Elimination Diet, Part One

After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I started looking at alternative ways to deal with this illness. I discovered that there are many foods that can trigger pain in people with fibromyalgia, so I worked on eliminating those foods from my diet to see if it helped. Much to my surprise, it turned out that I was having serious negative reactions to tomatoes, potatoes, blueberries, and possibly peppers. This peaked my curiosity and I started looking into doing an elimination diet to see if there are other foods that are causing me pain and discomfort. I feel better now that I no longer eat tomatoes and potatoes on a daily basis, but there is still quite a lot of pain in my joints and I still feel drugged after eating certain meals. This tells me that there are quite possibly more food sensitivities to discover!

The first step to any elimination diet is a two day fast. There are many variations of this fast, so I would recommend doing the one you feel most comfortable doing. Some people say to only drink water with lemon, but I know that I would not make it a whole two days with only water in my system. Other people suggest making fruit and vegetable smoothies and only drinking those for two days. Tempting, but since I suspect that a couple of the fruits I usually eat are on my sensitivity list, I think I'll have to pass on the fruit smoothies for now. And then there is the Magical Leek Soup fast suggested in the French Women Don't Get Fat book that I am going to follow.

I know - how in the world did that book end up on my elimination diet reading list? Honestly, it is a book that I have read in the past and loved. I have done the leek soup fast before, so I know that I can do it. And, really, the book sort of advocates an elimination diet. Mireille Guiliano recommends cutting out the main offenders from your diet and really pay attention to what you are eating and how you feel when you eat. That is exactly what I am doing! It will be awhile before I can make any of the recipes in her book, but the basic premise is still there.

Over time, your body builds up a good amount of toxins that are not properly eliminated from your system. This is especially true if you are eating foods that you can't digest well, if you smoke, if you drink too much alcohol, or you are on medications. Doing a two day fast will help your body eliminate those toxins by using your fat stores for energy once the glucose is no longer coming into your system. Fat stores a lot of toxic waste from the environment and from the things you ingest, so using up fat for energy will release the toxins that are locked inside and allow them to leave your body.

Fasting will also help eliminate any of the foods that may be causing negative reactions in your body. If you aren't digesting something properly, your body treats it as poison and you start to feel bad. Whether it's depression or a headache or achy joints, it is affecting you. The fast will allow your body to reset itself and you can start over with healthy foods and really take note of how you feel. Basically, you are cleansing your whole system and allowing your body to heal itself.

If you would like to read more about how fasting can benefit you, I recommend reading this article. It is a school paper, but it does a good job of explaining how it all works.

I have a list of foods that I can eat for the first week after the fast is over. These are foods that are generally considered safe, meaning that people do not usually have bad reactions to them. I removed foods from the list that I eat all the time, because if I have more food sensitivities it is most likely something that I eat on a regular basis. After working on the list, I created a menu for the week that I will follow. Some of the recipes will be adjusted to fit my current limitations, but for the most part I am happy with what I have written down.

My first meal will be this spiced pumpkin soup with a side of steamed kale. I am eliminating the apples from the recipe, although I might add pears instead. Personally, I think it sounds delicious! I can't wait to go to the farmer's market in the morning to pick up my fresh squash, carrots, and pears. This seems like an excellent reward on a cool fall day.

I will continue to write about my experiences with the elimination diet. Hopefully, my journey will help others who decide to go through the same process!