Can Someone Explain To Me An Elimination Diet?

[passionfruit877]

My doctor offered to send me to a nutritionist soon but I'm not sure what that will so for me. The last time I saw him he suggested I may have other food allergies because I still get sick every day.

I am gluten free and dairy free for about 5 months now and all of a sudden it got worse. I get sick almost everyday, and especially every time I eat out. I am currently doing a candida cleanse and taking probiotics to see if that will help, however, I decided to try a mini food elimination. Can someone explain to me what I can eat on an elimination diet?

I read not to eat wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, potatoes, citrus fruits, soy, all nightshades I'm assuming, no coffee...am I missing anything? Last night I had some orange juice and tortilla chips and within 30 mins my stomach swelled and felt like it was pushing against everything else around it, and it is still swollen this morning. I want to start this today. Will the probiotics affect it?

[tarnalberry]

Are you sure you're gluten free? Including eliminating cross contamination. Many celiacs just don't feel comfortable eating out because you can almost guarantee there will be at least a very small amount of cross contamination, even if what you order is gluten free. A shared kitchen in the home poses the same risks - shared toasters, condiments, cutting boards, wooden spoons, etc.

[passionfruit877]

Are you sure you're gluten free? Including eliminating cross contamination. Many celiacs just don't feel comfortable eating out because you can almost guarantee there will be at least a very small amount of cross contamination, even if what you order is gluten free. A shared kitchen in the home poses the same risks - shared toasters, condiments, cutting boards, wooden spoons, etc.

I had thought that at first, but I don't know...there is hardly any gluten in the house except for my husband's bread and his beer. Thats about it. I was feeling good for a long time and now I feel like every time I eat I get sick. And there shouldn't have been any cross contamination with the chips and juice I ate. Last time that happened, where I kept getting so swollen after I ate, I started taking a large amount of probiotics and within three days I had started to feel better. I had been on antibiotics recently which is why I started the candida cleanse, but I'm just not sure. Things that I have previously eaten are making me swell up now.

Has anyone else had the same thing happen?

[dilettantesteph]

That happened to me too. At first I felt fantastic just eliminating cereal and bread. I hear that as our immune system settles down we become more aware of lower levels of gluten. It got worse and worse for me and now I can't eat out at all and I eat very few processed foods. We also had to completely eliminate gluten from the household. It seems like some celiacs are more sensitive to low levels of gluten than others. I hope you feel better soon.

For an elimination diet, you keep you diet exactly the same and then eliminate or add one thing at a time each week. To find out if something is bothering you, you need to begin in good health. You could start with all non processed foods and see if you can achieve it that way, and then add things one at a time for a week each.

Good luck to you.

[passionfruit877]

That happened to me too. At first I felt fantastic just eliminating cereal and bread. I hear that as our immune system settles down we become more aware of lower levels of gluten. It got worse and worse for me and now I can't eat out at all and I eat very few processed foods. We also had to completely eliminate gluten from the household. It seems like some celiacs are more sensitive to low levels of gluten than others. I hope you feel better soon.

For an elimination diet, you keep you diet exactly the same and then eliminate or add one thing at a time each week. To find out if something is bothering you, you need to begin in good health. You could start with all non processed foods and see if you can achieve it that way, and then add things one at a time for a week each.

Good luck to you.

I have considered that perhaps I am just that sensitive to gluten too. I can't eat many things that say "gluten free" on them.

[jackay]

Could you possibly reacting to the whatever you are taking for the candida cleanse? Another problem could be kissing your husband if he still consumes beer and bread.

[passionfruit877]

Could you possibly reacting to the whatever you are taking for the candida cleanse? Another problem could be kissing your husband if he still consumes beer and bread.

I did double check it, and the guy at the store read over it for me as well, it says no gluten, no yeast, no lactose and no sugar. This problem did start before I started taking it though. Could I really be sensitive enough to react from kissing. What about sharing a water?

[seashele2]

I have known many, many celiacs that once they heal their intestinal damage begin reacting to other foods. You would fit that time frame since it takes 3-36 months to heal from the gluten damage depending on the severity and length of undiagnosis. It took me 3 months to start feeling better and at 2 years, I developed sensitivities to additional foods. As the damage to the intestines heal, your body begins absorbing all the nutrients, fats and proteins that it couldn't while the villi were damaged, thus there is more to react to.

First, I couldn't eat anything with MSG. Then dairy began to affect me. Next came soy. I could eat small amounts of soy, then I could only eat soy lecithans, etc. Now I can't eat anything that has any soy or soy derivative. Something else is bothering my system now and I can't figure it out.

I don't want to do an elimination diet. What my doctor & nutritionist told me was that you have to strip everything except a few things from the diet. I can't remember but it seems like you start with eating just rice and something else. Then you would add one thing every 2 weeks to see if there is a reaction. I asked what happened if rice was one of the things causing a problem and was told that very few people are allergic to rice, but I know at least two that are, so that doesn't make sense to me.

I am starting a food diary. You have to write down everything that you eat or drink with all the ingredients in that item. Not just orange juice and chips, but the ingredients in the orange juice and in the chips. Then you note any reactions in the diary. You watch for trends. Not all food reactions happen immediately so you can look back and see, for instance, 2 days after I eat "food x" I always get sick or as soon as I eat any food with "x additive" I get bloated. (For instance, citric acid, ascorbic acid and polysorbates almost always bother my daughter because they are usually corn-derived and she is allergic to corn.) I am going to do it for a 3 month period. I think it will work better for me than an elimination diet and I am more likely to stay with it because I won't feel deprived like I would if I am only eating rice for 2 weeks, then rice and one other food for two weeks, then rice and two other foods for two weeks, etc.

