We’re going to break down how to perform an elimination diet the right way. We will look at this diagnostic diet in three phases. First, we will consider the elimination diet phase, where you change your diet dramatically for some time. Then we will look at the reintroduction stage, which will help you to learn which foods you are sensitive to. Finally, we will go through the recovery phase, which will involve supplements like bone broth collagen to repair any existing damage.
Stage 1: Eliminating Certain Foods from Your Diet
If food sensitivities are causing your problem, you only need about two to three weeks away from those foods to start feeling a lot better. However, if you don’t know what foods are triggering your symptoms, you may have to cut out all of the primary suspects. The main ingredients that people cut out when performing an exclusion diet include:
- Milk products
- Gluten
- Eggs
- Corn
- Tree nuts
- Peanuts
- Soy
- Wheat (if you are eliminating gluten then this is a given)
- Nightshade vegetables
- Seafood
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
You can feel free to add any other foods you are concerned about to the list. If you cut all of these foods out of your diet for several weeks and still have the same symptoms, the issue is probably not food-related, and you will need to see your doctor for a diagnosis.
Stage 2: Reintroducing Foods Gradually
When reintroducing foods, be sure to bring back only one at a time. This will help you to determine which food (or foods) is the problem. You need to give yourself two or three days after reintroducing a food before moving on to the next one, so the entire progress could take five to seven weeks depending on how many foods you eliminate.
What symptoms should you watch out for when reintroducing foods? Sensitivities usually present in the following ways:
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Skin rashes
- Headaches or migraines
- Insomnia
- Breathing difficulties
- Bloating
- Abdominal pain or cramping
- Excessive, foul-smelling gas
- Joint pain
- Fatigue
- Brain fog (abnormal forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, other cognitive symptoms)
These bullet points are by no means an all-inclusive list of the symptoms of food sensitivities, but they are enough to help you know what to look for. If these symptoms occur following the reintroduction of a food group, cut that food out and wait until the symptoms subside to move onto the next group. You may have more than one food sensitivity, so you don’t want to reintroduce foods prematurely just because one food group produced all of your symptoms.
Most people reintroduce foods based on how much they miss certain things. Remember that the process may take longer, depending on how many sensitivities you catch during the diet. Once you reach the end of the elimination diet, stay away from foods that cause reactions.
Stage 3: Recovering from Your Food Sensitivities
The number one key to recovering from food sensitivities is to avoid what you are sensitive to. Remember that even one bite may result in days of symptoms and slow down your recovery process. For some people, after the recovery is complete, the sensitivity goes away, and they can go back to eating whatever they want. For others, the food must be avoided for the rest of your life.
Another critical component of the recovery phases is helping your intestines to function optimally. Many food sensitivities affect the digestive tract and may result in conditions like leaky gut or irritable bowel syndrome. What can help to heal your gut? One of the best things is bone broth collagen.
How Bone Broth Collagen Helps Heal Leaky Gut
Leaky gut means that your intestines may be preventing some nutrients from passing the barrier into the bloodstream and expelling these nutrients as waste. On the other hand, it may be allowing toxins that are supposed to be excreted to reach the blood. This process can be responsible for many of the symptoms of food sensitivities.
Bone broth collagen provides your body with the correct proteins to heal the gut. This can allow your body to begin benefiting from the nutrients once again while expelling the toxins. It is unknown whether foods sensitivities cause leaky gut or the other way around, so once you give your body time to heal, you may wish to try introducing foods once again.
Some people get no reaction, some have a reduced response, and others have the same reaction no matter how much time has passed or how much healing has taken place. If or when to give these foods a try again will be up to you, but if you have had a long-time sensitivity, it can take two years or more for your gut to heal as far as it can.
The Best Bone Broth Collagen to Complement Your Exclusion Diet
Once you have eliminated the foods that you are sensitive to, we encourage you to give the Collagen Bone Broth Protein Powder from Warrior Strong Wellness a try. This superfood protein is non-GMO and gluten-free to provide you with all of the amino acids your body needs for healing without any of the stuff that may have messed up your intestines in the first place.
Order today to get the best bone broth collagen supplement and to support the community because Warrior Strong Wellness donates part of our proceeds to childhood cancer research.
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Warrior Strong Wellness
Warrior Strong Wellness provides innovative and high quality transformational supplements and raises awareness and funds to fight childhood cancer by giving a portion of our proceeds to childhood cancer research. In our weekly blogs, we share wisdom about wellness and living a Warrior Strong lifestyle.