Monitor Food Allergies and Sensitivities for Lowering Inflammation

Monitor Food Allergies and Sensitivities for Lowering Inflammation

Any time you eat a food to which your body is allergic or sensitive, your body
views the food as a foreign invader and mounts an immune and inflammatory
response. There are many labs that will test you for food allergies and sensitivities,
but you can also test yourself without too much fuss. Here’s how to do it.

ELIMINATION DIET

An elimination diet, described by Dr. William Crook in 1988, removes the most
highly allergenic foods from the diet in an effort to allow your body to recover
from any symptoms that may be caused by sensitivity to these foods. Sensitivity
issues can include bloating, diarrhea, constipation, itching, mental fogginess, and
cravings for a particular food. We encourage people to use a food log during this
period to ensure the notation of any symptoms, their cessation, and their possible
return. The foods typically removed from the diet are dairy, eggs, gluten (wheat,
barley, rye, and spelt), soy, corn, red meat, peanuts, all other nuts, citrus, and
shellfish. These foods are avoided for approximately twenty-one days. At the end of
this period, foods are added back in one at a time every three to five days, while the
return of any symptoms is noted.

ROTATION DIET

Rotation diets allow people to moderate how often they eat certain foods, with
the aim of avoiding potential allergic or sensitivity responses caused by eating
certain foods too often. By rotating how often you eat foods to which you may have
a low-level sensitivity, you can reduce your exposure and your symptoms. This diet
also allows you to clearly identify which foods you are reacting to, since you are
eating them only every four to five days. In our experience, following a rotation
diet can allow the immune system to repair itself through the avoidance of
cumulative exposure.