Good luck in whatever you decide to try.

Michelle

Western Washington

[jackay]

I did double check it, and the guy at the store read over it for me as well, it says no gluten, no yeast, no lactose and no sugar. This problem did start before I started taking it though. Could I really be sensitive enough to react from kissing. What about sharing a water?

Kissing and sharing a water could do it.

[jackay]

Passionfruit,

How long have you been on the candida cleanse? Often times you feel worse (as the candida dies off) before you start feeling better.

[passionfruit877]

I may try keeping a food diary. I've started drinking a ton of water too. Normally I just have coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day, but I don't drink that much unless I am exercising. I ave already cut out dairy because I was obviously getting stomachaches from it.

I've tried gluten free crackers from Blue Diamond and also these gluten free rice chips I found at Walmart and got very bloated off both of them.

I typically eat very bland, and was doing ok eating out until just recently. It is frustrating because I have a friend who told me she thinks a lot of it is all in my head and that I anticipate feeling sick after I eat and that is why I do.

[jackay]

I may try keeping a food diary. I've started drinking a ton of water too. Normally I just have coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day, but I don't drink that much unless I am exercising. I ave already cut out dairy because I was obviously getting stomachaches from it.

I've tried gluten free crackers from Blue Diamond and also these gluten free rice chips I found at Walmart and got very bloated off both of them.

I typically eat very bland, and was doing ok eating out until just recently. It is frustrating because I have a friend who told me she thinks a lot of it is all in my head and that I anticipate feeling sick after I eat and that is why I do.

I don't think anyone can understand the severity of gluten intolerance unless they experience it. My friends are all supportive even though I think a lot of them think it is all in my head. It is hard to give up so much and still not feel good.

[passionfruit877]

I don't think anyone can understand the severity of gluten intolerance unless they experience it. My friends are all supportive even though I think a lot of them think it is all in my head. It is hard to give up so much and still not feel good.

I don't understand how I was able to eat the way I did when I was a teen and still feel so good. I used to live off soda, Taco Bell, and fried foods. Now even healthy stuff can make me feel like my stomach is swollen like a watermelon. I weight like 95 pounds in high school and since going gluten free I think I've gained a little weight while eating healthier.

My doctor wants me to try a low dose of prozac. I guess it can help with stomach issues and anxiety.

[tarnalberry]

I did double check it, and the guy at the store read over it for me as well, it says no gluten, no yeast, no lactose and no sugar. This problem did start before I started taking it though. Could I really be sensitive enough to react from kissing. What about sharing a water?

If you're kissing and sharing water after he's eating something with gluten, that can absolutely contaminate you. Treat is like you would rat poison or weed killer - no chances.

[passionfruit877]

So the other day I got really sick after eating some soup that I make that I eat all the time. I use chicken broth and make it by the bowl because its fast, and I cut up vegetables (which I touch with my fingers) and put them in there.

As soon as I was done eating my stomach swelled, I got a headache, and got an urge to take a nap. The next day I was wiping down the kitchen, because my hubby was eating some pizza, and I remembered to wipe the outside of the microwave,when I realized something. The night before I got sick my neighbor came over to hang out, and brought some kind of panini which she heated in my microwave, and which she also touched with her fingers. I didn't even think about it until 2 days later as I wiped down the microwave. So I wiped the kitchen down, made the exact same soup, and after I ate it felt fine.

So...I guess the issue is cross contamination. I'm so sensitive to it then! I've also cut out corn, but that could be explained because mostly what I eat is tortilla chips, which usually don't bother me. But I touch those with my fingers when I eat them. And I got sick after a super bowl party where everyone was eating pizza and I made my own sushi...

[passionfruit877]

I was also going to point out that we just got out our deep frier and made Ore Ida fries, and chicken wings (with Moores gluten free buffalo wing sauce)and I feel fine.

A little full, but fine.

[Loey]

I'm newly diagnosed and new to Celiac (June) and the forum (last week). We moved to another state the day after my test results were confirmed. I was bedridden 6 wks prior to the move. Moving to a new house enabled me to get all new appliances and I gave away all the things in my pantry that contained gluten. I have a gluten free household and started to feel better. After a month and a half I had a flare and it's been a downhill spiral. I've gotten a lot of help on this forum and GFinDC posted info about the elimination diet (and a lot of other helpful info). I started yesterday and right now I'm only eating chicken (with salt and pepper), rice, and apples. I'm feeling a little better but don' know what to add in next. It's funny that when I googled the elimination diet and what to add in next it brought me back to this forum.

I'm not thrilled with my new GI and will go to someone my husband works with and who has IBS for a second opinion. I go for my capsule endoscopy on Monday to see if there was any organ damage from going undiagnosed for God knows how many years.

Thank you all for sharing your wisdom with us newcomers. I'm an unemployed research "geek" (also an elementary and special ed teacher who wants to get better so I can get a job) so if anyone ever wants me to look up anything let me know. It will probably send me back here (LOL).

Loey