An allergy elimination gluten free diet can help you track down possible allergens. This is an important step to achieve a gluten free diet. You can either make your own elimination diet based on your suspected allergens, or follow a pre-made elimination diet.

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

Making your own diet is helpful if you are very connected to your body and you have been monitoring your reaction to foods for a long time. However, if you suspect you have many hidden allergies and want to be as thorough as possible a pre-made elimination diet is your best bet.

No matter what type of diet you try it is vital that you avoid processed foods. Manufactured foods contain hidden ingredients, such as cornstarch, wheat, sugar, eggs and other allergens. These ingredients may be used in such small amounts that they don’t show up on the labeling but they do effect your histamine production. Don’t trust the labels. Eat only fresh whole varieties of the allowed foods.

To start your own elimination diet, write down all of the foods that you crave, food that make you feel energized and foods that exhaust you. These can all be signs of allergic reactions. You’ll also want to take special note of foods that you feel you must eat everyday. Strong cravings for particular foods can indicate allergies. Remember, if you eat a lot of processed foods your “possible allergies” list should include sugar, corn, soy, yeast, artificial food colorings, preservatives and additives.

Next, eliminate the suspected foods from your diet and see how you feel. After two to three weeks of eating in a strict fashion, begin introducing the possible allergens and evaluate your results. Introduce only one food at a time, and eat a significant quantity for breakfast or lunch. Take note of how you feel for the rest of the day. Look at the Introducing Foods to Your Diet section for more tips on adding foods.

Avoid stimulants like tea, coffee and alcohol, sugar, honey and other sweeteners, all artificial additives, grains including wheat, corn, rye, rice, barley oats and millet, & milk and dairy products, manufactured foods of all kinds. If it comes from a can, packet, bottle or jar, don’t eat it.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

For example, on Day 1, your protein would be from the poultry group. On Day 2, eat from the shellfish group. On Day 3, eat from the meat group, etc.

Make sure to try foods that you normally don’t eat. Remember that the foods that comprise your normal diet are causing your hidden food allergies. Expand your food palate and try some new foods. You may be surprised at how many new flavors and textures that you learn to love.

If you feel better after following this diet for several weeks then slowly and gradually try to introduce new foods. Only add a new food every several days (see the following section on Introducing Foods to Your Diet for more details on this process). Keep a food symptom diary to track your reactions to new foods, and proceed carefully.

You may find that over time you are able to eat certain foods at long intervals. For example, if corn is a problem for you, you may find after the diet and testing that you can get away with eating it once every week or two weeks.

All this testing and tracking may seem like a lot of work, but it is necessary in order to learn about your body and its allergic responses to help you reach your goal towards a gluten free diet. The relief that you feel from eliminating your allergens will be well worth the trouble and help it can help you lose weight too.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

Food Families List:

Abalone, clams, mussels, oysters & scallops. Anise, caraway seed, carrot, celery, celery seed, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, parsley & parsnip. Apple, pear & quince. Artichoke, chicory, dandelion, endive, escarole, lettuce, sunflower seeds & tarragon. Asparagus, chives, garlic, leeks, onion & sarsaparilla. Avocado, bay leaves, cinnamon & sassafras.

Banana & plantain. Barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, rye & sorghum. Beets, spinach & swiss chard. Black-eyed peas, licorice, lima beans, navy beans, peanuts, peas, pinto beans & string beans. Blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, raspberries & strawberries. Buckwheat, rhubarb & sorrel.

Cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collards, horseradish, kale, mustard, radish, rutabaga, turnip & watercress. Cantaloupe, casaba melon, cucumber, honeydew melon, persian melon, pumpkin, squash & watermelon. Cashews, mango & pistachios. Chicken, duck, goose, pheasant, guinea hen, quail, squab, turkey & eggs. Chocolate, cola & cocoa. Coconut & dates. Crabs, crayfish, lobster, shrimp & squid.

Grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, oranges & tangerines. Ginger, cardamom & turmeric.

Mint, basil, peppermint, rosemary, sage & spearmint. Meat: beef, goat, horse, pork, lamb; & milk from these animals.

