Elimination Diet

Those whose doctors suspect suffer from food intolerances either due to allergies or metabolic disorders, often use an elimination diet to try to determine which foods have adverse effects on their system. When using an elimination diet, individuals completely remove suspected foods from their diet for a set period of time, and then begin to introduce them slowly back into their regimen. Doctors generally suggest following this type of diet plan when patients complain about adverse effects after consuming specific foods. Milk, eggs, and wheat are common allergens and many elimination diets begin by taking these out of the nutritional regime. Sometimes these types of diets remove things like foods containing artificial food dyes or specific flavourings like MSG.
A basic elimination diet consists of removing eggs, gluten products, corn, dairy, citrus fruits, caffeinated drinks, and processed foods from the diet. Diet followers then introduce one of these types of foods into your diet every 5 days or so. This process of trial and error should help patients determine which foods might be causing their symptoms.
Elimination diets should be conducted under a doctor’s supervision, and if used correctly can help those with food sensitivities improve their symptoms. A number of illnesses have been proven to be related to food sensitivities, including asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, rashes, and lactose intolerance. Some doctors and parents have also linked behavioural disorders such as ADHD to food allergies, but these views remain somewhat controversial with little scientific research backing them.