When you think of “allergies” do you automatically envision someone with an inhaler device? Many people think of the very dangerous situation of extreme reactions — closing throats, swollen tongues, and the inability to breathe. Severe food allergies are not to be taken lightly.
But did you know that not all food allergies come with extreme reactions you can immediately see on the outside? More than half of all Americans have a food allergy – most don’t even know it.
Food allergies and food intolerances develop when your digestive system is put under strain from our day-to-day eating habits and lifestyle. With the modern Standard American Diet (SAD) flaunting and tempting you to eat inflammatory processed foods, it’s inevitable that the lining in your gut wall just can’t do the job nature intended.
Once your gut is exposed and damaged, you begin to develop sensitivities to everyday, common foods. The symptoms may start out small – almost unnoticeable, but with years and years of chronic exposure, the consequences can become more serious.
If you knew someone with a seafood or peanut allergy who ate lobster or peanut butter every day, you’d likely think he or she had a death wish! But if you have a hidden food allergy, or a compromised digestive system, you’re doing exactly that — eating your favorite foods day after day — never realizing the build up of damage your diet is causing.
You can have a food allergy or sensitivity to foods like bread, milk, eggs, and even healthy foods like broccoli — and you may not realize that these common foods are making you ill.
That’s why doing some detective work to figure out if you have any food allergy culprits is important.
Below, you’ll find some of the elements from my Food Allergy Spy Training (FAST) program, and you’ll learn how to detect hidden food allergies and what to do about them.
Downloads: Audio (Mp3) | Slides: Full | Slides: Printer-Friendly | Transcript
Action Plan
Assess whether you have hidden food allergies/intolerances.
Food Allergy Detection Assessment: Here you’ll find a scorecard assessment that will help you determine the likelihood of food intolerances/allergies and the impact they may be having on your health.
Identify your potential food triggers.
Complete the assessment, then follow the instructions in the Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods assignment.
Food Frequency Checklist Assessment: This assessment goes deep into your diet and examines frequency of exact foods from various categories. It also identifies any foods you feel it would be difficult to give up.
Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods: AKA the “No, Go, Maybe Protocol,” use the results of your assessment above, and follow the instructions to highlight your list of foods.
Track your food intake and symptoms.
Careful tracking of your response to foods, using the Diet and Symptom Tracker, during both the elimination and provocation phases is important to your success.
Diet and Symptom Tracker (XLSX): If you prefer to track things on your computer, use the Excel spreadsheet version. You may choose to print a copy of the PDF form for when you’re not at your computer.
Diet and Symptom Tracker (PDF): Print the PDF version and carry it around with you. Print several copies of it and staple together.
Suspicious Food Tracking: As you track your foods using the Diet and Symptom Tracker form above, list suspects in the “Foods I’m Suspicious About” column. Also, list all your suspect foods from the Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods exercise here. These are all the foods that you already know make you feel uncomfortable or have been tested and found to create an allergic or intolerant response.
Design your elimination diet.
Elimination Diet Menu Plan: Use this document, along with the results from Learning to Spot Potential Trigger Foods to make a list of the foods you’ll be eating during the core 4 days of the elimination phase. I suggest that you plan to eliminate the top 6 allergens for several weeks before re-introduction.
FAST Recipe Collection: Use this 80-page document to find ideas for what to eat on your elimination diet.
Eat as many meals as you need to be satisfied and substitute ingredients, as needed, according to your plan.
Watch an additional video to learn about the food reintroduction phase, also called “provocation.”
Downloads: Video (Mp4) | Audio (Mp3) | Slides: Full | Slides: Printer-Friendly | Transcript
The elimination re-introduction phases will take some time. Once you’ve determined what to eat during the elimination phase, you can continue with the next steps and continue the process.
Eliminate foods that hurt the gut and add in foods and protocols that heal the gut.
Before beginning the provocation phase, be sure to eliminate all foods that hurt the gut.
Foods that Hurt and Foods that Heal Your Gut: A list of foods, herbs, and additives that hurt your gut followed by a list of those that heal and repair. Eliminate all the hurting foods during the elimination diet (and preferably forever!).
On the “foods that heal,” include as many as possible during the elimination phase, taking into account your elimination plan. It’s possible for you to be sensitive to some of the gut healing foods.
Healing Regimes for Your Gut: If you are ready for more details about the healing nutrients for your gut, this paper offers a quick-start list followed by more detailed background information and reference lists.
Calming the gut is critical to long-term success of food allergy elimination provocation.
After 4 – 7 days, reintroduce foods following the provocation process guidelines.
After following your elimination diet for a minimum of 4 days (and more ideally, up to 7 days), begin to reintroduce foods by following the guidelines in the video and in Provocation Phase Instructions. It’s best to continue to avoid the top 6 allergens, gluten, dairy,corn, soy, eggs, and peanuts for longer. It’s not recommended to re-introduce gluten until all symptoms have resolved and you’ve tested to determine that you have neither the genetics for gluten intolerance nor the antibodies.
Provocation Phase Instructions: This document includes more detailed instructions about the Food Elimination Provocation Protocol, and explains many of the forms needed for the next part of your food allergy investigation.
Use the form at the end to record foods at every stage of re-introduction to determine which foods your body tolerates and which ones — not so much!
Food Reintroduction Guidelines: Review the sample chart to get an idea about how to fill out your food reintroduction tracking chart (also available in the Provocation Phase Instructions). A blank chart is included in this PDF.
Food Reintroduction Phase: Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid: Learn how you can avoid the top 3 mistakes most people make when reintroducing foods.