Peaches, plums, cherries, almonds & apricots. Pecans, walnuts, butternuts & hickory nuts. Peppers, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, chili peppers, eggplant, paprika, potatoes & tomatoes.

Turtle & rattlesnake.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

While it’s not necessary to eat organic foods, it certainly is preferable. If you have limited access to organic foods, just make sure that you are eating fresh and whole foods. For example, get real tuna and not tuna from a can. There can be hidden allergens in manufactured products that are not listed on the label.

On a rotation diet, foods are rotated according to their food family. You will eat foods from a certain set of food families on each day. Foods from the same family are eaten in the same day because these foods most likely have the same chemical makeup. If you are allergic to one food, then you are likely to be allergic to foods within the same food family. Another benefit is once you determine what your allergies are you can start focusing on your gluten free diet and lose weight. Everything will help you to become a healthier person.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

The body is not logical. It doesn’t make sense for your body to crave a food that causes a harmful allergic reaction. However, the key to why you crave the foods that harm you lies in the chemical reactions that take place in the body.

Remember that when you eat an allergen, you cause a reaction in your body that produces histamines. The histamines are a side effect of your antibodies fighting the allergen. Simply put, histamines make you feel good. They are damaging to your organs and your system, but they also release a soothing effect on the body.

When you crave an allergen, you are craving that soothing effect that the histamines release. You are unknowingly seeking out foods that are causing your antibodies to release histamines. That is why cravings can seem uncontrollable at times. There is a physical craving as well as an emotional craving for these allergenic foods.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

Dairy

Most people over the age of 4 are partially unable to digest dairy products. It is estimated that up to 25% of children and adults have strong dairy allergies. Human milk, not cow milk, is biologically the only milk that humans can drink. Humans only need breast milk until they triple their birth weight, which is sometime around the age of one. Once a mother’s milk dries up, her child’s milk digesting enzymes will as well. These enzymes, called lactase, will decrease in a child’s body and then disappear completely by the age of 4. In the absence of lactase, milk of any kind is very difficult for humans to digest. The reactions to dairy can include sinus problems, stomach and intestinal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and acne. There are many suitable substitutions for dairy products that do not have allergic effects.

Corn

Fresh corn does not normally cause an allergic reaction. However, when corn is refined into products like corn syrup it can cause problems. Allergic reactions to corn can include migraine headaches, shortness of breath, tongue and face swelling, rashes and hives, lethargy, stomach discomfort and joint pain. Corn syrup sweeteners are used in just about all processed foods. Corn is present in the common sweeteners fructose and dextrose. There are several sweeteners that can be used in replacement of corn syrup, such as barley malt and rice syrup. Avoiding processed foods that contain corn derivatives will improve your health and life.

MSG

MSG is a food additive that tricks your tongue into thinking that the food you are eating is high in protein. It is most commonly associated with Chinese food, but it is actually present in many American processed foods. It is used as a flavor-enhancer in fried chicken, potato chips, canned soup and canned tuna. Allergic reactions can include burning sensations or numbness in the neck, forearms and chest, facial pressure, chest pain, headache, nausea and rapid heartbeat. Avoiding MSG in foods means reading labels very carefully. When you eat out, ask if your meal can be made without MSG.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

Human milk, not cow milk, is biologically the only milk that humans can drink. In the absence of lactase, digesting enzymes, milk of any kind is very difficult for humans to digest. The reactions to dairy can include sinus problems, stomach and intestinal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and acne.

Fresh corn does not normally cause an allergic reaction. However, when corn is refined into products like corn syrup it can cause problems. Allergic reactions to corn can include migraine headaches, shortness of breath, tongue and face swelling, rashes and hives, lethargy, stomach discomfort and joint pain.

MSG is a food additive that tricks your tongue into thinking that the food you are eating is high in protein. Allergic reactions can include burning sensations or numbness in the neck, forearms and chest, facial pressure, chest pain, headache, nausea and rapid heartbeat.

