Many unwanted symptoms we experience are rooted in the foods we eat. What kind of symptoms? All of these and more:
• compulsive overeating
• excess weight
• sugar cravings
• low energy
• poor sleep quality
• irregular BM (loose/solid)
• gas, bloating, gut issues
• trouble with digestion
• brain fog
• lack of motivation
• acne, rashes, rosacea
• joint pain & back pain
• headaches
• phlegm or congestion
• acid reflux or heartburn
• difficulty losing weight
• night sweats
If the foods we eat are causing unwanted symptoms, and we want to get relief from those symptoms, we need to stop eating the food causing the symptoms.
Sounds simple enough, but how do we decide which foods are causing the symptoms?
Elimination diets are a cheap, simple way to experiment with releasing foods or groups of foods that we suspect may be causing symptoms to see how those symptoms change or improve. Then we reintroduce the food to see if the symptoms return. Experience shows that an elimination diet is one of the best tools for identifying food issues, and is very safe, provided a variety of foods are eaten to supply essential nutrients.
Which Foods are Suspect?
I advise starting by releasing foods that you have noticed cause you some adverse symptom, or create a phlegmy response in your body. Does a particular food create a headache, or cause trouble with digestion? Do you always break out after eating a certain nut? Tune in to your own body wisdom and pay attention as you prepare for the release of suspect foods.
Foods that everyone might suspect for a variety of reasons include dairy, wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, eggs and shellfish. These foods have been shown to be highly irritating in large numbers of humans.
Make a list of foods you are ready to release and, so you’re not solely focussed on what you’re giving up, make a list of the abundant foods you plan to INCLUDE as well.
Eat only the foods on the “include” list for a period of two to four weeks. Then reintroduce one food at a time (at least 4 days apart) to see which foods cause the reaction.
Then you are free to create a healthy eating plan that serves your individual needs based on foods to which you are not sensitive.
This is a very simple way to see which foods create symptoms you’d rather not have, but it’s not always easy to release foods we enjoy, or are in the habit of eating regularly. If you want to play with releasing foods in community with other women who are also playing with releasing foods, in an elimination diet playground designed to fully support you as you transform your relationship with food, click THIS LINK for complete details.
Mystery Symptoms
I frequently hear from clients that their set of symptoms have a name, but the doctor has no idea of the cause, or what to do to relieve those symptoms except prescribe drugs with innumerable effects on health.
Elimination diets can often provide evidence of at least part of the problem, because inflammation is one of the first symptoms for which we get relief when we release foods to which we are sensitive or allergic. Inflammation causes many unwanted symptoms, and those it doesn’t cause, it intensifies.
I truly hope that if you are experiencing unwanted symptoms, you will experiment with some form of elimination diet to see if you get rapid RELIEF by simply releasing one or two problem foods.
It may just be the miracle you’ve been looking for!
Grow on!
What foods do you suspect may be causing unwanted symptoms?
What processed foods do you crave?
Which unwanted symptoms do you experience that might be tied to food?