The allergy elimination diet is great way to figure out what food’s are problematic for your body.  And it often more accurate and definitely cheaper than medical food allergy testing.

Calling this diet the allergy elimination diet is so depressing. The focus is on everything you can’t have. And there’s a lot, including soy, corn, wheat, peanuts, eggs, and dairy. For good measure most people also eliminate processed foods and refined sugar.

The idea of the diet is to cut out these foods from two weeks to a month, then slowly add in one food at a time to determine which ones make you feel bad.

I suggest switching the focus from eliminating those foods to “illuminating” the foods you can eat. Doesn’t the illumination diet sound more fun?

There is so much food out there waiting to be discovered by you. Produce that’s flown in from all over the world. There’s also a thriving industry of food allergy alternatives. If you ever decide to go on an illumination diet to troubleshoot your digestive or autoimmune issues I’ve compiled some helpful tips to make the process as easy and successful as possible.

 

Tips for rocking your allergy elimination diet:

 

Replace old favorites:

If you give something up completely it leaves a void that begs to be filled. If you have a habit of eating English muffins for breakfast daily, switching to fruit for breakfast might not cut it.

The best changes are gradual ones so instead of making such a big shift in your routine, replace that wheat-based muffin with a gluten-free version made from rice or potato flour.

Try hemp milk instead of dairy. Replace pasta or muffins with rice pasta or fruit sweetened quinoa muffins. There are tons of choices out there.

 

Schedule it well:

Don’t start your illumination diet during the holidays or on a vacation to Italy, it’s too hard. But do start preparing for it a month in advance by scouting out allergy-free replacement foods, finding people to support you or reading books and blogs for recipe ideas. Inspire yourself by finding success stories of people who have healed themselves through this process. There are a ton.

While you are preparing don’t binge on the foods you’re going give up because it will increase your cravings and make it harder to quit.

January 1st is a good time to start a diet because the whole world is bloated and dieting right along with you!

 

Prepare by cleaning out your fridge and drawers:

You don’t want to be tempted in your own house. Your home should be an allergy-free zone. Throw out or give away your old crackers, corn chips, soy-based products and sugary condiments. The act of preparing your kitchen is an important ritual for starting fresh.

And if you husband, kids or roommates can’t live without their cookies or corn chips, ask them to keep that stuff in their room or in their own drawer. Ideally, your family will support you for a month by eating what you eat but if they can’t try to negotiate a compromise that won’t put temptation in your face.

 

Shop on the Internet:

If your local natural or health food store doesn’t have what you need, just remember the world is your marketplace. You can buy almost anything you need online. Can’t find sugar-free hemp milk locally? Order it online and have it shipped. I order Omega brand pumpkinseed butter online. It’s rich in healthy fat and immune-building zinc and tastes amazing with apples. It’s my treat.

 

Treats:

Speaking of treats, you need to have some. If you’re feeling weak and the sugar monster is knocking on your door, have some healthy and satisfying treats ready to comfort you.

One of my favorites sugar-free desserts is carob powder mixed with melted coconut butter. I add in goji berries, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon, cardamom and sautéed fruit. If that sounds like too much work, then you can buy some raw food bars made with fruit, coconut and cashews.  If you have a salty craving, roasted seaweed is a great alternative to corn chips.

 

Get adventurous:

This is your chance to break out of your familiar food routine and add some adventure to your life. There’s a world of tropical fruit out there that you probably haven’t heard of. It’s available fresh or freeze dried.

Have you heard of durian? It is spike like a porcupine on the outside but the sweet custard interior and sulfur smell is definitely an unique experience. Have your tried persimmons and young coconut meat?

For a change shop in an ethnic supermarket. Asian market carry fruit treats like rambutan, jackfruit and mangostein. Or you might find a cherimoya from Spain. It’s like traveling without leaving home.

 

 

Always pack a snack when you leave the house:

Carry almonds, gluten-free snack bars, freeze dried or fresh fruit, rice crackers, or salmon jerky. When you are hungry your blood sugar drops and makes it much harder to stick to a diet. If you always have food with that solves the problem.

 

Eat before you go to a party:

The tempting food at a party is one of the hardest challenges to face on an illumination diet. Fight temptation by eating before you go or bringing a potluck dish that you can eat. If you can’t eat in advance then have a snack from your purse.

 

Choose these restaurants:

Eating out can be challenging. You don’t want to ask a million questions and comb the menu for something you can have. You can minimize those annoying struggles by choosing Asian restaurants. Asian food focuses on rice and doesn’t have nearly as much wheat, corn or dairy as other cuisines. Just watch out for soy and peanuts.

Indian, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants are good choices for sushi or coconut based curries.

 

Cook at home:

This one might be a bit obvious but what happens when you are too tired to cook?  Use convenient kitchen appliances to take the load off. Slow cookers (also called crock pots) are magical appliances. Just throw in all your ingredients in the morning and come home to a delicious stew. Meats fall off the bone after cooking all day over slow heat.

Try fruit, veggies and coconut water smoothies for snacks. And rice cookers make it a snap to cook up easy, instant side dish. You can easily roast veggie in a toaster oven in half an hour, just slice them in half. Also if you have store bought coconut Thai or Indian curries on hand you can always make a quick veggie or chicken stir fry in just 15 minutes.

 

Get support:

This is a huge one. Ask people to help you succeed. Tell them to stop offering you food you can’t eat. When you let everyone know you’re doing this and you might be surprised that someone might want to do it with you.

You can also find support and community online. There are so many people in the same boat and tons of Web site and discussion boards dedicated to allergy-free diets. You can even start your own local Meetup at Meetup.com.

Lastly you can get professional support by hiring a coach or nutritionist to supply you with easy recipes and troubleshoot your problems. You can never have too much support.

 

Relax:

This last tip is so important. Don’t be a perfectionist about this process. Stressing about eating the wrong thing can be as unhealthy as eating that thing. Stress makes your body more sensitive and vulnerable to food reactions.

If you accidentally ate a crouton or caved in and had a bite of someone’s pizza it’s not the end of the world. The best reaction to that situation is simply to notice how the food made you feel. The point of the illumination diet is to create awareness of the effect certain foods have on you. You can do that by being more aware.

If you can follow the illumination diet perfectly you may experience some unpleasant detox symptoms as your body heals and rebalances. This could show up as fatigue, headaches, nausea or other symptoms. Don’t worry. If this happens all you have to do is rest. Your body will bounce back quicker if you give it the space and rest it needs to find a new homeostasis.

Hopefully the illumination diet will illuminate your health. If you feel brighter, lighter and happier as a result, that will keep you motivated.

I hope this was helpful. Tell me in the comments below if you have any tips to add to this list or any experiences to share?

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