According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, 6 percent of small children and 3 to 4 percent of adults suffer from food allergies. One method that can be used to narrow down which foods might be causing these symptoms is the Elimination Diet. This diet is also used for people with other conditions whose sensitivity to certain foods might be worsening their symptoms, including those with chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome or attention deficit disorder.
Stage 1
During stage 1 of the Elimination Diet, all foods that could be causing the symptoms are avoided for a period of 7 to 14 days. Different variations of this diet allow different foods since people with chronic fatigue syndrome are more likely to be sensitive to different foods than those with food allergies that are otherwise healthy, for example. Commonly avoided foods include dairy products, citrus fruits, gluten-containing foods, eggs, corn, chocolate, peanuts, sugar, preservatives, food colorings, caffeine, processed foods, peas, processed meats and beans.
Stage 2
During stage 2 of the Elimination Diet, the foods eliminated in Stage 1 are added back one at a time to see if they cause symptoms to return. The Environmental Illness Resource version of the diet has a new food being introduced each day, and if no symptoms occur you can continue to eat that food. However, the version of the diet used by the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine advises reintroducing one food every three days, and eating the food for only one day and then waiting until all foods have been tested before reintroducing those that caused no symptoms.
Considerations
Replace any foods that you eliminate with foods containing similar nutrients so you are still eating a healthy diet, counsels the Cleveland Clinic, and make these changes only after speaking with your doctor.
Sometimes those who think they are sensitive to a food might have psychological symptoms when it is reintroduced, even if they are not truly allergic to it. However, allergies can be confirmed with a controlled food challenge in a hospital setting, where you don't know when the food was reintroduced and when you were given a placebo.
Those with infections must wait until they are better before continuing the diet, as the results would be unclear otherwise.
Warning
Never test foods that have caused severe reactions in the past unless you do so under a doctor's supervision. The Cleveland Clinic recommends not using an Elimination Diet if you have had an anaphylactic reaction to any foods in the past. The Environmental Illness Resource also recommends being careful when reintroducing foods to children with asthma, since foods that cause symptoms could bring on an asthma attack.
Expert Insight
The CFIDS Association of America, which studies and supports those with chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, recommends keeping a food and symptom diary for a short time before you start the diet so you will have something to compare your symptoms to. Should your symptoms not get better during the first week, The Environmental Illness Resource says to check your food diary to make sure you didn't accidentally eat prohibited foods, then continue for another week, taking care to stick to the Elimination Diet-allowed foods. If you still don't see results, this diet probably won't work for you.
References
- CFIDS Association of America: Treatment: Elimination Diet
- The Environmental Illness Resource: Multiple Food Elimination Diet
- University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine: Elimination Diet
- Cleveland Clinic: Elimination Diet and Food Challenge Test
- American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology: Allergy Statistics
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