Starting Elimination Diet Tomorrow

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:31 am

Since I can't afford MRT or Enterolab testing right now, I've decided to do things the old-fashioned way and do an elimination diet starting tomorrow. I bought a book called 'Food Allergies and Food Intolerance: the complete guide to their identification and treatment' to guide me. It recommends doing the diet in stages instead of cutting out everything you eat at once.

Stage 1 is giving up alcohol, coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, sugar, artificial sweeteners, vinegar and pickles, margarine, food additives, lunch meat, bacon, spicy foods, and any food from restaurants. Since I've already given up most of those except for chocolate and vinegar, I'm going ahead to stage 2.

Stage 2 eliminates all the foods in stage 1 plus wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, beef, chicken, all dairy products, eggs, soy, pineapple, papaya, citrus foods, yeast, mushrooms, and peanuts.

I think I'll also be eliminating legumes, night shades, and all nuts (except for coconut).

Does this sound like a good starting point?

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:05 pm

Hi Amber it does sound like a great start and a good way to figure out which foods are giving you grief

Overall the basic food types that give most of us problems in order of importance are:

Gluten
Soy
dairy

Along with this, especially while we are reacting and sensitive, all raw fruits and veggies as well as any citrus fruits should be avoided

I hope your diet works out well, be sure to stick to it, go slowly and keep a careful food journal, this will help you track how a particular food affects you

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:09 pm

It's a very good start Amber. Like Joe said, cook your veggies. Allergies are different then intolerances. Some things just bother us because we are inflamed. I have to do this the old fashioned way also ( but I do have help with taking Entocort) . It's a slow process, but I am getting there. Once I started to heal, I have been able to add back in a little salad, a little fruit, a little raw onion ( for cold recipes) and some beans. I think I react to canola oil though. Weird. Good luck and remember that you shouldn't add anything until you feel better.

Keep us posted
Leah

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 4:59 pm

Thanks for the advice Leah, it is definitely a process. I do cook all of my vegetables, but I was wondering does everyone cook fruit too? I like to use berries in my smoothies but I could probably cook and cool them. Without eggs and grains I don't know what else to eat for breakfast.

Hmm.. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the canola oil because I use it pretty frequently. I may just switch to olive oil for now though, thanks for the tip! This diet is making me look at everything I eat in a totally different way. I'm glad to hear you were able to add food back in, I would love to be able to eat a salad, but I know I shouldn't!

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:36 pm

Amber
Mashed up reply to both your posts. I didn’t follow any fixed diet plan, I kept a journal and tracked which ingredients worked and which ingredients didn’t. My brain and tastebuds have adjusted to a small base of ingredients (being symptom free becomes more important than having a vast array of ingredients)
Firstly I started from the safe base of rice and chicken (home made stock/broth) confirmed that Gluten, Yeast, Dairy, Soy were major enemies. 12 months later with healing I have been able to have a small amount of casein (I still avoid lactose)

Since Dx I have focussed on low inflammation well cooked meals, (well cooked vege’s and proteins in home made stock) If i am feeling poorly (the pain and cramping that others have described) the mushier the meal the better.

Some ideas for meals:

Breakfast:
- ‘safe’ protein powder with coconut milk (I use a rice protein powder as I can not have soy/whey based ones)
- cooked veges with salmon
- cooked veges with turkey

I find having a good serve of veges and protein for breakfast works really well, breakfast and lunch are my main meals of the day. After 2pm I only small amounts and this means I sleep better

Eating at work:
As I can tolerate eggs,
Snack: boiled eggs with rice crispbread
Or protein powder with coconut milk

Lunch:
Veges and my 4 meat stew (slow cooked on the weekends)

The protein powder with coconut milk has become a work day lifesaver, as I can take it to meetings where lunches are served. We have quite a few people here at work (men and women) that are health conscious and use protein shakes for meals there is never any question as to why I am not eating the salad sandwiches.

The time you spend figuring out what works and what doesn’t is well worth it, if you can determine your safest meal (mine is gooey rice and chicken), use this in times when you have a flare.

Hope this helps.

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:01 pm

Amber- I'd check your ingredient list for chocolate if you're still eating it. I used to have chocolate everyday but had to stop when I realized the soy in it was causing me problems.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:28 pm

Hey Amber. Nice to learn that you are a cook! This is quite a challenge , isn't it? I hear you watch the food network. Me too! Are you watching FOOD NETWORK STAR? I think Justin might win :)

Anyway, I started eating only canned fruits. Since you are pureeing the berries, it may be okay in the raw form. Does it seem to be giving you problems? It's hard to tell until you start having good days- what is actually giving you a bad one.

Let us know how you are doing and if you come up with any good recipes, please share.

Leah

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:08 am

Yes this is quite a challenge. I am watching Food Network Star! I think Justin might win too, plus he gained points with me last week by making an allergen free meal so everyone could eat it :)

Thanks for the info on the berries. I went back to drinking a "carrot cake" smoothie this morning and will probably go buy some pumpkin so I can make smoothies with that too. I'll probably cook down the berries and puree them to put in my yogurt and see how that goes.

I agree, it's tough to tell what's affecting me until I have a good day. So far, I'm still not feeling good, but I did notice that I wasn't in pain after eating dinner last night, so that's a small step!

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:17 am

Alright, I feel awful today! I seem to be more constipated than anything, though I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. I have also been exhausted and I had to miss work this morning. I think I had a fever this morning because I was cold and shivering even with a pile of blankets, but when I woke up I was drenched in sweat and now I seem to be fine. I don't have any other symptoms so I'm not sure if I'm getting sick or if this is a side effect of the diet.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:27 pm

Sounds like you are sick. There is a bug going around here that sounds like what you have. I hope that is all it is. Seems to go away within 48 hours.

Leah

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:34 am

Morning Amber,

Well it sounds like the approach is well thought out and I am sorry you are not feeling well but I also think it might be a bug and not a reaction.

I am rooting for Justin too!

Love, Maggie

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:12 am

I'm definitely feeling better today, my energy is up and I woke up really ready to start the day. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn't agree with the rest of my body, after months of D I'm now in a C phase. I don't know if that should be looked at as an improvement or not, because I feel awful. I think I will stick to the diet for a few more days and see what happens, but if things continue getting worse I don't think I can keep eating such limited foods! It's over a month until my next GI appointment, so I was just hoping to find some relief until then or find something that would keep me from having to get on medication. Definitely feeling discouraged right now.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:10 pm

Hi Amber. I don't know if C is an improvement ( I hate that feeling), but I do know that it can be a side effect from the Paleo diet. You might want to take a magnesium supplement if it continues..... or add some grain back in. I eat corn tortillas and corn cereal. Brown rice also. Everyone is different though.

Leah

amberlink09 · Post by **amberlink09** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:39 pm

Hmm I do have some brown rice so I may try that tonight. I'm eating more fruits and veggies than ever right now so I would expect the fiber to have the opposite effect on me. Then again, my body never responds the way I want it to! For now I'm going to keep my main focus on eliminating eggs, dairy, soy, and nightshades. I think more fats also help me so I might try to figure out how to get more.

Thanks for your help Leah!

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:23 pm

Avocados! Their oil is great!

Olive and grape seed oils are really good if you can do them.