Has anyone tried an elimination diet?

[OnionPatch]

After searching just about everywhere for answers to my health problems, I recently visited a naturopathic doctor. He's recommending that I go on an elimination diet for 2-4 weeks to see if some of my chronic conditions (migraine, sinus congestion, joint pain, IBS/GERD) are caused by food intolerances.

He gave me a handy-dandy list of foods to avoid, and being curious, I started reading about elimination diets from other sources as well. So far I've read a handful of books and quite a few web sites on Elimination Diets and I'm eager to get started but I'm confused! Some of the books say no nuts, and some of them use nuts as a pretty significant source of protein. (No nuts on my doc's list.) Some of them say avoid nightshade veggies, and some don't. My doctor's diet allows potatoes and also corn and soy, but the books all say soy and corn are no-nos. My doctor's list allows turkey and fish but no chicken. All the other diets I've seen include chicken.

He seems like a great doctor, very knowledgeable, so I want to trust him and just be glad I can eat potatoes (my favorite food in the world) and corn, etc., but after reading the various books I'm a little worried about including these foods. I wonder why they're on his list or if their being GMO or organic makes a difference? (His list specifies corn, soy and potatoes must be organic.) I see the doc again on Thursday, but was just curious to hear from someone else who's done this and might have a little more experience and insight and could maybe even offer some tips. Also, I'd love to hear if this diet helped anyone find an answer to their health problems.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. My concern would be around the "naturopathic" part

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy

Some of the tools in the toolkit - like homeopathic remedies - are pure woo. This is just my view and I don't want you to become defensive about my view - it is your choice - just be sure to educate yourself well of all options and have an open mind.

Good luck.

[OnionPatch]

5. I have a fairly skeptical view.

For one, I don't buy into homeopathy, but a lot of other aspects of naturopathic medicine make sense to me.

I've tried everything, so this is where I am now.

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. Cool. The part of naturopathy I have the most hope for are herbal remedies

since, as a chemist, I realize that there are many substances in plants that are similar to the big pharma big bucks medicines. The main caution is assurance that you are actually getting active ingredients - testing of herbal remedies is a crap shoot.

Then again - even if some of this stuff is a placebo effect, it is a real effect for the patient. I've taken a series of herbs for my knees for years and find it very successful - and really care not whether it is a real effect, or in my head!

Good luck as you seek relief!

[woodsprite]

2. I'd be concerned with the corn.

My son (15 yo) has GERD and his doc suggested he stay away from "hard to digest" foods. Corn was one of those he's had to limit. We also found he has to limit fried foods. He tries to control any symptoms through diet and only takes his meds if he really needs it. Apparently when kids take the meds regularly over time their bones can weaken, so he was advised to take it only as needed.

I hope you can figure out what's going on. Sending good thoughts your way.

[OnionPatch]

6. Taking out corn really limits my meal options.

I'll have to start buying weird stuff like amaranth and quinoa, lol.

But yes, I've heard of some real problems from corn. I'll have to ask the doc on Thursday.

[woodsprite]

9. Try it, but just be aware of you have a problem.

My son will eat a serving once in awhile. As long as it's early in the day and he doesn't go overboard, he seems to be able to get away with it. What bothers him most consistently is fatty fried foods, sunflower seeds, and citrus. He is really good at policing his own diet. A week or so of his off/on crying with chest pains has made us all really aware of what he eats.

[OnionPatch]

10. Glad your son is able to control his symptoms.

That's a bummer of a thing to happen to a kid.

[womanofthehills]

11. I can also eat foods early in the day

that I cannot tolerate later. I have a problem with sulfur foods -onions, garlic, broccoli etc. Garlic will keep me awake all night.

[OnionPatch]

15. Garlic and onion bother me now too.

And I've always loved them. Onion bothers me the most. I can get away with using a little garlic infused olive oil. I heard somewhere that the irritating substance in the garlic doesn't absorb into oil. I don't know how true that is but eating a wee bit of it doesn't seem to make my symptoms flare up.

I noticed a time correlation to my symptoms too. The slightest irritating food first thing in the morning can make me suffer all day. Eating too near bedtime is a no-no for me too.

[womanofthehills]

12. a good way to start is to eat foods that you rarely eat

My friend has worse food intolerances than me = she does well with buffalo and squash. Yuk! I am allergic to egg white but do great with the yoke.

