Elimination Diets: How It Works

Most doctors now accept that food intolerances can sometimes be the root cause of chronic diseases, including arthritis, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome and hyperactivity. Yet there are only a few of the conditions which are claimed to have responded to elimination diets.

Such diets are based on a systematic method of discovering whether a particular food is causing symptoms simply by eliminating it from the diet and seeing what happens. It is a tedious approach and sometimes the results are not clear-cut, but it is the most reliable diagnostic procedure available.

How the elimination diet works

Any restricted diet puts health at risk and any long-term removal of major foods should be carried out only under professional guidance.

Pinpointing culprit food is difficult since only a few people are sensitive to one single allergen. Eliminating only one food from the diet is rarely effective. All the suspect foods have to be cut out simultaneously for at a fortnight for any improvements to be observed.

‘Testing’ the effects of individual foods by returning them piecemeal to the daily regimen is futile unless all symptoms have gone.

The following foods should not be eaten during the first two weeks of the exclusion diet;

• Preserved nuts
• Bacon and sausages
• Smoked fish and shellfish
• Citrus fruits
• Wheat, oats, barley, rye and corn
• Potatoes, onions and sweetcorn
• Nuts
• Corn oil and most vegetable oils
• Dairy products
• All cheese
• Most margarines
• Eggs
• Tea (other than herbal tea), coffee
• Alcohol
• Fruit squashes and fresh citrus juices
• Vinegar, yeast, chocolate and all foods containing chemical preservatives.

After 14 days introduce foods in this order:

• Potatoes
• Cow’s milk
• Yeast
• Tea
• Rye
• Butter
• Onions
• Eggs
• Oats
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Barley
• Citrus fruits
• Corn
• Cheese
• White wine
• Shellfish
• Yoghurt
• Vinegar
• Wheat
• Nuts

Try only one new food every two days and if there is a reaction, do not try it again for at least a month. Continue to add new foods again when symptoms cease to exist.

Keep a record of the foods you return to your meals and you can soon build a list of foods your body tolerates – and those which should be eliminated. There is no reason to avoid foods which do not cause problems when returned to diet.

Though every doctor’s approach to the elimination diet differs, overall results are remarkably consistent. Initially, affected by withdrawal, the patient often feels worse, but after six or seven days there is an improvement as the symptoms disappear.