Elimination Diets: Healing the Gut and Alleviating Symptoms From Food Allergies, Food Sensitivities or Food Intolerances

Being a creature of habit can have its ups and down. When it comes to food, it makes life easier to stick to the same menu day in and day out. However, eating the same specific food everyday can certainly create problems related to the development of some health conditions, and not all of them are gut related:

-digestive problems
-headaches
-chronic sinus drainage
-low energy
-depression
-mood swings
-eczema
-skin irritations
-joint aches
-asthma
-weight gain

Sometimes people suffer from these symptoms far too long without realizing there is a connection to the food they are eating. Often times it may require the removal of specific foods to help people find the sources of their health problems. There is a strategic way to do this and implementing an Elimination Diet is a great place to start! Removing foods for a period of time and then reintroducing them (one by one) helps people identify which foods are triggers for some of the symptoms mentioned above.

The purpose of an elimination plan is to remove triggering foods, so the immune system can recover and the body can heal properly. If you are interested in more education about how stress impacts the gut/immune system check out my blog Reduce Stress to Build Your Immune System! Chronic stress will negatively impact the gut/ immune system and food reactions contribute to the stress by triggering low grade inflammatory response in the body.  This is evident anytime people experience food allergies, food sensitivities or food intolerances. These types of food reactions cause the intestinal wall to become more permeable which allows undigested particles of food into the blood stream (Leaky Gut). This means the tight junctions of the intestinal wall cannot keep out harmful substance like bacteria, chemicals, yeast and pathogens etc. This increases the immune response which causes more inflammation and can potentially contribute to autoimmunity (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimotos thyroiditis, Graves Disease, Lyme, Multiple Sclerosis etc.) Therefore, removing food triggers decreases inflammation and helps calm the immune response.

SUMMARY:
-The Elimination Diet = reduces inflammation through ingestion of anti- inflammatory foods.
-Anti-Inflammatory foods + Elimination of trigger foods = decreased inflammation
-Decreased Inflammation = Healing of the gut
-Healing of the gut = Optimal immune system function
-Enhanced Immune system = Improved immune response to: allergens, industrial contaminants, viruses, parasites and bacteria (airborne contaminants)
-Improved immune response = less affected by toxins and infections (sick less often)

After a 3 week elimination plan has been executed and desired results have been achieved the next step is to start to re-introduce foods one at a time. During the re-introduction process it’s necessary to make observations about any food that is causing negative symptoms. It’s hard to pin point the trigger foods if everything is re-introduced at the same time. If any foods continue to cause symptoms (physical, mental, and emotional), it is recommended to avoid them for an additional three to six months. After this time re-introduction can be tried again.

Let’s review the list of common symptoms:
headaches
chronic sinus drainage
low energy
depression
mood swings
eczema
skin irritations
joint aches
asthma
weight gain

Sometimes the symptoms above are not easily connected to the food that people eat. Those dealing with digestion are easier to connect. However, people may not realize that headaches, chronic sinus drainage, depression, mood swings, joint aches and asthma can also be caused by the foods they are eating. Once trigger foods are removed it is easier to specify which foods are the culprits. When it comes to reactions they are categorized in different ways:

FOOD ALLERGIES: cause severe symptoms immediately after a trigger food is eaten
FOOD SENSITIVITIES: reactions may be delayed by hours or even days. usually the result of an imbalance in the gastrointestinal system that affects the immune system
FOOD INTOLERANCES: result of reactions to certain chemicals in food, or when a person lacks an enzyme necessary to digest the food (i.e. lactose intolerance: lack of ability to produce lactase enzyme, or reactions to additives like MSG).

TIPS:
Diversify nutritional choices to grow a healthy robust gut microbiome.
Be conscious of the timing surrounding your symptoms.
Research common food additives so you can spot them on food labels.
Upon implementing an Elimination diet AVOID ALL DAIRY and SPECIFIC GRAINS (barley bulgar, oats, rye selftan, wheat, faro, kamut, spelt, triticale).
Elimination diets are NOT low calorie plans. Satiation is the goal.

To learn the full details of an Elimination Plan, or to find out how to work with me on your nutritional goals please reach out and schedule a free consult!