Elimination diet - what it is, list of products, example menu

Imagine a situation: a person wants to lose weight. He starts counting calories and exercising regularly. Everything seems to be going well, the trainer is satisfied and advises him to switch to protein shakes. After two or three weeks, the weight starts to creep up, swellings appear, and the newly appeared vivacity disappears along with the bright thoughts about the new shape... "Bad shakes?" you ask. "Egg white intolerance," the lab will answer.

It turns out that our bodies are not capable of processing all foods. There will always be components that it does not have enough enzymes, bile or acid to digest. To undigested particles that get into the bloodstream, antibodies are produced. As a result, the body, which is constantly in conflict with everyday food, ceases to effectively cope with infections, fungi and everything that it is directly supposed to "deal with".

What is an "elimination diet"?

An elimination diet eliminates certain foods and thus combats the manifestations of food intolerances and fungal diseases. The diet has no contraindications.

Indications for the elimination diet

The diet is recommended for children and adults with allergies and latent food intolerances (detected by tests such as Immunohealth, Immupro300, Biomerica, Alutest), frequent gastrointestinal problems, depression, general weakness and malaise. Quite often this diet is included in the treatment complex of neurological and autoimmune diseases.

The diet is also recommended in the presence of:

• overweight or obesity;
• heart and vascular disease;
• frequent headaches, migraines;
• sleep disorders;
• Type II diabetes;
• chronic ear, throat, nose and sinus problems;
• constant desire to eat something sweet!

Advantages and disadvantages of the elimination diet

By eliminating from the diet of harmful products, you will in a short time:

• Improve your health and feel a burst of energy.
• Get rid of migraines and drowsiness.
• Make your skin clearer, fresher and healthier.
• Get rid of puffiness by draining excess fluid from cells and tissues.
• Lower blood sugar and increase metabolism.
• Lose excess weight faster and with more sustainable results.

The diet also has some peculiarities. Elimination diet is restrictive, so it should not be used for a long time. The duration and degree of restrictions is determined by the doctor. He also controls the process, evaluates the results and prescribes drugs that will help to survive a possible yeast die-off syndrome (about it later).

Stages of the elimination diet

The therapeutic diet protocol is prepared based on the results of tests for allergies and hidden food intolerances and consists of 2 stages:

Stage 1 is the yeast-free diet. This strict diet plan with a very narrow diet (all foods that can ferment are excluded) is necessary to unload the immune system and lasts 4 weeks. Products from the allowed list may be restricted as well, as the main objective is to suppress the growth and reproduction of candida fungus. For effective results and successful treatment it is important to strictly adhere to the diet for at least 1 month.

The 2nd stage is the elimination diet itself. This is a more extended nutritional protocol, which is also formed on the basis of personal test results. The duration of the 2nd stage is a minimum of 3 months. The fact is that immunoglobulins of class G (markers of food intolerance) completely decay in 3-6 months in the complete absence of the antigen that is the cause of their appearance. After 3-4 months from the introduction of the elimination diet, a repeat blood test should be performed. If it turns out that the body is reluctant to eliminate antibodies to a certain product (for example, cow's milk), then it has no place in the diet, even after exclusion for a year.

What you can and can't eat - a list of foods

Candida is available only simple sugars. Therefore, for the duration of the yeast-free diet, all foods that cause fermentation are removed from the diet, namely:

• yeast!
• All dairy products, even if you have them on the allowed list.
• Fruits, dried fruits and berries (except cranberries, sea buckthorn, cranberries, currants, lemons).
• Nightshades: bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, goji berries.
• All legumes (except lentils), as well as carrots, beets, yams.
• Gluten (rye, barley, wheat, spelt), white rice, corn.
• Mushrooms, eggs, nuts (except pine nuts).
• Sugar, syrups and sweeteners (only stevia is allowed).
• Malt, vinegar, soy sauce, pickles, pickles, spicy condiments, including horseradish and factory-made mustard.
• Chocolate, cocoa, coffee (excluded because of its strong acidifying effect).
• Alcohol.

