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Preparing Adequately for a Dietary Elimination Journey

Are you considering incorporating the Whole30 diet into your 2018 resolutions? Eliminating specific food groups may prove challenging, but it could provide insights into how specific foods affect your body's responses.

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3 min read
Contemplating adopting Whole30 diet this year? Eliminating specific food groups might be...
Contemplating adopting Whole30 diet this year? Eliminating specific food groups might be challenging, yet it could reveal the influence of specific foods on your sensations.

Preparing Adequately for a Dietary Elimination Journey

Going on a Cleanse? Here's What You Should Know About Elimination Diets

Feeling under the weather and traditional treatments aren't working? Then it might be time to take a close look at your diet. A systematic approach to identifying potential problematic foods could be the answer, suggests Heidi Turner, M.S., R.D.N., a medical nutrition therapist at The Seattle Arthritis Clinic.

An elimination diet is a method used to pinpoint the underlying cause of a variety of health issues, including digestive issues, heartburn, joint pain, allergies, migraines, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and skin problems.

"If you're feeling miserable due to persistent hives or other symptoms, and your current medications and supplements aren't working, it's worth investigating the foods you're eating," advises Turner. Food has a significant impact on our immune system, she notes.

Thinking about starting an elimination diet but unsure if it's the right move for you? Maybe your friend raves about her Whole30 transformation? Here are some insights before you dive in:

What Exactly is an Elimination Diet?

Conducted under the guidance of a registered dietitian or an integrative medicine specialist, an elimination diet eliminates foods that may cause an immune response in some people. Common culprits include wheat, dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, corn, citrus fruits, and nightshade plants.

In people sensitive to these foods, gluten and dairy consumption may lead to digestive problems or mood issues, while nightshades might exacerbate arthritis, Turner explains.

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to elimination diets, with lengths usually ranging from 2 to 6 weeks, followed by a reintroduction phase.

"The primary objective is to determine if any of these foods are causing symptoms in your body," Turner highlights. "How do you feel once all these foods have been eliminated?"

The Whole30 diet, which excludes grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol, and added sugars for 30 days, is a popular version of elimination diets that healthcare professionals have recommended for years.

Learn More About Your Diet

The goal of an elimination diet is to abstain from certain foods long enough to calm the immune system so that when foods are reintroduced, any reactions are clear. Approximately two to three weeks is typically an ideal time frame.

Achieving 100% compliance can be challenging, but taking note of how the contraband food makes you feel, even in small slip-ups, can still provide valuable insights. (Slip-ups are a different story with the Whole30, which requires starting over at day one with any transgressions.)

As you eliminate various foods, you may develop new culinary preferences, possibly discovering a love for sweet potatoes or realizing you don't miss sugar in your morning coffee. These newfound understandings can remain part of your lifestyle even after the elimination diet.

Reintroduction: The Toughest Part

You'd think abstaining from regular dietary components would be the hardest part. Reintroducing foods, however, can be more challenging, explains Turner.

Feeling better after avoiding offending foods can make reintroduction a difficult process, as symptoms may resurface. Many people experience headaches, digestive issues, and skin problems during the reintroduction phase, Turner notes.

The length of an elimination diet matters. It's not just the diet duration-a reintroduction period is essential, potentially adding additional days or weeks to the process. For example, if you eliminate gluten and dairy for three weeks, you might introduce gluten for two days, then return to the full elimination for two days while observing symptoms. After that, you might add dairy for two days, then return to the diet for two more days. With two items eliminated from your diet, the reintroduction period is already eight days long.

A three-week diet with several off-limits items will require a three to five-week reintroduction period. Careful planning (ideally not around holidays or vacations) and support from family and friends can make the process smoother.

"It can be challenging to stick to a restrictive diet when others in your household are consuming different foods," Turner acknowledges.

  1. If you're considering an elimination diet to address health issues such as digestive problems, joint pain, or skin problems, note that common culprits like wheat, dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, corn, citrus fruits, and nightshade plants may be causing symptoms in your body.
  2. The Whole30, a popular version of elimination diets that excludes grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol, and added sugars for 30 days, can provide valuable insights into your diet and potential food sensitivities, but it's important to remember that a reintroduction period is essential to determine if any of the eliminated foods are causing symptoms.
  3. Achieving mental clarity and better health through an elimination diet could also lead to discovering new food preferences, such as a love for sweet potatoes or realizing you don't miss sugar in your morning coffee. These newfound understandings can be integrated into your lifestyle even after the elimination diet is completed.

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