Discussion Board

You may not like this suggestion, but maybe the best thing to do is to eliminate them all for now and then challenge them each individually when you get to that part of the experiment.

Found some plain brown rice pasta at Publix today and am saving it for those days where I just can't face another bowl of rice. Not something I think I should eat every day, but good for days when I think I'm going to go nuts from too much of the same food.

I also made some rice milk to help moisten my food (4 parts water, 1 part rice, 3 min in the vitamix). A splash of that worked well in a dish of banana rice today.

Puffed rice for when I want something crunchy.

At this point I'm finding texture to be as much, if not more, of a challenge than flavor. I'm used to the bland already.

Eagerly awaiting my first challenge--LIME--so I can add some tang to my tongue.

Frieda, it's not a bad idea to just eliminate those fruits for now. I don't have to have fruit every day anyway, plus I'm now out of peaches and apricots. The cranberries can stay in the freezer.

I meant to ask you before when you've mentioned bananas. They aren't on Dr. McDougall's list for the Elimination Diet. Are you eating some fruits and veggies in addition to his list during the base week?

I don't dare add bananas yet as they are definitely one that needs to be tested for me. I used to get lots of pain in my lower back after eating them; it would last 2-4 hours and nothing (aspirin, ibuprofen, ice, or heat) would make the pain diminish. I haven't had that reaction for a long time, though, so I'm hoping it's something I've gotten past. Still want to test, just in case.

The list says:

"Most non-citrus including:"

Due to the word "including" and no exclusion of bananas, I included them.

I'm eating:
Rice (with occasional rice pasta and puffed rice)
Sweet potatoes (regular and Japanese)
Winter squash
Kale
Bok choy
Napa cabbage
Asparagus
Artichokes
Summer squash
Pears
Bananas

I may add peaches and lettuce before starting my challenges.

I was eating apples, but discovered the first couple of days of the ED that they give me indigestion so they have been voted off the island.

If you suspect bananas you might want to leave them for a challenge. My philosophy is that as hard as this can be, it would be worse to go to all of this trouble only to have done a sloppy job of adding foods to the point where I've screwed up all of my sacrifices.

I suspect beans, so I'm even leaving green beans off, since there is a small amount of bean in the green. I'm growing asian long beans in the garden and can pick them early before any semblance of a bean is formed, so I'm up in the air as to whether to add those. I may just wait.

Some people are allergic to banana. People might also have problems with banana if they're sensitive to amines. And here she goes with the links again...

http://www.helium.com/items/347082-what ... to-bananas
http://www.thenewsonfood.com/food-react ... -part-one/
http://www.millhousemedical.co.nz/Fact_ ... _Foods.pdf
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Allergy/al ... how/639168
http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allerg ... Thesis.pdf [See appendix 10 for salicylate, appendix 11 for amines]

I think it's important to remember in food sensitivity/intolerance, one might not see an immediate reaction to a food or food chemical. The effect can be cumulative and the reactions delayed (hours or days). It's not like a typical allergy (where you eat something and your face swells three sizes or you break out in hives or your throat closes up and you die). Probably why it can be hard to make the connections. A detailed food journal (one that includes how one's feeling) would be helpful, methinks, but tracking food can be such a pain. On the bright side, if you've eliminated TONS of foods, there's less left to track.

Chile, you've mentioned you suspect problems with cocoa/chocolate before and now banana. That makes me suspect amines. Just something to think about when looking at challenge foods.

I want to commend all of you who are undertaking elimination challenges. It takes strength and determination. Even more so for those whose triggers and reactions aren't readily apparent (like they might be for someone with a nut allergy).

Onward and upward!

Yes. I think I share that philosophy. If I did an elimination, it would be brutal. I would probably eliminate everything but white rice and cabbage to start. And salt.

How long do you think I'd last?

Bananas and plantains seem to be the only fruit I can tolerate this week. Apples gave me bad indigestion, and pears gave me mild indigestion. So I think the basic ED requires tweaking for a lot of folks. As soon as I get that right and stabilize for a few days, I'll start challenges.

