What Exactly Is An Elimination Diet Plan?

An elimination diet plan is a form of diet that is usually used to discover which foods, or food groups, an individual might have a sensitivity to. 

Up to Seventy five percent of the population have an allergy or intolerance to a food that is generally considered safe for human consumption. These food sensitivities may cause nothing more than a mild case of gastrointestinal discomfort to the sufferer, but they may also be severe enough to cause harm to one or more of the body's organs. 

In some cases the body's reaction to the offending food can cause the development of an immune system response that is so severe it results in the formation of a chronic inflammatory based illness.

For example, it is suspected that some cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis occur because the body's immune system is rebelling against a food allergy. Studies have found that when the offending food is discovered, and removed, then the person suffering from this severe food intolerance becomes well again. Elimination diets are simply used as a means of discovering the offending food.

So which foods do people generally suffer an intolerance to most often? 

Dairy products are the number one offending food product for food sensitivities. Dairy product sensitivities affect approximately three out of every four people. Other common foods that people suffer an intolerance to are fructose, yeast, gluton or wheat, nightshade plants, coffee or other caffeinated products, and foods containing pesticides or preservatives.

Allergic reactions, which are a much severer reaction to a food product, occur in approximately one percent of the population. Milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish, shell fish, soy and wheat account for ninety percent of all food allergy symptoms.

Most individuals do not realize exactly how many people are affected by a food intolerance, sensitivity, or allergy. Problems occurring from common food products is an issue which affects quite a larger portion of the population. Symptoms of a reaction may include rashes, difficulty breathing or cough, fatigue, headache or migraine, flushing, swelling, as well as gastro intestinal difficulties such as gas, diarrhea, bloating, nausea and abdominal pain. 

The only true way to discover if your symptoms are caused by a food intolerance or allergy, is to undergo allergy tests, or to participate in an elimination diet program.

Just as the name implies, on an elimination diet you eliminate certain foods from your diet plan, and then wait to see if there is a resulting improvement in your health. Generally all high risk foods are removed from your diet for a period of anywhere from a week to six weeks. It is generally recommended that they be removed for at least a four week period.

For an accurate determining of a food intolerance the high risk food groups are  then reintroduced, one product at a time, every five to seven days.This allows time for the offending product to be completely removed from the individuals system; and time for the reintroduced food to produce a reaction (if there is going to be one) after it is returned to the diet.

High risk foods that you might remove from your diet plan would include all dairy products, red meat, eggs, peas, beans, corn and corn based products, wheat based products, coffee, regular and herbal teas, all processed foods, citrus fruits, bananas, nightshade plants such as potatoes, tomatoes and peppers. The foods that you choose to eliminate will be specific to you and your lifestyle, but keep in mind that the more foods that you eliminate from your diet, then the better your chance is of discovering the offending products.

Foods that are usually well tolerated, and therefor generally safe to continue eating throughout the elimination diet, are rice, oats, sweet potatoes, and most fruits and vegetables (other than those that are from the nightshade family of plants).

It is important to keep in mind that many people are sensitive to more than just one food or food group. So sometimes the elimination diet must be repeated several times in order to remove all of the offending foods.

Note: Never undergo any drastic diet change without first consulting with your medical doctor. Remember to always thoroughly research any treatment methods, or alternative therapies that you are considering, before you introduce them into your treatment program.

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Ladymermaid

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