If you feel like you want to go to sleep after a meal, you probably ate something you don't tolerate well. The less I eat, the more energy I have. Also, my foods are better in the winter after all the grasses die. I can't eat corn in the summer but can in the winter.

[Warpy]

3. Every naturopath has a different version of "elimination diet."

It's guesswork. You pretty much need to avoid any food that might be a problem for a week, not a day, anyway, to get a decent idea if that's the problem, because when you add it back to your diet, it is dramatic.

Also, there is absolutely no nutritional difference between organically grown soy, corn and potatoes and chemically grown crops. There might be a pesticide load, especially on the potato skin, but that's it.

I'm guessing a food diary kept over a period of several months might be more useful than this guy's "elimination diet" since it will turn up obvious migraine triggers and problem foods for your GERD. You might have no dietary migraine triggers, also, some people get them from hormonal changes, weather changes, and environmental things like perfumes and cigarette smoke. You are likely to turn up problem foods for your GERD.

You can go through with the diet, it doesn't cost much and won't hurt you. Some people swear by naturopaths because they feel better when they go to them. I'm hoping that you've had RA ruled out by a real doctor for the joint pain as the other conditions can be associated with it. If not, do so, RA can put you into a wheelchair if it's not treated properly.

However, if all your lab work has been normal, it's worth a shot. Then do the food diary, it will tell you even more, especially about GERD triggers.

[OnionPatch]

4. I've been tested for RA.

Thanks for the suggestion. You're right, it can be very serious. So I'm glad that I have osteo, not rheumatoid arthritis. The migraines I've had all my life and like you said, weather, stress, hormones, lights, odors, etc. are all triggers. I've learned to manage them pretty well with help from my good friend Mr. Rizatriptan.

It's the IBS/GERD that I'm desperate to figure out. I've been on a GERD diet for more than a year and I still have the symptoms 24/7. I've found a few foods that make it worse. Avoiding them hasn't cured me though. I do the whole routine for GERD: raising the bed, losing weight, not eating near bedtime, small, low fat meals, no drinking, smoking, no spicy foods, etc. etc. I'm also on very high doses of PPIs and even they only take the edge off of the problem, so I'm pretty frustrated. I've been tested for everything by my "real" (conventional) doctors for this and had second and third opinions, including a lot of misdiagnoses along the way so I take ALL doctor's advice with a healthy dose of skepticism. None are perfect, so I like the integrative approach. My naturopathic doctor went to real medical school and has been pretty helpful so far. For example, he recently ordered a test and found out I'm low on B12, something the gastroenterologist assured me wouldn't happen unless I was on PPIs "for years".

The diary idea is a good one, thanks. I'll start one right away.

[Warpy]

8. Yes, the diary can tell you a lot

Also be wary of GERD diets. About the only useful thing they tell you is to avoid caffeine, part of a drug class well known to relax the cardiac sphincter, the one that opens up and creates the erupting volcano under your sternum. A lot of the diets tell you to start using canola oil, something that proved to be one of my worst triggers. I can eat hot chiles all day long with no problem unless somebody has cooked them in canola oil.

So definitely keep that diary, it can tell you a great deal about what's going on.

[womanofthehills]

13. my boyfriend went on the low FODMAP diet

and it helped his GERD big time. His dr. suggested it.

[OnionPatch]

14. I see the doctor tomorrow.

I didn't improve at all on the elimination diet so I'm guessing he's going to want me to try the low fodmaps diet now. It cuts out about half of the food I was allowed to eat on the basic elimination diet. Plus, with the GERD there are additional foods I already can't eat (citrus/tropical fruits, peppers, tomatoes, vinegars) so I'm not looking forward to it. I'm willing to try it though. I better start soon so I'll be through before Thanksgiving.

I'm curious, what foods did your boyfriend find out were bothering him? Was it just one food or many? It's great that he found out what was wrong and got some relief.

[womanofthehills]

16. It's hard cooking a meal for him

No onions or garlic. Chocolate does him in. The only fruits that don't bother him are blueberries and raspberries. What is weird is that he tolerates regular sugar. He basically eats hamburger without a bun, chicken, salad, sweet potato, and lots of eggs and blueberries and some gluten free cereals. He makes lots of custards and gluten free cookies. He will tolerate a small amount of cheese. Actually, he does ok with tomatoes too.


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