Allowed:

• Spices (turmeric, ginger), stevia.
• Fish and seafood.
• Chicken, turkey, quail, duck.
• Beef, lamb, rabbit, veal.
• Subproducts: stomachs, liver, kidneys, tongue, heart.
• Buckwheat, brown and wild rice, sorghum, millet, quinoa, oats.
• Coconut milk, oat milk.
• Allowed vegetables, herbs.
• Flax, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, chia seeds.
• Berries (cranberries, cranberries, sea buckthorn, currants) and lemon.
• Lentils, pine nuts.
• Fermented foods (pickles, sours).

Fermentation is a very ancient way of "preserving" foods. In the process of souring multiply useful lactobacilli, which with the help of water penetrate inside the vegetables. ️ Once in the tissues, lactic acid bacteria stop vital processes and displace all pathogenic microorganisms. Salt kills putrefactive bacteria and slows down the fermentation process, keeping foods from going sour.

Consuming fermented foods today is not just a fashion trend, but a necessity for our digestion and overall health. Multiple "seeding" of microflora with lactobacilli improves the work of the GI tract and helps to strengthen the immune system, as the pathogenic load on the body is reduced. Also in the course of fermentation is formed "vitamin bomb" (for example, in sauerkraut - in a very large amount of vitamins B and C). However, any fermented food is acidic, in addition, such foods stimulate the production of gastric juice. Those who suffer from high acidity or peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum from sours and pickles will have to abstain. At least for the time of exacerbation.

Syndrome of yeast die-off

Being on a yeast-free diet is often difficult not because of a lack of willpower, but because yeast resists eviction from the body. They can control our taste cravings and literally demand fermented foods, especially - flour and sweets. It's not enough to fight this urge to snack. We need to survive an attack called Herxheimer's syndrome or yeast die-off syndrome.

The symptoms are as follows:

• joint and muscle pain;
• increased sweating;
• sore throat, chills;
• nausea, flatulence, bloating;
• fatigue, malaise, mood swings, irritability.

Depending on the yeast infestation and its resistance to treatment, these symptoms can be felt from a few days to a week.

What is happening in the body during this time? Yeast die-off syndrome is the immune system's response to the toxins that are released when the pathogen colonies are removed. The most common mistake is stopping the anti-candida protocol. It is worth remembering about this syndrome, know about its manifestations, do not give up and buy unpleasant symptoms with drugs that the attending physician will prescribe. Taking probiotics significantly alleviates the condition on a yeast-free diet.

Elimination diet for children

Doing food tests to breastfed infants is pointless. During breastfeeding, the mother's antibodies act and sometimes cause pathological reactions in the child's body. In this case, the mother's nutrition should be tested and corrected. Experience shows that correcting the mother's nutrition has an effect within 3-4 weeks. The first blood tests for allergies and latent food intolerance (in particular, Immunohealth, which allows monitoring the state of the immune system before and after the elimination diet) can be performed at 12 months of age, provided that breastfeeding is stopped. The pediatric panel consists of 45 foods. It includes beef, chicken, turkey, shrimp, cod, salmon, peanuts, walnuts, coconut, almonds, chicken egg yolk and egg white, cow's and goat's milk, hard cheese, cottage cheese, banana, apple, lemon, strawberries, red grapes, watermelon, dates, pomegranate, carrots, potatoes, tomato, tomato, zucchini, garlic, peas, broccoli, soy, rice, buckwheat, corn, wheat, oats, gluten, cocoa beans, casein, green tea, mushroom, honey, baker's yeast and candida. From 3-4 years of age, an adult panel can be made as well.

For pregnant and breastfeeding women

The basic principles of the elimination diet are the same, but the degree of restrictions and duration is agreed with an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Exit rules

The last diet plan, formed by the doctor and consisting of permitted foods, is a lifelong regimen. Forbidden products, if possible, should not return to the diet.

Elimination diet - example menu

Having received the results of the tests, you can panic: if the usual products destroy the body from the inside, then from what and how to cook. In order not to leave a person alone with the problem, the team of the company "Balance of Taste" together with the medical director of the clinic HBP-group Gulbahar Bagyeva (doctor-neurologist, parkinsonologist, vertebrologist, doctor of medical sciences, academician of medical-technical sciences of the Russian Federation, president of the Russian Society of Organ-Tissue Therapy Specialists) developed "Eliminating (yeast-free) diet". It is based on the elimination of foods that most often cause food intolerance, as well as controlling the reproduction of candida - the cause of fungal infections.