1. By Process of Elimination
Have you ever gotten hives or other symptoms from eating something, but you're not sure just what it is that's causing your reaction? The elimination diet is one way doctors find out exactly what types of foods might be causing your allergic reactions. As the name implies, an elimination diet eliminates certain kinds of foods over a relatively short period of time and then gradually reintroduces them into your diet to see which, if any, cause an allergic reaction.
2. Take the Food Challenge
The best way to determine the success of an elimination diet is to do it in tandem with a food challenge. The process is simple: eat the suspected food over a 24-hour period. Then go back on the elimination diet. If the suspected food is the one that you are allergic to, symptoms should appear almost immediately. It's a good idea to keep a food diary while on the elimination diet and food challenge so you know exactly when you've eaten a particular food.
3. Milk and Coffee and Chocolate, Oh My
Starting an elimination diet, even when necessary, is not an easy undertaking. Be prepared to erase many of your favorite foods from your diet. Most notably, any foods with additives must be eliminated on this diet. You'll need to say goodbye to chocolate, coffee, milk, tea, hot dogs, sausage, citrus fruit, sugar, lunch meat, corn, peas, beans, peanuts, eggs, bacon and soft drinks. In addition, you'll need to stop eating any fruit that you might consume more than once a week.
4. Not Everything is Eliminated, It Just Feels Like It
If things are looking bleak, rest assured that not all is lost when it comes to an elimination diet. You'll still be able to eat any meat or vegetable except those listed above, rice, oats and any grain alternatives such as buckwheat or quinoa, herbal teas, any fruit that is not citrus and that you don't commonly eat more than once per week and all the spring or distilled water you want to drink. Best of all, you need only to stay on this diet for five to ten days or until you have gone 48 hours without any food allergy symptoms.
5. Nothing Worth Doing is Without Risk
Don't jump into an elimination diet without being monitored by a doctor. This type of diet should not be undertaken by individuals with severe food allergies, as the reaction from reintroducing the wrong kinds of foods can be harmful. Also, learn to read food labels. Many processed foods likely contain one or more of the foods, such as sugar, that you need to avoid. Finally, young children and breastfeeding mothers should not be placed on an elimination diet due to the nutritional limitations involved.
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