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i am due to some tummy troubles and trying to pinpoint a possible allergy to cinnamon, tomato,cucumber or flaxseed.

Me! I'm in the midst of trying to pinpoint my many food sensitivities. Obviously gluten, since I'm on this forum. I also seem to have a very bad reaction to foods with more than just a tiny bit of fructose, so I've stopped eating fruit and all sweets. Then earlier this year I figured out that tomatoes and potatoes were creating lots of inflammation in my body. I thought I had identified all my problem foods, and I added too much too quickly, so I'm going back to my baseline group of foods (gluten free oats, rice, collards, spinach, other green leafy veggies, walnuts and chia seeds). After a week or two on just these foods, I'll try testing again.

Right now I think cinnamon is giving me acid reflux. At first I thought it was the oats and I was really bummed. But then this weekend I skipped the cinnamon and all of a sudden, no acid reflux that night! I did it again the next day, same thing.

Then today I accidently drank some of my favorite tea, a roiboos chai blend with - you guessed it - cinnamon. All seemed fine for the day after that, but a half hour after I lay down to sleep tonight, I woke up choking on stomach acid. Ugh, so unpleasant. I'm really starting to feel that cinnamon is the culprit. It was very interesting for me to read that cinnamon is on your suspect list too!

How are you doing your elimination diet?

Me too! Am in the midst of an Elimination Diet. This is my 3rd or 4th effort; have gotten derailed by other life events. So far, am certain about wheat, tomatoes, onions, pears, and anything in the squash family. Pretty sure potatoes and oats and corn and cabbage are no-nos too, but want to retest before giving up on them. Am finding that the best thing is to reduce my diet to very few items while I test; otherwise, there is more potential to eat things that cause delayed or subtle problems, and think it's about the food I'm testing. Have just done my 2nd test on oats, and both times I became sleepless, not able to sleep hardly at all. But now I realize that I should retry with gluten-free oats, and see if they produce the same result. Would love to be able to eat oats, if I can. My husband suggests that maybe if I only had oats in the morning, rather than 3x per day, like when I am testing, maybe I could tolerate the smaller amount.

Another thing: I go right to testing my biggest suspects first: they are the most important, and if I get derailed, the highest priority foods do get tested.

Anyone doing this has my respect and admiration: it's hard!

Hi working at it,

I too wonder about handling a small amount of something versus eating a lot of it and then seeing problems surface, and also about delayed reaction. I've been eating a lot of gluten free oats and rice for several months now while I test other foods, but just recently I started having inflammation that wouldn't go away. I finally stopped eating both grains and in a big leap of faith just moved to winter squash and sweet potatoes, and the inflammation went away within a few days.

So does that mean I can handle a little bit of rice or GF oats? Or since at least one of them seems to have caused this, that I should avoid the offending one altogether? Did I develop another sensitivity because I relied too heavily on just two grains?

I'm not sure what the answer to this is... I definitely don't want to give myself any more food intolerances! I'm already so limited.

My gut instinct is that I probably developed these during my life of eating gluten without knowing that I had celiac disease. I probably caused all this intestinal damage like leaky gut, and I became sensitive to foods that I ate a lot of in my earlier years. But now that I haven't eaten gluten in years and hopefully my intestines are healed, I don't think I'm going to give myself any new sensitivities even if I rely very heavily on one or two foods while I do this elimination diet. But I don't know for sure obviously...

And is it okay to eat foods occasionally that give me problems when I eat a lot of them? Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Goldilocks - Good questions! What interesting puzzles we are working with. Wish I had answers; these are similar issues to what I'm working with. When you say you recently began to experience inflammation, wondering what it was you observed?

I also feel like I have to take risks by relying heavily on some foods while doing the elimination diet. I just discovered that one of my staples, yams, is creating chronic diarrhea. Am stunned; was sure it was great for me! Might try yams without the skins, and see how that works.

About eating foods that have been identified as problems: for me it depends on what kind of problem the food creates, and how intense it is. Some effects are just too serious to risk having again!

Looking forward to the day when it's clear which foods to eat!

