Allergy Elimination Diet

Eliminating foods from your diet shouldn't be a daunting task. The Allergy Elimination Diet is an exciting adventure that allows your body to use food as fuel, not fire. As you dive into eliminating or adding new foods, it's important to avoid micromanagement. Be mindful of what you're eating and how it impacts your body, allowing your body to try new foods and strategies. 

What is the Allergy Elimination Diet? This diet is a strategy to eliminate common allergens from your diet to see how they truly impact your body (note, when “diet” is mentioned, this is not a strategy for weight loss, more so the sum of food consumed). 

As you begin the Allergy Elimination Diet, you must recognize what foods are common allergens to determine what allergens negatively impact your overall health. In order to see the full effect of the elimination process, eliminate each of these foods for about 3 weeks. 

Foods to Avoid 

Dairy Products such as milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, whey, casein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, and any food containing these. Thankfully, we live in a highly innovative world with tons of dairy alternatives to help assist the elimination of dairy. 

Wheat is in most breads, spaghetti, noodles, pasta, most flour, baked goods, durum semolina, farina, and many gravies. Check the labels on these types of products to ensure you're avoiding wheat. 

Gluten which now feels like a “buzz” word is in many food products but can also be the cause of severe inflammation within the body. During the elimination process avoid glutens such as barley, rye, spelt, and kamut. 

Corn may be an unexpected irritant to many. Any product with corn oil, vegetable oil from an unspecified source, corn syrup, corn sweetener, dextrose, glucose, corn chips, tortillas, and popcorn can be highly irritating to the body. 

Eggs, both the whites and yolks, as well as any product containing eggs should be eliminated for 3 weeks.

Citrus Fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, tangerines, and any foods containing citrus can be an unexpected source of inflammation. 

Coffee, Tea, and Alcohol must be avoided. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, as well as standard caffeinated tea. Herb teas are fine to consume during these three weeks. As no surprise to anyone, alcohol is highly irritating to the body, therefore, eliminate your consumption for three weeks to see the impact it has on your body. 

Refined Sugars such as table sugar and any foods that contain it; candy, soda, pies, cake, cookies, etc. Other names for sugar include sucrose, glucose, dextrose, corn syrup, corn sweetener, fructose, maltose, and levulose. These must all be avoided.

Aspartame, Nutrasweet, and Artificial Sweeteners impact your body more than you may think. Although a soda says “diet” the ingredients within this beverage are very inflammatory.

Food Additives including artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and texturing agents. 

Plastic Water Bottles tend to contain plastic within the water. Use a filtration system to take out all potential allergens within your tap water and carry a water bottle everywhere you go to ensure proper hydration.

Nightshade Vegetables are tomatoes, potatoes (Excluding sweet potatoes and yams), tomatillos, eggplant, all peppers, and tobacco. These types of vegetables should be avoided.

Other Foods to Avoid include honey, maple, or barley syrup, soy, peanuts, grapes, prunes, and raisins that are not organically grown. 

Be sure to read labels often, hidden allergens are frequently found in packaged foods. “Flour” usually means wheat; “vegetable oil” may mean corn oil, and casein and whey are dairy products. Make sure your vitamins are free of wheat, corn, sugar, citrus, yeast, and artificial colorings. Vary your diet, choosing a wide variety of foods, if you rely on a few foods you may become allergic to foods you consume every day. 

Here is a list of foods you can eat throughout the course of the Allergy Elimination Diet. 

Foods You Can Have

Hot Cereals such as oatmeal and oat bran, as long as they are not previously processed. There are some fabulous ways to prepare oatmeal, get creative! 

Milk Alternatives like coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, and hazelnut milk are great options to avoid dairy. Be sure to check the label to avoid harmful additives or thickeners. 

Grain and Flour Products such as 100% buckwheat (Gluten-Free) soba noodles; rice, buckwheat, and bean flours; rice, millet, nuts, or flax meal bread (as long as they do not contain dairy, eggs, sugar or wheat); cooked whole grains including oats, wild rice, millet, buckwheat groats (Kasha), brown rice, amaranth and quinoa. Most of these grains are available at health food stores.

