How to Do an Elimination Diet for Food Sensitivity

Author: Matthew Gallo
Inspire Wellness@Home
March 3, 2023

For those experiencing symptoms of discomfort related to food sensitivity, using a Food Sensitivity Test paired with a two-part elimination is an excellent way to root out problematic foods.

Two-part elimination diets are a strategy for identifying foods that may be causing you symptoms. An elimination diet involves temporarily removing specific foods from your diet, and gradually reintroducing them after 30 days. This method of removing and reintroducing foods in your diet helps pinpoint exactly which foods are causing symptoms.

Get Prepared

Before you start removing foods from your diet, you can begin by taking a Food Sensitivity Test to get a personalized short-list of potentially suspect foods based on your IgG antibody reactivity levels. IgG antibodies are a part of your immune system, and reactivity levels are a good indicator of your body’s response to the foods you’ve eaten.   

When beginning an elimination diet, a food journal is recommended to keep record the foods you cut or add and any symptoms you experience. Keeping a record of foods and symptoms can help you notice patterns and which foods are causing problems.

Part One – Eliminate Suspect Foods

Part one of a two-part elimination diet involves removing potentially problematic foods from your diet. Start with the foods that you have a high or moderate reactivity to based on your Food Sensitivity Test, or with foods that you recognize may be connected to your symptoms.

Remove each food for 30 days. The number of foods you remove at first is up to you, just remember to keep a nutritional balance. In some cases, removing only a few foods may make it easier to assess exactly which one is giving you issues.

Part Two – Reintroduce Eliminated Foods

After 30 days of elimination, it’s time to gradually reintroduce the suspect foods back into your diet. While adding the suspect food back into your everyday diet, monitor for symptoms that may be associated with that food. Each food should be reintroduced one at a time, with 2-4 days between each to prevent overlap. Adding too many foods back at once will make it difficult to identify which one is giving you symptoms.

Make sure to keep track of what you’re adding and any symptoms you experience in your food journal. If you don’t notice any symptoms in 2-4 days, it’s unlikely that food is giving you sensitivity and it may be added back into your daily consumption.

Experiencing Food Sensitivity? Learn what foods may be giving you symptoms with Inspire Wellness@Home’s Food Sensitivity test. The panel assesses your body’s response to 96 common foods, which can help you to identify what changes need be made to your diet.

Visit Inspire Wellness@Home’s product page to discover more at-home health and wellness tests.

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