Finding the perfect nutrition plan is like dating: It takes time, effort, a lot of trial and error (and sometimes leaves your stomach reeling). But ultimately it’s worth the struggle when you find your match.
In all seriousness, it’s essential to take note of the foods you’re eating because how you nourish your body has an impact on so many aspects of your health. Just as some foods allow you to feel your best, others may be to blame for bloating, a bad mood, and even headaches or skin flare-ups. Ever notice how processed foods make you feel a bit off? That’s the perfect example of certain ingredients not optimally fuelling your body.
One of the most important things to remember is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to eating that will benefit everyone. Some foods that may cause you discomfort can leave someone else feeling energised and fulfilled, so finding what serves your own body can make a major impact on your general wellbeing and comfort.
When it comes to pinpointing exactly which foods are wreaking havoc, however, it can be difficult to come to a conclusion without analysing your diet and testing various food combinations to find what works.
Enter: an elimination diet.
What Is An Elimination Diet?
Your gut microbiome, migraines, and even your mental health: Diet affects so much more of your body than you might think.
In fact, certain foods may even be triggering flare-ups, so it’s worth investigating your eating habits to determine if there are any foods that would be best to discontinue in your diet to feel your best.
This is the crux of the elimination diet: cutting out foods that are known to cause issues in the stomach in order to mitigate pain and discomfort over time.
“It involves eliminating certain foods for a period of time, say three weeks, and then reintroducing each food, one at a time, to see which food causes symptoms and discomfort,” explains registered dietitian and personal trainer Gabriela Barreto, M.S., R.D., CDN, CSSD, CFSC.
This particular method of eating isn’t meant for weight loss, but rather it can help find triggers in your diet that may impede your quality of life.
How To Follow An Elimination Diet
It’s first important to note that this eating plan is not intended to be a long-term solution or something you should follow for an extended period of time.
Rather, the elimination diet should simply be used to determine which foods are causing you discomfort so you can remove those ingredients from your life rather than nix entire food groups from your eating plan.
You should also be aware that this is a restrictive diet by nature, and may lead to nutrient deficiencies in the future if followed for longer durations.
The process of following an elimination diet is relatively simple: “You want to remove all the foods that you are going to remove at the same time, not one by one. This is necessary to remove all the possible instigating foods for the same period of time,” explains integrative immunologist Heather Moday, M.D.
Then, generally two to six weeks later, “you want to reintroduce one food at a time every 36 to 48 hours to assess whether you have a negative reaction,” she says.
Of course you should be consulting with a health care professional before making any major changes to your diet so they can guide you on which foods to keep your eye on, as well as which ingredients you can consume in the meantime to ensure you’re still adequately nourishing your body.
Which Foods Can You Eat On An Elimination Diet?
This is one eating plan that is highly personalised, so it depends on your body’s sensitivities to determine what you can and cannot eat. “A very common elimination diet would be the removal of inflammatory foods, foods that cause common allergies, along with some common autoimmune instigators,” notes Moday.
“Removing processed foods, industrial seed oils, alcohol, sugar, wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, and corn is a simple [way] to start.”
However, there are many foods that you can still consume while following this protocol, as outlined by Barreto:
1. Proteins
“Many protein-rich foods such as chicken, fish, beef, and seafood are generally OK on this diet,” she explains. “Eggs may be OK if you know eggs do not generally irritate you.” Lactose-free milk may be allowed, as well as oat milk or almond milk.
2. Vegetables
Most vegetables are generally allowed. However, Barreto notes that if you’re following a low-FODMAP diet, you may need to nix some specific veggies.
3. Fruit
Berries, melon, and citrus fruits are all OK to eat during an elimination diet for antioxidants, hydration, and immune-supporting vitamin C.
4. Starches
Depending on the type of elimination diet you try, rice, quinoa, gluten-free oats, gluten-free breads and cereals, as well as polenta may be included.
Kinds Of Elimination Diets
Although the elimination diet is often used for pin-pointing gastrointestinal triggers, it can also be helpful in figuring out other struggles within the body, such as:
- Elimination for eczema
- Elimination for migraines
- Elimination for gluten intolerance
- Elimination for lactose intolerance
- Elimination for inflammation
- FODMAP elimination diet(one of the most common options)
Who Shouldn’t Do An Elimination Diet
The elimination diet is not a long-term eating plan and should not be followed for the sake of weight loss. By nature, it is a highly restrictive plan, so if you have a history of disordered eating, it’s even more important to discuss a safe approach with your health care professional.
“Individuals with no clinical symptoms related to diet and food consumption do not need to follow an elimination diet,” notes Barreto. “Individuals going through treatments or on medications should consult with the medical team before trying an elimination diet.”
Moday also adds that those who struggle with vitamin and mineral deficiencies or are presently underweight should avoid following an elimination eating plan.
It’s also worth noting that eliminating foods that don’t need to be removed from your diet may actually have a negative effect on your body over time, as you deprive yourself of vital nutrients. “Recent studies have found that people who eliminate gluten when they don’t need to increase their risk of heart disease,” integrative gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz, M.D., MSCI says. Eliminating any and all grains can also be harmful to the gut, he adds.
This also extends to vegetables that may be causing you stomach discomfort. While it may seem like the natural next step to remove veggies from your diet that are making you feel ill, Bulsiewicz says this may not be the solution. “Digestive distress after eating fibre and plant foods is due to a gut that’s overwhelmed. For some, this is just overdoing it with one big meal. But for most, this is evidence of a damaged gut,” he explains. “You may have been told that this is proof that these foods are causing inflammation. They’re not. It’s just sloppy digestion.”
The Takeaway
The elimination diet is not intended to help change your physical appearance or make it easier to fall into restrictive eating habits. Instead, this plan is designed to help you identify foods that may be causing GI distress or triggering other health concerns such as eczema, migraines, and more.
With this, while it should only be followed in the short term, the elimination diet can be incredibly useful for finding foods that sit well while adequately nourishing your body. Your diet controls so much of how you feel in the day-to-day, so being intentional with what you’re eating and tuning into what your body needs will help you thrive. Always work with a doctor before removing any major food groups from your diet.
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