12/28/2008
I’ve found that many FM sufferers are completely unaware that they have a food allergy contributing to their problem. Often times, pinpointing which food type is the culprit can reduce the pain intensity by as much as 80% or more. So I’m going to walk you through the elimination diet I’ve long recommended to patients so that you too can benefit from this great tactic.
There are six foods that FM patients are commonly allergic to, but just don’t recognize it. They are citrus, dairy, corn, wheat, soy, and nuts.
The best way to find out which ones you’re allergic to is completely eliminate all of them from your diet for two full weeks. No exceptions! Even if you don’t think you’re allergic to them, you must eliminate all 6 to successfully complete this approach. If you “mess up” or “cheat” during the two weeks, you must start over again from the beginning. There are absolutely no shortcuts with this program.
I’ll admit this may seem unreasonable at first. It isn’t going to be something you can do effortlessly and without struggle or temptation. However, it can definitely be done, and must be if you want to find out if any of these could be hurting you.
The first thing people notice when beginning this program is how heavily saturated their kitchens are with those six items. Immediately people think, “What am I supposed to eat?” The answer – anything you want that doesn’t have those six things in it. Non-citrus fruits, vegetables, eggs, rice, chicken, beef, etc…
Many of the products you won’t be eating during these two weeks are processed, prepackaged boxed foods – which you really shouldn’t be eating anyway.
The easiest way to begin this is by walking through your grocery store and identifying all the items that you like to eat that aren’t citrus, dairy, corn, wheat, soy, or nuts. This will require you to begin reading food labels. Pay attention, especially to “soy lecithin” and “high fructose corn syrup” which are in A LOT of foods you commonly eat.
Make a list of the acceptable foods, then start shopping for what you want. It’s hard to compile this list sitting at home, but when you get these foods in front of you so that you can actually see all your choices, it makes the task easier.
Keep your chin up, stay positive and know that you’re doing this for the right reasons. In the end, this “Sacrifice” will be worth it.
After 14 days, begin Day-15 by adding ONE of the six previously eliminated foods. Monitor any changes. For example, you may notice your pain levels increase within a few hours (or minutes) of eating that particular item. If any of your symptoms get worse after reintroducing the food to your body, you’re likely allergic to it, and should avoid consumption of it indefinitely. Pay attention to these changes for 2 days at a time. If your symptoms don’t get worse, it’s unlikely that this item is affecting you.
On Day-17, add another item. Monitor any changes for 48-hours. Again, if your symptoms get worse after reintroducing this into your body, eliminate it from your life.
Continue to do this every two days for the remaining 4 items. The “reintroduction phase” should last 12 days (6 items – one every two days). This means that the “diet” itself lasts 26 days.
At the end of the diet, you will likely notice you’ve lost weight, even if you haven’t been actively working out. That’s a bonus! You may find that more than one item has been affecting your health.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the program, or if you’d like to share your results upon completion. I can be reached here: drtanase@aol.com.
Warm wishes,
Dr. Adam Tanase