I'm still feeling really good, so I'm happy. I'm catching up on everything I've let slip due to the debilitating fatigue. it will take a couple of months to totally catch up, but that's also when I'll be done with the ED, so maybe a party is in order.

I have anaphylactic reactions to some foods, stings, and drugs, so I'm GLAD these food intolerances don't manifest in that way.

I have to say I'm very frustrated with the elimination diet so far. Pretty much every symptom that I believe is related to possible food intolerances has flared up currently ... on the baseline diet. With all of the information out there on so many different possible allergies - gluten, nightshades, salicylates, amines, MSG, etc. - I am completely overwhelmed as to what I should try eating to even get to a stable place to start challenging foods. I am worse now, on Day 3 of the ED, than I was last week!

I will be seeing my doctor this afternoon and hope he has some ideas. It's time for me to get my cholesterol tested so I'll have bloodwork done this week. I doubt that will shed any light on what is going on, but maybe at least my cholesterol will have dropped due to much better compliance over the last two months.

The ONLY positive thing I've gotten out of the elimination diet so far is losing 2.5 pounds since Sunday morning.

Hang in there, Chile. 3 days isn't long enough to expect to see results. Give it at least a week.

Okay, I saw my doctor and there IS something wrong with me. If you review Dr. McDougall's article on the food allergies, he says that an elimination diet is recommended when an organic cause for the problem cannot be found. Now that I know something organic is wrong, I have decided to not do the elimination diet right now.

I'll get blood work done this week and an ultrasound next week. Once I hear the results back from my doctor, I'll go from there. In the meantime, I'm going to follow a regular plant-based diet, note any reactions to food, and adjust my intake accordingly. I may return to the ED at a future date.

Hope you are ok, Chile.

Well, that's something. Hang in there, Chile. It's a big puzzle to piece together.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=diet&dbid=7 :
Food Excluded on an Elimination Diet

Standard elimination diets eliminate the most common allergens, such as wheat, soy, corn, dairy, eggs, gluten, nuts, citrus, fish, chocolate, and shellfish, caffeine, alcohol, and artificial food additives. More restrictive Elimination Diets remove all of the foods previously listed plus those foods that contain salicylates and amines.

The Challenge Phase of an Elimination Diet

The purpose of the Elimination Diet is to avoid all problematic foods for a minimum of four days, or until a person experiences some relief from his/her symptoms. For some people, it takes up to three weeks before improvement is seen. Once the body is cleansed, the foods that were eliminated are systematically added back into the diet, one food at a time.

This re-addition of foods is called the "challenge" phase of the diet. On the first day of food challenges, a food is eaten one to three times during the day. Over the next few days, the dieter returns to the Elimination Diet, and watches for the return of any symptoms.

If any symptoms develop, it is possible that the dieter is "allergic" to the recently reintroduced food. If no symptoms develop, it is likely that the reintroduced food is not a problem for the dieter, and he/she can move on to the next food challenge. To more accurately determine food allergies and food intolerances, it is extremely helpful during the challenge phase to keep a diary of foods eaten and any emotional, mental or physical reactions.

It can take several months to complete an Elimination and Challenge Diet. If a person does not have the time or desire to undertake such a process, a Rotation Diet may be a more appropriate option for managing the symptoms associated with food allergies.

In a Rotation Diet, foods are rotated so that a person eats a food (or food family) only once every four days. For example, if you suspect a sensitivity to wheat, you would rotate wheat-containing foods into your diet every fourth day. It is believed that by decreasing the consumption of problematic foods by rotating them, the symptoms associated with these foods can be reduced.

If any of you need a diary format to track your foods/symptoms, there's one here: http://www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk/book ... 0diary.pdf

You could print the pages you need or just copy the format by hand into a regular notebook or daily planner.

Thanks for the link to that food diary. I've been struggling with a good format to record food eaten and symptoms experienced. Even though I'm not going to do the elim. diet right now, I still want to log food and note any exacerbation of problems.