Some of the other most common allergenic foods are: Alcohol, Artificial Additives (including artificial sweeteners), Beef, Caffeine (Coffee), Chocolate, Citrus, Dried Fruits, Eggs, Fish, Preservatives, Shellfish, Sodas, Soy, Refined Sugar and Yeast.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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Sunrider Gluten Free Foods

Hidden food allergies can cause a myriad of problems including: Acne, Anxiety, Bags under the eyes, Canker sores, Chronic coughing, Compulsive Eating, Constipation, Depression, Diarrhea, Fatigue, Hair loss, Headaches, Irregular heart beat, Irritability, Poor memory, Poor physical coordination, Rashes, Short attention span, Shortness of breath, Sinus problems and Sore throat.

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

If you’ve had these problems for a long time, hidden food allergies may be to blame.

The symptoms that are caused by hidden allergies seem to appear out of nowhere. For example, someone can suffer chronic headaches for years and not realize that they are experiencing pain because they continue to eat dairy. Instead, they believe that they have a tendency toward migraines and take prescription medication for the rest of their lives.

These types of allergies are becoming more prevalent in our society. When humanity ate whole foods that came with natural enzymes and minerals, hidden allergies were not common at all. However, over the last 50 to 75 years the average diet relies on processed food made with chemical additives. Our body chemistry doesn’t know what to do with these foreign chemicals. The result is allergies and sensitivities.

Another benefit with using a gluten free diet is a weight loss regiment. Whether your goal is to lose weight or at least maintain where you are at, using a weight management program with your gluten free diet can really help you and your body to feeling better sooner.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach  Sunrider Calli Tea and nutrition, whole food products are gluten free and wonderful for anyone on a gluten free diet.  Sunrider Canada and Sunrider USA

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Gluten Free Diet Food Allergies

To discover your own hidden food allergies, you are going to have to be an allergy detective. Using an allergy rotation diet will help you seek out your allergens and help you with your gluten free diet. Once you’ve discovered the culprits, you can remove them from your diet and have more vibrant health and be gluten free.

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

A successful allergy rotation diet will eliminate enough foods to help you feel well. Then you’ll reintroduce the offending foods one at a time to test your reaction. This makes it easy to separate possible allergies from definite allergies.

It is important to remove all possible offending foods all at once. Eliminating one food at a time is not an option, because if you have hidden food allergies you are most likely allergic to more than one food. If you had a strong allergy to just one food, you would have discovered it by now.

It won’t be easy. Rotation diets are hard, especially if you have been craving your allergens. However, the rotation diet is an experimental phase. You will not be on this diet for long. It is simple a way of testing how your body responds to different foods. The strict diet is only in place when you are searching for the allergens. After you’ve discovered them, you can eat almost anything else. Remember, the rewards for finding and eliminating allergens will be very great.

Carrying out an allergy rotation diet will take some time and planning. Make sure to plan this diet during a non-stressful time. For example, don’t try it during the holidays. Tell your family members that you are going to be undergoing a special eating regimen for the next several weeks and that you’d appreciate their support.

Keep in mind that if you have a variety of allergies, you may actually feel worse the first three to five days that you are on the allergy rotation diet. You may be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Make sure to drink plenty of water and commit to finishing the process, no matter how badly you may feel at first. Your well being will improve as you continue following the plan.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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When detected it is best to try a specialty diet to see how it will react with your body. If the suggestion comes up for a gluten free diet, you will start seeing so many options available that you did not see before. You will being reading more of the labels and you will be more aware of what is available and what you can have to help with your gluten free diet.

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

As the previous section explained, these food allergies are very detectable. Normally the symptoms present themselves within minutes or hours of eating the offending allergen. People with severe food allergies are aware of their allergies and often carry lifesaving medication with them in case they come into contact with their allergen.

However, hidden food allergies are much harder to detect. Many times allergic reactions to foods that are eaten can have a delayed response in the body. This leads to a series of mysterious symptoms that, until the food allergies are discovered, seem to make no sense to the sufferer or the doctor. People fail to make the connection between their symptoms and the foods that they eat. As a result, these symptoms go on unrecognized and untreated for years.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

Diana Walker provides delicious, nutritious and easy Gluten-free recipes and foods at Diana’s Healthy Gluten Free Whole Foods Lifestyles

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