Legumes (Beans) such as lentils, peas, chickpeas, navy beans, kidney beans, black beans, string beans, and others. Dried beans should be soaked overnight and be sure to pour off the water and rinse before cooking. Canned beans often contain added sugar or other potential allergens. Some cooked beans packaged in glass jars, sold at the health food store, contain no sugar. Again, read labels to see what ingredients may be hiding. 

Vegetables used in a wide variety pack a nutritious punch. Be sure to continue eliminating corn, and nightshade vegetables. 

Animal Protein including poultry, fowl and wild caught fish. Shrimp and most canned or packaged shellfish (such as lobster, crab, oysters) are okay in moderation. Beef, buffalo, wild game, and lamb rarely cause allergic reactions and may be used even when other meats are restricted. 

Nuts and Seeds, either raw or roasted without salt or sugar are a great snack or addition to a salad. To prevent rancidity, nuts and seeds should be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Raw nut butters are great options as well, be sure to check the ingredients. These butters should have minimal ingredients. 

Oils and Fats can be tricky due to the way many of these products are sourced. However, you may use avocado, safflower, olive, sesame, flaxseed and Fish Oil supplements. Use cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils, as they are safer for the heart and blood vessels. Do not use corn oil or “vegetable oil” from an unspecified source.

Spices and Condiments in moderation are a great way to kick any meal up a notch! Salt, in moderation; pepper, herbal spices without preservatives, citrus or sugar; garlic, ginger, onions; ketchup and mustard from the health food store (without sugar); wheat-free tamari sauce; Bragg liquid aminos; vitamin C crystals in water can be a good substitute for lemon juice.

Miscellaneous items include spaghetti sauce; fruit jellies without much sugar or citrus; soups such as split pea, lentil, turkey, vegetable, etc.

Additional Suggestions

Eat Enough! Throughout the Allergy Elimination Diet, and in everyday life, it's crucial to your overall health to consume enough calories. Do not restrict your food consumption. As you begin to execute the Allergy Elimination Diet, it can be helpful to prepare meals in advance. This is a great way to create a grocery list and focus on foods that will fuel you. Keep your meal prep and food journal to create documentation of what you're eating and how you're feeling. Show this document to your doctor at the end of the Allergy Elimination Diet to create an action plan. 
Dining Out can feel overwhelming if the restaurant isn’t transparent about how they prepare their food. It's okay to ask questions and make requests. At the end of the day, they are there to serve you and provide a pleasant experience, ask away! 

What will you feel like? 

Each person is unique in what they can and cannot eat, therefore, withdrawal symptoms will vary. Symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, headaches, malaise, or increased hunger can begin within a few days of elimination. Be patient with yourself! These symptoms generally disappear within 2-5 days and are typically followed by an improvement in your overall health. 

It’s best to quit all of the possible food irritants “cold turkey” rather than easing into the diet slowly. If the withdrawal symptoms are too uncomfortable, take buffered vitamin C (calcium ascorbate-1000mg in tablet form or ¼ teaspoon of the crystals, up to 4 times a day) or ¾ of a teaspoon of “alkali salts” (2 parts potassium bicarbonate, 1 part sodium bicarbonate) in water as needed, up to 3 times a day for several days. In most cases, withdrawal symptoms are not severe and do not require treatment. 

Testing and Reintroducing Foods

It usually may take 3 weeks for symptoms to improve enough to allow you to retest foods. Children however may begin retesting after 2 weeks. Some people feel so well on the diet that they decide not to test the foods, this could be a mistake! If you wait too long to retest, your allergies may “settle down” and you will not be able to provoke your symptoms by food testing. Then, it may be tricky to determine what foods are highly irritating to your body. If reintroducing certain foods causes a recurrence of symptoms, you are probably allergic to those foods.

Test pure sources of a food. What does this mean? Do not use pizza to test cheese, because pizza also contains wheat and corn oil. Do not use bread to test wheat, as it contains other ingredients. Organic sources are the best to use for testing, as you will not experience interference from pesticides, hormones, or other additives which may be used in commercial preparations.

Test one new food each day. If your main symptom is arthritic pain, test one new food every other day. Allergic reactions to test foods usually occur within 10 minutes to 12 hours after ingestion. However, joint pain may be delayed by as much as 72 hours.

