Elimination Diets: Are You Allergic to Breakfast?
Do you suffer from vague symptoms that come and go, like fatigue, palpitations, arthritis pain, eczema or sneezing? It could be your breakfast.
According to Stephan Rechtscaffen, M.
D.
, holistic physician and founder of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, 50 to 60% of the population has food allergies.
And the most common food allergies are breakfast staples such as citrus, wheat, soy, sugar, coffee, eggs, corn and dairy.
Allergies can be very broadly defined as "a reaction to something other than us," whether it be something in the environment, something we eat or some chemical agent.
However, many doctors limit their definition of allergens to something that will register on a blood test as an immunoglobulin E reaction (IgE).
The problem is that most foods are not IgE reactive.
The best test for food allergies is not a patch or blood test or other scientific technology, and it doesn't take a doctor to administer it.
It's something you can do at home on your own or with the guidance of a health coach or nutritionist.
The first thing you can do is look at your breakfast.
Most of us do not have adverse reactions to something that we rarely eat, but to things that are common or habitual elements of our diets, and this usually means breakfast.
It could, however, be anything that we eat on a daily basis, maybe a late night snack that we always go for.
Ask yourself, "What is a constant in my diet that I always have on hand?" "What is a typical meal for me?"Dr.
Rechtscaffen relates that one of his patients suffered from palpitations that doctors were at a loss to diagnose, until he discovered that she was eating pineapple faithfully every night before bed.
Once she eliminated the pineapple, she eliminated the palpitations.
It is also helpful to answer this simple question: "Do you prefer ice cream or cake?" It sounds counterintuitive, but we gravitate to what's causing our problem.
If you prefer ice cream, you may have a problem with dairy.
If you prefer cake, you may have a wheat sensitivity.
Keep in mind that food allergies can be cumulative.
We all have a certain tolerance for allergies and the effects build up in our system, combining one on top of the other until we reach our threshold and symptoms are finally expressed.
If you eliminate some of the food allergens, all of your symptoms may disappear since the total remaining has fallen under your tolerance threshold.
Also, allergy symptoms may change over a lifetime.
Children are often said to "grow out of" some problem like colic and then develop ear infections that they also grow out of.
But it could be a dairy allergy all along, and just the symptoms of the allergy are changing.
Ask yourself if you had a childhood food allergy.
You might still have it but it's manifesting in a different way.
If you have vague symptoms that come and go, such as fatigue, palpitations, eczema, arthritis pain or sneezing, and you want to determine whether these could be food related, a simple at-home elimination diet could give you the answer.
It is very important to remember that there is a distinction between fixed and variable allergies.
Variable allergies are not always there and are not triggered by small amounts, whereas fixed allergies to things like shrimp and other shellfish are.
The recommended elimination diet is designed for only variable allergies and should not be used for fixed allergies.
Dr.
Rechtscaffen proposes a 7-10 day elimination diet to pinpoint problem foods.
First, ask "What foods do I eat every day?" The most common culprits are citrus, dairy, wheat, soy, sugar, coffee, eggs and corn.
But it could be something else you eat habitually.
First, identify the food that you want to test, and avoid the food completely for a period of not less than 7 days.
You could do 10 days if you're feeling ambitious but not more than 10 days.
Pay attention to how you feel.
On the first 3 days you may feel worse, but persevere.
On the last 3 days you should feel a difference.
If you don't feel better, you're probably not sensitive.
But wait, there's more.
On day 8 (or 11 for you overachievers), revert to eating the target food in the same quantities you normally used to eat them.
If you are sensitive to the food, you will experience an "amplified reaction.
" For instance, if you had been suffering from fatigue before the diet and you eliminate wheat, when you add it back, you may experience extreme fatigue, worse than before the diet.
And there's your answer.
This is a simple safe way to see if food is causing your problem.
If so, you may want to work with a doctor or nutritionist more closely to adjust your diet.
According to Stephan Rechtscaffen, M.
D.
, holistic physician and founder of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, 50 to 60% of the population has food allergies.
And the most common food allergies are breakfast staples such as citrus, wheat, soy, sugar, coffee, eggs, corn and dairy.
Allergies can be very broadly defined as "a reaction to something other than us," whether it be something in the environment, something we eat or some chemical agent.
However, many doctors limit their definition of allergens to something that will register on a blood test as an immunoglobulin E reaction (IgE).
The problem is that most foods are not IgE reactive.
The best test for food allergies is not a patch or blood test or other scientific technology, and it doesn't take a doctor to administer it.
It's something you can do at home on your own or with the guidance of a health coach or nutritionist.
The first thing you can do is look at your breakfast.
Most of us do not have adverse reactions to something that we rarely eat, but to things that are common or habitual elements of our diets, and this usually means breakfast.
It could, however, be anything that we eat on a daily basis, maybe a late night snack that we always go for.
Ask yourself, "What is a constant in my diet that I always have on hand?" "What is a typical meal for me?"Dr.
Rechtscaffen relates that one of his patients suffered from palpitations that doctors were at a loss to diagnose, until he discovered that she was eating pineapple faithfully every night before bed.
Once she eliminated the pineapple, she eliminated the palpitations.
It is also helpful to answer this simple question: "Do you prefer ice cream or cake?" It sounds counterintuitive, but we gravitate to what's causing our problem.
If you prefer ice cream, you may have a problem with dairy.
If you prefer cake, you may have a wheat sensitivity.
Keep in mind that food allergies can be cumulative.
We all have a certain tolerance for allergies and the effects build up in our system, combining one on top of the other until we reach our threshold and symptoms are finally expressed.
If you eliminate some of the food allergens, all of your symptoms may disappear since the total remaining has fallen under your tolerance threshold.
Also, allergy symptoms may change over a lifetime.
Children are often said to "grow out of" some problem like colic and then develop ear infections that they also grow out of.
But it could be a dairy allergy all along, and just the symptoms of the allergy are changing.
Ask yourself if you had a childhood food allergy.
You might still have it but it's manifesting in a different way.
If you have vague symptoms that come and go, such as fatigue, palpitations, eczema, arthritis pain or sneezing, and you want to determine whether these could be food related, a simple at-home elimination diet could give you the answer.
It is very important to remember that there is a distinction between fixed and variable allergies.
Variable allergies are not always there and are not triggered by small amounts, whereas fixed allergies to things like shrimp and other shellfish are.
The recommended elimination diet is designed for only variable allergies and should not be used for fixed allergies.
Dr.
Rechtscaffen proposes a 7-10 day elimination diet to pinpoint problem foods.
First, ask "What foods do I eat every day?" The most common culprits are citrus, dairy, wheat, soy, sugar, coffee, eggs and corn.
But it could be something else you eat habitually.
First, identify the food that you want to test, and avoid the food completely for a period of not less than 7 days.
You could do 10 days if you're feeling ambitious but not more than 10 days.
Pay attention to how you feel.
On the first 3 days you may feel worse, but persevere.
On the last 3 days you should feel a difference.
If you don't feel better, you're probably not sensitive.
But wait, there's more.
On day 8 (or 11 for you overachievers), revert to eating the target food in the same quantities you normally used to eat them.
If you are sensitive to the food, you will experience an "amplified reaction.
" For instance, if you had been suffering from fatigue before the diet and you eliminate wheat, when you add it back, you may experience extreme fatigue, worse than before the diet.
And there's your answer.
This is a simple safe way to see if food is causing your problem.
If so, you may want to work with a doctor or nutritionist more closely to adjust your diet.