Elimination Diet - Food Allergens

Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds.  No staying close to the porcelain throne waiting to be humiliated.  This "elimination diet" involved foods that would never even get to see my digestive tract! The Ultra InflamX powder came with a booklet which detailed what you can and can not eat for 30 days. It eliminates all potential food allergens, whether or not you think you're allergic to them.  That might not seem too bad until you read the full list, which included orange juice, corn (what doesn’t have corn in it!), wheat (and most other grains with the exception of rice), soy, beef, pork, processed meats and foods, dairy, mayonnaise, alcohol, coffee, tea, tomatoes, condiments, and sugar, just to name a few!  I assure you, it is not easy to enjoy a meal devoid of some of these essentials!  But somehow I managed.  Fortunately, I had become a vegetarian about 20 years earlier, so some items were not a problem for me.

Most “normal” people would have to stay on this elimination diet for 30 days, but I had the privilege of suffering with it for 3 months!  My over-stressed body clung to the debilitating toxins it had stored up over the years and it would take 90 days for me to start feeling better.  At the end of the 90 days there were no more migraines, no more tingling in my arms and legs, no more itching, no more IBS, no more joint and muscle pain, no more brain fog…no more suffering!  For the first time in years I actually felt pretty good.


After the 90 days (30 for most people) I was to start reintroducing one eliminated foods every three days.  If there was no reaction it could stay in my diet.  If there was a reaction, I had to decide if I wanted suffer the consequences of this particular food.  This is when listening to my body took on a whole new meaning. 

I Can Eat Again - Maybe!
Reintroduction was not what I thought it would be…it was heartbreaking!  How could any one person be allergic to so many common foods?  It seemed I was allergic to almost everything on the list!  Apparently it was my beloved shrimp that caused the dagger like pain that pierced my skull and forced its way through my right eye.  My doctors always said it was a migraine caused by MS and the only solution was the anti-seizure medication!
Tomatoes caused terrible muscle and joint pain. Fresh garlic gave me incredible indigestion and acid reflux.  Soy, which I was devouring since becoming a vegetarian, caused contact dermatitis (a terrible itch that only worsens when you scratch it).  If that were not bad enough, each failed reintroduction took 1-3 weeks to recover from!  This made my choice a lot easier.  It just wasn’t worth the pain and suffering, so I totally eliminated these foods and so much more from my diet.  With my new diet, my arsenal of supplements, and my chiropractic sessions, I was well on my way to recovery.