Module 9: How to Teach Clients to Eat Right
Unit 2: Core Content: Part 5: Revisit the Elimination Diet Module
Preparation for Elimination Diet
Note: this is how we teach elimination diet to our clients, you may use this as a model for your programs
Food sensitivities and intolerances have many causes. People mistakenly call them all “food allergies,” but technically that’s not correct. Food allergies involve an immune system reaction. Your body mistakes food proteins as foreign invaders and creates antibodies to attack them.
Food intolerances occur when your body has a hard time breaking down and processing certain chemical constituents of foods, and create symptoms and possibly even damage to parts of your body.
That’s why doing some detective work to figure out if you have any food culprits is important. Some of the chemicals that can be involved are oxalates, histamines, lectins, salicylates, amines, and sulfur.
By using the assessments below, you’ll learn how to detect hidden food intolerances.
Audio
Downloads
Action Plan
Assess Whether You Have Symptoms Of Hidden Food Intolerances
Here you’ll find a scorecard assessment that will help you determine the likelihood of food intolerances and the impact they may be having on your health.
Assess for Hidden Food Sensitivities>>>” link=”https://www.unstoppablehealthcommunity.com/assessments/food-allergy-detection/”]
Identify Your Potential Food Triggers
Complete the assessment, then follow the instructions in the Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods pdf in step 3.
This assessment goes deep into your diet and examines frequency of exact foods from various categories. It also identifies any foods you feel it would be difficult to give up.
Learn to Spot Potential Trigger Foods
I refer to this process the “No, Go, Maybe Protocol.” Use the results of your assessment above, and follow the instructions to highlight your list of foods.
Track Your Food Intake And Symptoms
Careful tracking of your response to foods, using the Diet and Symptom Tracker, during both the elimination and provocation phases is important to your success. We’ve provided a PDF version you can download and print, and an Excel version, if you prefer to track digitally. You can upload the excel version to a google sheet and track on your mobile devices if you like.
Diet and Symptom Tracker (PDF)
Print the PDF version and carry it around with you. Print several copies of it and staple together.
Diet and Symptom Tracker (XLSX)
If you prefer to track things on your computer, use the Excel spreadsheet version. You may choose to print a copy of the PDF form for when you’re not at your computer.
Symptom Tracker (Google Sheet)
Here’s a simplified sheet where you can list all of your symptoms across the top, and the date and time down the left column, then rate each symptom 0-10. You can make a copy of this sheet and edit it on a computer or print and fill in by hand.
Determine Whether You Need to Avoid Particular Food Chemicals
The chart below is intended to help you to determine whether there are specific foods constituents that your body is not currently handling well. These include:
- Oxalates
- FODMAPs
- Specific Carbohydrates
- Salicylates
- Histamines
- Phenols
- Lectins
- Nightshades
- Gluten
- Dairy
When you click the button below, you will be taken to a Google spreadsheet. You will be asked if you want to make a copy. Say yes.
The first tab at the bottom contains the instructions. The second is the chart itself.
I suggest you start by either printing then marking the printout or highlighting in the document which symptoms you experience on a regular basis. Highlight all the way across the chart.
Then, follow your symptoms across to see which columns are red, meaning that that particular food chemical can cause that symptom. If you have 5 or more reds under a specific column, it suggests that you may benefit from avoidance of foods that contain it for a period of time. The second button links to a similar chart that lists the foods containing the same chemical constituents. Use this chart to determine which foods to add to your eliminate list. We suggest you wait until Phase 3 of the elimination diet to remove these. If oxalates seem to be an issue for you, we suggest you remove them slowly to prevent symptoms of what is known as oxalate dumping.
Red means there is a definite correlation, yellow means there may be an association, so be careful, and green means there is no known association between the diet and the symptom. Some symptoms are common to multiple plans. Having one or two symptoms that appear red in a particular column doesn’t mean you need to follow the guidelines of that plan.
Food “Religions” Symptom Chart
Food “Religions” Food Chart
Once you’ve determined which of the food plans you need to consider, ie Low Oxalate, you can use the column to determine the foods to limit. Red means definitely avoid or minimize, yellow means to proceed with caution, and green means the food is safe.
Diet Dogma Slides
Here are slides from a presentation I did about the Food Religions called Diet Dogma for your information.
Oxalate Details
Here’s a paper I wrote about Oxalates that includes food and spice lists.
Create Your Personalized Suspicious Foods List
Suspicious Food Tracking: As you track your foods using the Diet and Symptom Tracker form above, list suspects in the “Foods I’m Suspicious About” column. Also, list all your suspect foods from the Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods exercise here. These are all the foods that you already know make you feel uncomfortable or have been tested and found to create an allergic or intolerant response.
Suspicious Food Tracking PDF HERE
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