Dr. Martins Testing Methods 

Eat a relatively large amount of each test food. For instance, on the day to test milk, add a large glass at breakfast, along with any of the other foods on the “permitted” list. If after one serving, your original symptoms come back, or if you develop a headache, bloating, nausea, dizziness, or fatigue, do not eat that food anymore and place it on your “allergic” list. If no symptoms occur, eat the food again for lunch and supper and watch for reactions. Even if the food is well tolerated, do not add it back into your diet until you have finished testing all of the foods. If you do experience a reaction, wait until your symptoms have improved before testing the next food. If you wake up the next morning with head or joint pain, nausea, or any other suspicious symptom, you may be experiencing a delayed reaction to the food you tested the day before. If you are uncertain whether you have reacted to a particular food, remove it from your diet and retest it 4-5 days later. You do not have to test foods you never eat. Do not test foods you already know cause symptoms.

Foods may be tested in any order. Begin testing on a day you are feeling well (without colds, unusual headaches, flu). Review the list of symptoms to watch for and keep a journal of how you feel.

Dairy Test: Test milk and cheese on separate days. You may wish to test several cheeses on different days since some people are allergic to one cheese but not another. It is usually not necessary to test yogurt, cottage cheese, or butter separately.

Wheat Test: Wheat or another pure wheat cereal. May add nut milk.

Corn Test: Use fresh ears of corn or frozen corn (without sauces or preservatives).

Egg Test: Test the whites and yolks on separate days, using hard-boiled eggs.

Citrus Test: Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes. Test these individually on 4 separate days. The lemon and the lime can be squeezed into Perrier or seltzer. In the case of orange or grapefruit, use the whole fruit.

Frequently Eaten Foods: Test tap water, if you have eliminated it, followed by those foods you have restricted (such as foods being consumed more than three times a week).

Optional Tests: The following foods and beverages are considered undesirable, regardless of whether or not you are allergic to them. If any of them are not now a part of your diet, or if you are fully committed to eliminating them from your diet, there is no need to test them. However, if you have been consuming any of them regularly, it is a good idea to test them and find out how they affect you. Reactions to these foods and beverages may be severe in some cases. They should be tested only on days that you can afford to feel bad.

Coffee & Tea Test (Separate Days): Do not add milk, non-dairy creamer, or sugar. You may add nut milk. If you use decaffeinated coffee, test it separately. Coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee, and decaffeinated tea are separate tests.

Sugar Test: Put 4 teaspoons of sugar in a drink or on cereal, or mix with another food.

Chocolate Test: Use 1-2 tablespoons of pure baker’s chocolate or Hershey’s cocoa powder.

Food Additive Test: Buy a set of McCormick’s or French’s food dyes and colors. Put ½ teaspoon of each color in a glass. Add one teaspoon of the mixture to a glass of water and drink. If you wish, you may test each color separately.

Soft Drink Test: Drink a can of flat, lukewarm soda.

Alcohol Test: Beer, wine, and hard liquor may require testing on different days, as the reactions to each may be different. Have 2 drinks per test day, but only if you can afford not to feel well that day and possibly the next day.

We often think of a food allergy or sensitivity showing itself in anaphylaxis or stomach pain, however, food allergies can be sneaky! Symptoms that may be due to food allergy include… 

General: Fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia, food cravings, obesity.

Infections: Recurrent colds, urinary tract infections, sore throats, ear infections, yeast infections.

Ear, Nose, and Throat: Chronic nasal congestion, postnasal drip, fluid in the ears, Meniere’s syndrome.

Gastrointestinal: Irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, abdominal cramping, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, gallbladder disease.

Cardiovascular: High blood pressure, arrhythmia, angina.

Dermatologic: Acne, eczema, psoriasis, canker sores (aphthous ulcers), hives.

Rheumatologic: Muscle aches, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis.

Neurologic: Migraines and other headaches, numbness, foggy brain, pain.

Miscellaneous: Asthma, frequent urination, teeth grinding, bedwetting, infantile colic.

Now that you've eliminated and re-introduced foods, it's important to discuss your findings with your doctor. Bring your food journal and meal-prep tools to your appointment for additional information. 

Happy Eating!