Diet is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living

You will forget you are eating gluten free when you sink your teeth into these delicious little morsels of blueberry goodness.  Try replacing the blueberries with any other favorite fruit!

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

YIELD: 48 mini-muffins

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour Mix

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. xantham gum

2 cups milk – room temp

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

3 eggs, separated and room temp

3/4 STICK of cold butter, cut up

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 350 and lightly grease mini-muffin pan. Set aside.

Place apple cider vinegar in bottom of glass measuring cup.  Add milk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well.  Cut in cold butter with hand-held pastry blender or knives so that it is evenly distributed and ‘coarse’ looking….no large clumps.

Put egg whites only into another bowl and beat until frothy and begin to form peaks.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!!  Add one egg yolk and vanilla to the milk and vinegar mixture, stirring lightly enough to blend.  (Discard the other yolks or add to your pet’s food, they love it!)  Slowly pour mixture into the beaten egg whites and very gently blend.  You don’t want to upset the egg whites too much, so be gentle.  Slowly pour liquid ingredients into dry mix and gently fold in until just blended.

Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full and poke the blueberries in….I like to put about 3-5 in each mini-muffin.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Enjoy!!!!

(Oven temperatures vary, so make sure to check your muffins at around 13 minutes and adjust time accordingly)

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Recipe is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Recipe is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living

Back to the flour mix.  I haven’t tried this in a bread recipe yet, but I will soon and will let you know how it turns out.  It does look promising though.  I made a batch of the most delicious blueberry muffins that were moist, and fluffy, and one would never believe they were gluten free.  Just yummy!!  Try the Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins and let us know how yours turn out and any tweaks you made.

Light and Fluffy Flour Mix Base

3 parts sweet rice flour

2 parts brown rice flour

2 parts sweet potato starch

1 part tapioca starch

1 part buttermilk powder

Use cup for cup in any recipe

Gluten Free Flour Mix for Light and Sweet Breads and Batters is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living

Gluten Free Flour Mix for Light and Sweet Breads and Batters is a post from: The Beatnik Sage~Your Guide to Gluten Free and Green Living