The Elimination Diet and Corona; a Love Story Part 2

You want to avoid things that cause inflammation in the body so plan to eat a whole food diet - no that does not mean you have to shop at Whole Foods!  Stick to foods that don’t come out of a box or can for the next 3 weeks. Get on instacart or prime now or brave the wild to break the cabin fever. Pick up fresh meat or seafood, lots of veggies, some fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy fats like EVOO or avocados.  Keep in mind the things you are eliminating and check any packages you use (try to eat as few things as possible that come with a nutrition label). While you are on the elimination diet it can help to keep notes of how you feel, any symptoms you have and if they are getting better or worse.  If your symptoms abate quickly then you only need to do the 2 weeks. If they are a bit more stubborn go the entire 3 (It took me 30 days for mine but I have an incredibly sensitive body).

Now for the fun part - the reintroduction!  You can systematically add back one food group at a time every 2 days.  So you have been avoiding that morning bagel for 3 weeks now! It’s time to see how it reacts with your body.  Day 1 you want to have the bagel (NOT with cream cheese if you eliminated dairy as well) and break it into 2 or 3 servings over the course of the day.  Take note of how you feel. Day 2 do not have any bagel and take note of how your body feels. Have any of your symptoms returned? Are you feeling good or bad?  Be aware of all the little changes that will be taking place in your body. You can decide if the bagel was a good or bad player in how you felt and move on to the next eliminated food repeating the same steps over Day 1 and Day 2.   Eventually, you will have added everything back in and know what was causing problems. If you find the things you eliminate this time didn’t’ make a difference you can try a different set of foods the second time around.