Decoding the Elimination Diet
If you follow health and wellness trends, you’ve likely heard of the elimination diet. Unlike most diet trends in today’s culture, the objective is not weight loss, but rather a way to better understand how our body responds to different foods. Today, our friend Dr. Leigh Wagner, an integrative and functional medicine dietitian, will break down everything you need to know about the elimination diet—including what it entails and who may benefit. Let’s dig in!
What is an elimination diet and why is it used?
An elimination diet aims to identify whether any foods are causing or contributing to chronic, nagging health symptoms. Some popular diets are essentially elimination diets, like the Whole 30 program and low FODMAP diet. These diets systematically eliminate foods and then reintroduce them to the body.
Ideally, an elimination diet is implemented with the assistance of a nutrition professional like a registered dietitian, but if you’re considering trying an elimination diet on your own or with your family, below are a few things to know and keep in mind.
Who might try an elimination diet?
People who suspect that a food (or foods) might be having an adverse effect on their body may consider trying an elimination diet. These adverse food reactions aren’t as serious as IgE-mediated food allergies—meaning they don’t cause anaphylactic reactions like hives, facial swelling, or breathing difficulties—but instead can cause symptoms like bloating, nausea, headaches, chronic pain, and varying degrees of discomfort.
How do you perform an elimination diet?
An elimination diet occurs in two main phases:
1) Elimination or withdrawal
2) Reintroduction or challenge
The elimination phase takes approximately four to six weeks. During this first phase, the suspected food(s) are completely removed from the diet. This means even small amounts of the food(s) in recipes or packaged goods should be avoided.
Depending on how many foods are eliminated, the reintroduction phase can take as long as the elimination phase. When reintroducing or “challenging” foods back into the diet, it’s important to reintroduce one food at a time. This ensures if symptoms reappear, it’s clear which food caused the reaction.
During the reintroduction or challenge phase, take two to three days to test each new food to learn whether a food causes an adverse reaction. If no symptoms reappear during the two to three days of eating the food, leave it in the diet and test the next food. If, however, symptoms reemerge, eliminate that food again and wait until the symptoms subside before testing the next food.
Continue this process until you’ve completely reintroduced all eliminated foods back into the diet and determined which, if any, are problematic.
On average, the whole process usually takes approximately two to three months to complete.
What are the benefits of working with a professional?
It helps to work with a registered dietitian or other qualified nutrition or healthcare professional when undergoing the elimination diet. They can help identify which food(s) you should eliminate, which foods to keep in the mix, and guide the reintroduction process. They can also help ensure your plan doesn’t result in nutritional deficiencies.
Cautions & keys with elimination diets
If it seems like all foods are causing adverse symptoms, it’s less likely all the tested foods are problematic and more likely that the intestinal tract needs to be assessed and treated.
Children have critical growth windows that make specific nutrients essential during certain times of life and growth. It is more important that children work with a registered dietitian or qualified provider if they are undertaking an elimination diet because they’re especially vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies.
An elimination diet should not be used to identify IgE-mediated food allergies. Unlike food intolerances, food allergies can be life-threatening and should be diagnosed and managed with the help and supervision of medical professionals.
We hope this information helps you better understand if an elimination diet may be right for you or your loved ones! If you’ve had success with an elimination diet, we’d love to hear your story in the comments.
Dr. Leigh Wagner is an integrative and functional medicine dietitian with a PhD in Medical Nutrition Science. Her private practice specializes in helping clients resolve symptoms related to digestion, hormones, and chronic inflammation. Leigh works with clients to dig into the “why” of their health problems and applies that knowledge to help them feel their best. She is the author of the newsletter Nuanced Nutrition.