REINTRODUCTION PHASE OF THE ELIMINATION DIET
Wait until you have been free of symptoms for two or three days, but don’t wait any longer than this. Begin by testing foods that are probably not the cause of any trouble – things you do not eat very often. Choose items that you like – if the foods pass the test, then you can incorporate them into your menus, which will allow you to eat less of the exclusion-phase foods. Throughout the reintroduction phase it is vital that you keep your diet varied and do not eat too much of any one food. In particular, do not eat any one food every day. Continue to record everything you eat, and your symptoms – if something goes wrong, this record will prove invaluable.
Only test one food at a time. Eat a normal-sized portion of the food in question, preferably with your evening meal. Notice any changes that occur at the time, or later in the evening, or the following day. During the first five weeks of testing, test each food for one day only. (Although eating the food for three days in succession is preferable, it takes so much time that you cannot test enough foods – there are far more to test than on Stage 2). If you think you may have reacted slightly, but are unsure, then test the same food again the next day.
After five weeks, your sensitivity may be declining, so you need to test each food more thoroughly, by eating it for three days in succession. If you get no reaction by the fourth day, then the food can be considered safe, but avoid it again for four days (to offset any possible effect of eating it for three days in succession) before beginning to eat it once more.
If you get a reaction to any food, stop eating it immediately. Allow the symptoms to subside before testing any more foods.
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Tags: Allergies