The truth about the elimination diet

Stop eating certain foods to lose weight is nothing new but the latest trend in elimination diets is that it has little or nothing to do with weight loss. A multitude of health conscious people are resorting to elimination diets in an effort to cure everything from headaches and fatigue to skin irritations and digestive problems.

As the elimination diet works?

Here's how it works: eliminate your diet the most common food related intolerances such as dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, gluten, sugar and alcohol for three to four weeks. "The goal of the elimination phase is completely rid your body of antibodies caused by foods, which takes several weeks." Then reintroduce one food at a time so there is no confusion as to foods that cause a bad reaction. Pay attention to your body after the reintroduction of a meal, not just once, but two days later, so you can connect the symptoms with food again. If ingested food does not cause any adverse reaction, go to the next possible culprit, and continue until you can identify the foods that are causing problems.

The problem is that the symptoms of food intolerance are not easy to identify. For example, the most common symptoms, such as fatigue, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, headache, mental confusion, acne, joint pain and inflammation can be attributed to anything from a bad night's sleep for a tough workout.

Why not do the elimination diet?

Unless you really have a food intolerance, no health benefits associated with the elimination of healthy food groups such as dairy products and gluten. For example, if you are eliminating gluten can miss the opportunity to eat healthy whole grains.

If you decide to try an elimination diet, planning is key. "Make a shopping list for your kitchen be equipped with alternative foods." This will help ensure that you get all the nutrients your body needs, but none of the items are on your list of forbidden foods. After all, even the slightest slip can skew the results.

You have attempted an elimination diet ? What are the positive or negative results that you obtained?