How to Determine Whether an Elimination Diet Will Help Your Stomach

 

It may assist you in identifying the foods that are causing you discomfort.

What you eat gives you important nutrients that keep you healthy and give you energy to get through the day. However, there are some foods that you shouldn't eat because they cause gas, bloating, indigestion, and other stomach issues. You might have an allergy or intolerance to a particular food if you've noticed that certain foods make you feel unwell after eating them.

An elimination diet is the most effective method for determining precisely which foods are causing you problems.

Sarita Salzberg, M.D., a board-certified family medicine and addiction medicine physician at the virtual health platform PlushCare, explains, "The purpose of an elimination diet is to isolate your food triggers after that, try to reintroduce as many foods as you can." Once you find the foods that cause symptoms, you can limit or avoid them.

When you follow an elimination diet, you avoid certain food groups that are likely to cause your symptoms. Eggs, nuts, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, wheat, and tree nuts like almonds are the most common food allergens and sensitivities.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, you keep track of how you feel without those foods in your diet, gradually introduce them again, and note any symptoms. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, elimination diets are meant to be followed for a short time to discover your food triggers.

According to Dr. Salzberg, individuals who suffer from functional gastrointestinal conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can particularly benefit from following an elimination diet. However, before beginning an elimination diet, it is best to consult your doctor to rule out any medical conditions.

What is an elimination diet exactly?

Most likely, you already know which foods are making you sick. Diets that eliminate food can help you verify it.

The diet requires eliminating these suspect foods or other common food allergens. After that, you slowly bring them back in, one at a time, and look for any symptoms you have.

According to Julie Stefanski, R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, "Depending on the condition it’s used for, an elimination diet may exclude likely allergens, irritants in the gastrointestinal tract, or foods thought to cause inflammation."

However, the Mayo Clinic asserts that elimination diets are not risk-free. Yes, they'll help you figure out what in your diet is making your stomach hurt. However, they alone cannot determine whether the foods are an intolerance or allergy.

Food Intolerance versus Food Allergy

GI issues and other symptoms can be caused by food allergies and intolerances.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs when you consume a particular food, even in trace amounts. Your immune response to particular allergens can be measured using blood tests.

Anaphylaxis, digestive issues, hives, swelling, and rashes are all symptoms of food allergies. The allergies can be dangerous to one's life. An elimination diet might not be safe for you if you have ever experienced a severe reaction to a food.

Food intolerance, also known as food sensitivity, can resemble symptoms of an allergy but are typically not life-threatening. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, people with food intolerances have trouble digesting certain foods.

A food allergy affects about 10% of the world's population, and many more people are likely to have food intolerances or sensitivities.

What You Can't Learn from an Elimination Diet

Even if you try an elimination diet without consulting your doctor, you won't necessarily know if you have a food allergy or sensitivity. However, you will probably discover which foods are causing your stomach issues.

She adds that the diets are also short-term experiments rather than long-term solutions because they focus on particular foods rather than quantities of nutrients. For instance, individuals with liver disease and gastroparesis, also known as slow stomach emptying, may struggle with the amount of fat in foods rather than a particular food.

How to Follow a Diet Without Foods

Follow these steps if you think an elimination diet can help your stomach issues:-

Consult Your Physician	Under the supervision of a medical professional, elimination diets are most secure. According to Dr. Salzberg, standard laboratory tests are a good idea to check for liver functions, gallbladder problems, and just baseline health. Before beginning an elimination diet, doctors can order a blood test to check for common problems. Certain health conditions may get worse and become deficient if certain nutrients are removed from your diet. You can get assistance planning your elimination diet by requesting a referral from your doctor to a registered dietitian.
Get Rid of Foods That Trigger You	According to Stefanski, "an elimination diet typically moves from the most restrictive to the least restrictive." In order to clearly identify symptoms, multiple foods are eliminated at once and gradually reintroduced as single foods.  Depending on your specific symptoms, there are multiple types of elimination diets. For instance, you might need to follow a low-FODMAP diet, which restricts dairy, wheat, beans, and certain fruits and vegetables that some people have trouble digesting.  Based on your symptoms and overall health, working with a medical professional, like a dietitian or doctor, will help you choose which foods to start eliminating. You are encouraged to monitor what you eat and any symptoms you experience while avoiding those triggers, such as by keeping a food journal.
Follow The Diet	The elimination diet should be followed according to the recommendations of your medical team. The diet typically lasts between four and eight weeks.   According to Dr. Salzberg, "It can take time for the elimination phase of this type of diet to work and for your symptoms to subside." It is not intended to last, even if you feel great during the elimination phase.
Slowly Reintroduce Foods	Following the phase of elimination, begin gradually reintroducing foods in accordance with medical advice. When you add something new to your diet, you should pay attention to any symptoms you get.  According to Dr. Salzberg, "it's important to find out which foods you may be able to reintroduce and tolerate." Over time, it will be easier to stick to a diet that is more moderate, and when it comes to nutrition, variety is always the best way to get all of your micronutrients.”  Work with a dietitian to create a long-term eating plan once you have identified your food triggers. She emphasizes that following a health professional's advice is the most important aspect of an elimination diet.

 Dr. Salzberg asserts, "You can't cheat on an elimination diet; the entire experiment is invalid if you do." Before you begin, make a deliberate commitment to yourself to finish the procedure.