Food intolerance / Elimination diet anyone?

JessieJames

I am keen on finding out if I have any food intolerances/allergies, mainly the intolorance part. my main areas of concern are:

• Dairy (particularly cheeses, and eggs)
• FODMAPS afaik they are certain forms of carbohydrates

I don't have much information on either but the reason I want to try eliminate these is because i get a funny tummy after eating certain foods (including some fruits and veg ) I am trying this myself because I've heard mixed reviews about getting it done professionally and it's quite pricey €€€


My questions are:

1. has anyone tried this themselves/ have any experience/tips with it.
2. Would other people be keen on trying it with me, could post up symptoms/possible revelations/possible culprits?
3. how long should it be monitored and what should be expected by eliminating?
4. can you develop a food intolerance as an adult?
5. Should I jump right in eliminating everything at once or start with say the dairy first and go from there

I have gone to a GP about it who said it was all in my head because I have no previous intolerances/allergies (that I know of) when I was younger I could never stomach eggs in whole form (boiled, fried, scrambled etc) I still can't/don't eat them whole but can tolerate them if they are in other foods.

Any help/advice on any of the above would be greatly appreciated

NoQuarter

Keep in mind that there is a doctor you can go to, I've been before and cant remember where he is, he is a herbal style doctor that can give an allergy test, a couple of tiny scrapes on the skin and they can determine if you are allergic to anything.

It might be an easier way to go about it.

Stench Blossoms

NoQuarter wrote: »

Keep in mind that there is a doctor you can go to, I've been before and cant remember where he is, he is a herbal style doctor that can give an allergy test, a couple of tiny scrapes on the skin and they can determine if you are allergic to anything.

It might be an easier way to go about it.

They are usually a load of sh!te.

OP go with the elimination diet.

NoQuarter

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

They are usually a load of sh!te.

OP go with the elimination diet.

Cost me a packet! Had it done a few years back when I was at my wits end with a stomach problem. Nothing gave a positive allergy result!

siblers

Food allergy tests are indeed a complete waste of time. If you spent 2 weeks eating lobster and went for one of them tests, odds are you'd be told you are allergic to lobster. Try giving up gassy vegs (beans and cabbages) and you could try giving up gluten or wheat for a while as well.

El_Dangeroso

I have done a FODMAPs elimination diet before, it was tough but worth it.

JessieJames wrote: »

My questions are:

1. has anyone tried this themselves/ have any experience/tips with it.
2. Would other people be keen on trying it with me, could post up symptoms/possible revelations/possible culprits?
3. how long should it be monitored and what should be expected by eliminating?

A good elimination diet should be:
1. Strict - absolutely no cheating whatsoever
2. Last at least 4 weeks
3. Introduce new foods only one a week.
4. Journal all symptoms rigourously - even ones you wouldn't relate to food such as spot outbreaks or tiredness.

JessieJames wrote: »

1. can you develop a food intolerance as an adult?

Yes, food intolerences and appear or disappear at any stage in life.

JessieJames wrote: »

1. Should I jump right in eliminating everything at once or start with say the dairy first and go from there

Doing everything at once is the fastest way to figure out what doesn't agree with you, but that may not suit your lifestyle. Maybe go just with the dairy first if you suspect it to be the main culprit.

JessieJames

Thanks for all the replies, esp @El_Dangeroso yours was very helpful thanks, I began a diary today, writing down what feel after eating foods. I'm gonna try one thing at a time and see how I get on from there. Thanks again

candle_wax

Hi, Was gonna start a new thread but saw this recent one so thought I'd jump in...
I was hoping to start a pretty strict elimination diet over the next few weeks. Was wondering if anyone knows of any good books/websites to help me through it? I've gotten bits and pieces from various websites, but find some lists allow certain foods, and others don't (EG spices, fruit juices, etc).
I guess I'd just like a whole plan to stick to

I'm not a massive foodie really anyway so the thought of cutting out food groups isn't what I'm fearing the most (I say that now! My sugar dependency will be the hardest to kill... :rolleyes: ) but if I'm doing it, I want to commit 100% and do it right. I don't mind paying to sign up to a good website or book, I've just found it hard to find one "go-to" resource to commit to.

Any pointers would be much appreciated

deisedude

I went to Boots and got a food intolerance test and i also went to a different GP when i felt my original GP wasn't taking it serious enough.

I would recommend getting bloods taken from a doctor on the slight off chance its something other than a food intolerance. I'd always be wary of self diagnosing yourself.

I too have recently been having stomach difficulties and as i expected it was due to hyper-sensitivity to certain foods.

All major supermarkets have a good selection of free from foods and health shops like evergreen have great variety of foods. You won't go hungry!

If you are serious about doing an elimination style diet i urge you to temporarily give up beer if you are a beer drinker because i think you are only codding yourself otherwise.

I apologise for the rambling nature of my post!

curiousb

There is a doctor, Joe Fitzgibbon, who specialises in food intolerance and allergies.

My wife was treated by him for wheat and dairy intolerance and the treatment was very successful. First step was a strict elimination diet and there is loads of information here on his website.

There's a lot of free information on his site in the form of downloadabel PDF's, so nothing to lose by having a look!

Disclaimer: My wife is a friend of his, so there is a personal connection here.

siblers

Was she able to go back on dairy after the treatment? Further details on what procedures she went through with him would be appreciated.

curiousb

siblers wrote: »

Was she able to go back on dairy after the treatment? Further details on what procedures she went through with him would be appreciated.

Yes, she is fine on dairy and wheat now.

The first step was the elimination diet, to try to find out exactly what she was having problems with. After that she has a series of EPD (Enzyme Potentiated Desensitisation) injections to counter the intolerances.

Details here.

It was quite a few years ago, so I can't remember the cost, but it wasn't cheap. However, it worked, so was worth every penny to her.

Hope this helps.

Jerrica

Possibly a silly question - is an Elimination Diet the same as a FODMAP Elimination diet?

I'm going to have to do something to try and figure out the weeks, months, probably years of difficulty I've had and the most straightforward way seems to be to eliminate foods. I'm just wondering about these two approaches though and which would be a better start?

(Also, avocados would have to be eliminated - DEVASTATING )

El_Dangeroso

Jerrica wrote: »

Possibly a silly question - is an Elimination Diet the same as a FODMAP Elimination diet?

I'm going to have to do something to try and figure out the weeks, months, probably years of difficulty I've had and the most straightforward way seems to be to eliminate foods. I'm just wondering about these two approaches though and which would be a better start?

(Also, avocados would have to be eliminated - DEVASTATING )

I also found avocados to be the worst to eliminate, especially in summer. Thankfully I discovered I have no problem with them.:D

FODMAP elimination is a subset of an elimintation diet that targets 3/4 people's GI symptoms. So you could be one of the unlucky 1/4.

There are other elimintation diets out there if you have a google. Some eliminate the 'Big 8' alergens, while others are totally hypoallergenic, and would be the toughest to do by far.