When you realize that your digestion is much less than optimal and you feel terrible, it is time to do something about it. If you get to the point where you’re noticing symptoms like gassiness, bloating, constipation, and sharp cramp-like pains, etc., that’s when you need a reliable way to find out WHY this is happening and, more importantly, WHAT is causing the discomfort. Enter the Elimination Diet.
Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative
The Elimination Diet is an approach to figuring out which foods you are sensitive to so that you can eat mindfully and keep your digestive symptoms at bay. The gut is where the majority of your immune system is and is considered the “second brain” in your body, so it is important to keep it healthy and keep things running smoothly. In the elimination diet, you start by removing common culprits of digestive upset and common food allergens. You dial down certain parts of your daily meals and your snacks so that you are only eating real, nourishing foods that are pretty neutral when it comes to a reaction in the gut. In fact, you can begin to heal your gut with a proper elimination diet.
Categories of Food To Eliminate
- Grains – The foundation of the Food Pyramid for decades, it has now been discovered that many people have a hard time digesting grains, including corn.
- Processed Foods – There are many toxic chemicals (like MSG, artificial colors, and flavorings) and other undesirable ingredients (like GMOs, trans fats, and HFCS) in processed food that can impede digestion and even cause disease.
- High Glycemic Foods – Large amounts of starches and added sugars can feed a bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), Candida yeast overgrowth and other gut dysbiosis problems.
- Gluten and Fructans – Found in many grains, gluten is one of the foods that can cause leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune diseases. Fructans are found in FODMAPS (short-chain carbohydrates) and can also feed those bad bugs in your gut.
- Unrefined Oils – These can cause inflammation throughout your body.
- Meats and Dairy – Meats and dairy from the conventional food system are full of hormones, antibiotics, and even poisons such as arsenic.
- Eggs, Peanuts, and Shellfish – All are common food allergens.
- Gut Irritants – Caffeine and alcohol can wreak havoc on your gut. Avoid these while you are healing.
Other Tips
There is a 3/3 guideline for adding foods back into your diet:
“Do not conclude a food causes symptoms unless symptoms occur within 3 days of eating the food and occur consistently on 3 separate occasions after eating it.”*
You will know, as you begin to add foods back in, what works and what doesn’t. I suggest starting slow; give the diet a few weeks to work, and start adding foods back in one at a time. Keep a food diary and record reactions. If a food causes symptoms on 3 different occasions, you will know that you are sensitive to that food and to avoid it for a while and try again later. Eventually, you will come up with a plan that your body will love. Everyone is different and finding your own unique way of eating to feel good will change your life.
To Your Health,
Patti
*Heizer, W D., Southern, S, McGovern, S. The Role of Diet in Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults: A Narrative Review. JADA 2009; 109: 1204-1214
