THE ELIMINATION DIET: VARIATIONS ON A THEME
Although all elimination diets work on the same principle, doctors differ considerably in the sorts of food they allow during the exclusion phase. The objective is to avoid all foods that are likely to cause problems. In essence, this means all foods that are eaten frequently because these are the most likely culprits. However, the ’safeness’ of foods is also taken into consideration – some foods seem less likely to cause problems than others. The question is – how far do you take this? Some patients will be sensitive to 20 or more foods – to get better, they need to avoid almost everything they normally eat. But these patients are a tiny minority. Most patients will be sensitive to between two and five foods. For them, a rigorous exclusion phase is not necessary – they simply need to avoid the most frequent offenders, such as wheat, milk, eggs, citrus fruits, yeast, chocolate and additives. On the whole, the latter group have a much easier task ahead of them in discovering which foods make them ill, so doctors tend to think more about the unfortunate patients with multiple sensitivities. With them in mind, they devise diets that will eliminate most commonly eaten foods, even if this means putting the patients with just a few sensitivities through an unnecessarily arduous regime. The approach to elimination diet that we recommend is a flexible three-stage procedure that provides the best possible diet for each type of patient.
*328\180\8*
