If you are suffering from chronic symptoms that you do not know the cause of, it may be the result of food allergies or intolerance. Your doctor may have sent you in for skin pricking or an allergy-specific test and concluded that you are not allergic to any foods; however, conventional allergy tests are not very good at identifying food intolerance, notes Carolee Bateson-Koch, in her book "Allergies: Disease in Disguise."
Inadquate Allergy Tests
The problem with the skin prick and IgE test used by most conventional doctors is that they test for the IgE antibody only, but it is the IgG antibody that is involved in 80 percent of all food intolerance, says Bateson-Koch. The best and most practical way of identifying food allergies and intolerances is by following a strict elimination diet, according to Dr. Elson M. Hass in his book "Staying Healthy with Nutrition."
Basics
For a strict elimination diet you must stop eating all suspect foods for a set time, usually 14 to 21 days. This diet is best done under the supervision of a health care practitioner, and it needs to be adhered to diligently. For the best results, The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets, or GED, recommends keeping a food journal throughout the entire elimination diet and writing down everything that is eaten as well as any of your physical or emotional symptoms.
Benefits
Most every book and practitioner has different advice on what to eat and what to avoid for an elimination diet, and GED recommends a stringent version of the elimination diet. This may be beneficial, because elimination diets that are more lackadaisical might allow a food that you are sensitive to, and this could negate the results.
Allowed Foods
The foods allowed on the GED elimination diet include vegetables: bamboo shoots, cabbage, celery, lettuce, parsley, potato and yams; fruits -- peeled pears and peeled apples; and grains -- rice and rice products, buckwheat products, millet products, sago, and tapioca. Also allowed are proteins -- veal, lamb, chicken, turkey, rabbit, tuna, bream, dries peas and lentils; seasonings -- maple syrup, sunflower oil, safflower oil, salt and garlic; and beverages -- filtered water and fresh pear juice.
Reintroducing Foods
In addition to eliminating all of the suspect foods, GED says that you must also eliminate food coloring and medications that contain aspirin. GED recommends following this diet for at least 2 to 3 weeks. You then introduce one suspect food at a time and consume it in large amounts. This is the "challenge food" and it should be consumed for three days in a row. Monitor yourself for symptoms during these three days, and if none appear then that food is considered safe and you can challenge another food.
Identifying Intolerant Foods
If a symptom does appear during the food challenge, then it is highly likely that you are intolerant to that specific food item and it should be eliminated for at least 3 to 6 more weeks. According to Haas, after removing it for a time your body may become better able to handle it and you can try introducing it again and retesting for symptoms.
Suitability
Because of the severity of the strict elimination diet, GED says that it is better suited to individuals who have symptoms that interfere with their daily lives. If people pinpoint and eliminate culprit foods, their symptoms can be greatly reduced or eliminated. People who have less severe symptoms, on the other hand, may find this lengthy and strict diet to be too troublesome and not worthwhile. For these people a modified version of the diet that only removes the most commonly allergenic foods: wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, yeast, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate and citrus, may be better suited, says Haas.
References
- The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets; Elimination diets; Tish Davidson; 2008
- "Staying Healthy With Nutrition"; Elson Hass, M.D.; 2003
- "Allergies: Disease in Disguise"; Carolee Bateson-Koch, N.D.; 1994
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