The best elimination diet will help you determine whether or not particular foods cause adverse reactions when you eat them. An elimination diet, also called a challenge diet, is commonly used to identify food allergies and intolerances. An elimination diet isn't an easy task to accomplish, so you undertake one only under a doctor's supervision. Inform your family, friends and anyone else who might need to know which foods you are avoiding. Buy a journal to document the foods that you're eliminating and how they affect you when you re-introduce them.
Make a Plan
Before you can eliminate certain foods, you need to meet with your physician to discuss the foods that you suspect are causing unpleasant reactions. Common reactions include skin rashes, digestive compactions and asthma. Before you start the elimination diet, you should journal what you've eaten for the last week and share the symptoms that develop after eating certain foods. The most common foods that cause allergic reactions include fish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, eggs, soy and milk.
Elimination
Once your doctor agrees with the foods you should eliminate, avoid those foods for two weeks. For example, if you are eliminating milk and wheat, you cannot eat obvious foods containing these ingredients, such as yogurt, milk, ice cream, bread, crackers or cereal. Check the ingredients on all pre-packaged foods that you purchase, because many of them will contain ingredients you are avoiding. All manufactured foods are required to state all highly allergic foods that are in the food or beverage. If you eat out, tell your server about the ingredients you cannot eat. The University of Wisconsin states that your symptoms may become more severe during the first few days of the elimination process.
Identifying
The next phase of the elimination diet is intended to identify which foods or ingredients cause your symptoms to return. You will introduce each food that you've eliminated from your diet back into your diet one at a time. For example, if you eliminated soy, wheat and eggs, on the first day you will eat one food that contains soy, such as tofu and record how your body reacts. Stop eating soy after that day. The next day eat a slice of wheat bread and record your symptoms and then stop eating wheat. On the third day, eat scrambled eggs and determine how your body reacts. Share you findings with your doctor.
Treatment
An elimination diet may become a permanent lifestyle change to treat a food allergy or intolerance. MayoClinic.com states that the most effective treatment for a food allergy is to eliminate and avoid consuming the food. An diet alterations need to be under the guidance of your doctor
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