Hi Working at it,

Me too! It's such a puzzle, and so frustrating. I thought sweet potatoes were okay, but I notice when I eat them that I gain several pounds and my legs gets bloated above my sock line. So I'm thinking that means they're not so good for me, even though they digest well and my pulse rate stays low when I eat them. And so far I haven't noticed them leading to inflammation either. I'm torn because they're yummy, I don't have many starches that work for me, and they have such a fabulous nutritional profile! But it does seem like my body doesn't like them...

You were wondering what kind of inflammation I get. I often get inflamed spots on the skin of my toes and sometimes my fingers as a reaction to food. I also get what I think is bursitis in my hip and start experiencing this grinding pain with each step. So even though the little skin spots of inflammation aren't usually too awful to put up with, I feel like I should stop eating things when I connect them with the inflammation. It seems like a clear signal from my body that it's not doing well with that food, and also I don't want to get the pain in my hip again! I had it earlier this year from tomatoes, and then a second time from potatoes, so both of those are definitely out for me. And I got the skin inflammation first, and then after that the hip pain, so I'm feeling like the skin is my first warning sign.

I did check my CRP last time I had my blood taken, and it was lower than the least detectable level, so at least all this inflammation doesn't seem to be affecting my arteries, at least not by that marker.

What about you? What adverse symptoms do you experience from your food, and which foods have you found to aggravate these symptoms?

I keep trying to find a small group of foods that digests well, don't cause inflammation or other signs of toxicity, and don't cause my pulse rate to elevate, but so far I haven't found one. If I can find a combo that works, then I'll start adding back/testing other foods one at a time. In the meantime, I think I just found another food that doesn't work - oranges. Sigh. I want to find foods that DO work, not more that don't!

I bought some taro root recently and I really liked it and didn't seem to have any problems from eating it. But it's imported - I think from Mexico - and not organic, so I worry about all the toxic things they use there. Non-organic produce from the US is one thing, but from other countries, I worry about things like DDT, etc. It's one thing to eat it once in a while, but I don't think it would be good to rely on it as a staple.

Ah well, I'll keep trying. Good luck to you too!

I did an elimination diet (not McDougall but close) last fall to determine which foods cause me pain and inflammation and return to the restricted list of foods whenever I feel pain returning. I was able to determine several triggers--msg, dairy, soy, and possibly citrus and gluten.

Goldilocks-it's interesting to read about your inflammation showing up as swelling as I have that reaction to dairy, only the swelling is noticeable in my face. Other reactions to my problem foods include a return of muscle pain, tension, some joint pain, and stiffness and tingling in hands and feet. It's pretty interesting to be have discovered all the connections and control it simply by avoiding those foods! I'm loving it.

I've wondered about this, too, and it seems that gluten I can tolerate in some amounts but seems best if I don't eat it on a regular basis. The other things its best for me to avoid completely. Gluten may take me up to 48 hrs to react.

Same here. While I am avoiding dairy best I can, I'm willing to put up with some swelling more than I am willing to put up with pain and tingly feelings as those keep me up at night and have made my life miserable for a long time.

Anyway, interesting thread! Wishing everyone success in determining their problem foods.

Goldilocks - Your information is stunning. NEVER thought to check the reaction of my pulse, while testing foods; GREAT idea! Also, have not been thinking in terms of "hip pain;" somehow had thought that kind of pain would be associated with injury or overuse, but of course, now that I think of it, it could be a food reaction.

Many of the reactions I have are surprising too; so much so that to be sure it's the food, and not some other coincidental effect, most every reaction will get tested 2 or 3 times. So far, here is what the list looks like: Oats - insomnia, black rings under eyes, grumpy. Tomatoes and onions - sinusitis, runny nose, sneezing (in a really big, continuous way.) Yam - severe diarrhea. Russett potatoes - severe diarrhea. Sweet potatoes - mild diarrhea. Red lentils - mild diarrhea. Wheat - fatigue, depression, insomnia, puffiness in face. Two foods that have been clear problems since childhood are pears and anything in the squash/pumplin family - bloating, farting (in the extreme.)

