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When Your Food & Drink Could Be Causing You Problems: Elimination Diets - Handout
What is an elimination diet?
An elimination diet is a tool that can help you find out if certain foods could be keeping you from feeling your best. It is not an official diet with set rules, like you might be asked to follow by a dietitian. It involves avoiding a food or a group of foods for a short time, and seeing if you feel better. After a set amount of time, you try the food or foods again to see if health problems come back. This helps you learn which foods may be causing problems.
Many people think they have food allergies or that some foods make them (or their family members) sick.1-4 Many people (about one third) report that some foods bother them.3 For example, half of all people have trouble with lactose, a sugar found in milk.5 About 2% of people react to gluten or wheat.6 Around 7% of people cannot tolerate wine.7
A true food allergy is a specific type of immune response to a particular food. It usually occurs within minutes or hours after eating that food. People having an allergic reaction to a food can have itchiness or hives, swelling of the throat or tongue, trouble breathing, vomiting, or diarrhea. A severe food allergy is called “anaphylaxis” and is life-threatening. The foods that most often cause allergic reactions are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy and some fruits.8-11 If you have a severe food allergy, speak with your health care provider before starting any new eating approach.
Some people have problems caused by eating certain foods, but those problems are not true allergies. These people may feel unwell after eating a certain food or a type of food. The food may change how their gut works or how their body processes different nutrients. Sometimes this is called “food intolerance.”
As you explore whether or not eliminating certain foods might help you, it is always a good idea to stay in contact with your health care team. Your dietitian or provider might have other suggestions to help you support your gut health, whatever way you decide to eat.