Contents
How to find which food can be bad for me
EXCLUSION DIET OR ELIMINATION DIET
What is an exclusion diet?
In general, an exclusion diet is a dietary approach that tries to use a very small group of foods to feed oneself at the beginning of this diet.
Then, we will introduce one by one the groups of foods susceptible to produce adverse effects, in order to find out which food may be responsible for allergies or food intolerances.
Foods included in the diet excluding a few foods
Photo of boiled vegetables: turnip, green beans, carrots and potatoes
This diet consists fundamentally on making menus using a few foods that experience has shown to be generally “safe”. The foods that are usually included are the following:
Vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, cassava flour (tapioca), lettuce, borage, dandelion, green beans, asparagus, etc.
Fruits: peaches, pears, apples, applesauce … In general, almost all except citrus fruits, strawberries, papaya bananas and avocados in case of suspected histamine intolerance
Meats: only turkey white meat, chicken, rabbit. Avoid processed meats (chicken burgers, chicken cold cuts, chicken sausages, etc.)
White fish: sea bass, monkfish, hake, cod, grouper, sea bream, perch, sole, etc.
Well cooked egg (avoid raw egg)
Cereals: rice and buckwheat
Fats: Virgin olive oil (salads, raw or sautéed), virgin sunflower oil (raw, not heated)
Sugar (not recommended): sugar, honey or molasses.
How is this diet carried out?
This diet is carried out during a period of time of 2-3 weeks up to a month and a half, at most. It must be controlled by a doctor or a dietitian clinical nutritionist (specialist in diet therapy).
After this time, you can check if the symptoms attributed to the food have disappeared or if they persist.
If the symptoms improve during the first weeks, they are safe and do not produce any reaction, the number of foods will be increased by adding one each time. This way you can know which foods produce food allergies to discard them in the future.
How to reintroduce the foods?
The following order of introduction of foods is recommended:
Red meats (in case of non-vegetarian diets)
Citrus fruits: Tangerine, grapefruit, orange, lemon, orange juice, …
Legumes: Chickpeas, red lentils, …
Tofu and soy derivatives (if consumed)
Nuts: almonds, nuts, …
Fermented dairy products (yogurt, kefir) and cheeses (if dairy products are consumed)
Bread and cereals with gluten
Are these foods enough for a balanced diet?
On numerous occasions, the specialist can prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements to avoid possible deficiencies. In the case of children, milk substitutes are usually added, such as vegetable drinks with calcium.
More information on suitable and not suitable food for milk protein allergy .