Have been surprised by the recent tests of yams and sweet potatoes; at one time, felt these were good!

Also interesting: about 30 years ago, was skin tested for allergies. So far, if there was a reaction in the skin 30 years ago, some kind of problem shows up now. Wish there was a way to conceal the identity of the food being tested, to be more confidant the results are real.

For me, food sensitivities are a bigger deal by far than eating a regular whole plant foods diet. In fact, my husband and I are doing a 5 week CHIP program now, and I can eat almost nothing that is served there. Am guessing that the experience might be similar at a McDougall program; with sensitivities to so many common foods, no one could be expected to cook in a way that I could eat.

Sure do appreciate this thread; thank you everyone.

I really appreciate everyone posting on this thread too. I have so many food sensitivities, and while I'm still hopeful that I might find a group of foods that don't cause any problems, I might just have to find one that gives me minimal problems.

About the hip pain, I never thought that was connected with this painful inflamed skin thing. I thought it was structural, and an alternate practitioner told me one leg was longer than the other, and that's what caused the pain. But I went in to see an orthopedic doc, and he said it wasn't from a difference in leg heights, that it was probably bursitis. A big lightbulb went off in my mind and I realized that it was probably inflammatory! And by quitting potatoes (I was relying on them a lot last fall), the skin inflammation disappeared and so did the grinding pain in my hip, thank God.

And yes, the pulse test is new for me too, but it's a really interesting new piece of data. I bought this old book called The Pulse Test which explains things really clearly, and I've been testing to see how I react.

Good luck to all!

Working at it--I'm wondering if gluten is the causing the return of the dark circles under my eyes, I see this is a symptom of yours, too. Last week I introduced oatmeal (not GF), eating it everyday for over a week now, and the dark circles, which had been mostly gone for several months since doing the elimination diet, have returned. Maybe there is a connection. How long does it take you to react to gluten? Were your oats GF?

I forgot to mention that I also reacted to oranges and grapefruit with some bad gastric distress and diarrhea. Tangerines and clementines seem to be ok.

Blue

for those following elimination diets--do you notice that the longer your diet is really "clean" the more intense your reaction is when you introduce a new food?

For example, when I was eating SAD, I don't remember ever having had diarrhea after eating oranges, but that is the reaction I had when introducing them about 2 months into my elimination diet. In a way, do we lose our tolerance to these things when we clean up our diets and eat a very restricted but very healthy list of foods, so our reactions are stronger or different?

Should I try oranges and grapefruit again to? I only tested them once, but have been afraid to try again.

Blue --
For me, I reacted to gluten the same day of the first challenge. Reactions can be delayed 3-4 days though, and those are harder to be sure about.

About reactions being easier to spot on an Elimination diet, sure agree with you. When we eat something frequently, reactions are chronic, very different from the reactions we get on EDs.

When I tested oats, they were not GF; someday will test GF oats, but for now, since oats are on Barnard's list of Top 10 Triggers for Arthritis, which I also have, am guessing they really are a trigger for me. There are so many foods to test making choices about which ones to do first is hard.

I started one yesterday to try to stop iflammation. I have lots of pain, but the worst one is hip bursitis. I sure do hope to get rid of this pain. I have had it 5 years without letup. Since I am on day two, of course I haven't started to add in foods. It is hard to believe this hip pain might stop.

I am anxious for the pain to stop and the two weeks to pass so I can start adding in foods.

I started one yesterday to try to stop iflammation. I have lots of pain, but the worst one is hip bursitis. I sure do hope to get rid of this pain. I have had it 5 years without letup. Since I am on day two, of course I haven't started to add in foods. It is hard to believe this hip pain might stop.

I am anxious for the pain to stop and the two weeks to pass so I can start adding in foods.

Blue - Just started a test of oranges, and just had the same reaction! Am going to retest, to see if the reaction might have been related to something else that isn't obvious.

The most surprising reaction came from Pecans - the early reaction was stabbing ear pain. The late reaction was joint pain (mainly fingers and toes), and it was so persistent that it took 10 days to clear! That reaction was so clear, that there's no need to retest.

Wild stuff!