An elimination diet helps identify food allergies or intolerances by removing common trigger foods from the diet and recording any symptoms experienced. It can be carried out in two ways, under the advice of a doctor. Once problem foods are identified, patients should ideally avoid them in the future.
An elimination diet is a type of restrictive diet used to identify food allergies or intolerances. Usually, patients embark on an elimination diet under the advice of a doctor, although some people may experiment with such diets on their own to see if they can identify the causes of their medical problems. Food allergies can cause a wide range of symptoms including intestinal upset, heartburn, hives, rashes, and shortness of breath; By eating an elimination diet, a patient can identify foods that need to be avoided in the future.
There are two methods to carry out an elimination diet. In the first, people slowly withdraw foods that are commonly associated with food intolerance, such as wheat, chocolate, dairy, nuts, and acidic fruits. A food diary is carefully kept and the patient makes sure to record any symptoms experienced. At least one week is allowed to elapse between each withdrawal, ensuring that only one food is responsible for a change in symptoms. When a change is experienced, the patient knows that the most recent food removed from the diet is probably responsible.
The other technique is to start with a simple, very bland diet of foods that are unlikely to cause symptoms. The patient slowly adds the food back, recording what he eats and what symptoms he experiences. Five days to a week is allowed between each reintroduction, to ensure that symptoms will be isolated. When symptoms arise, the patient knows which food is responsible and can avoid it in the future.
While many people associate food allergies with severe reactions like those experienced by people with nut allergies, these allergies can also be very subtle. Some medical conditions, like celiac disease, for example, are linked to food intolerance, but it can take years for a doctor to realize that an allergy is causing the symptoms. Since elimination diets are very demanding, doctors do not recommend them lightly, and they impress the importance of following the diet on their patients.
Once an elimination diet has identified problem foods, a patient should ideally avoid them in the future. An experienced allergist can discuss alternatives to these foods to keep the patient’s diet balanced, varied, and enjoyable. Some patients choose to eat small amounts of dangerous foods infrequently because they miss them, and they should discuss this desire with their doctors.
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