Try an elimination diet and stop eating the foods harming your body.
An elimination diet really isn’t that hard and for many it provides a great sense of relief when food allergies or intolerances are discovered. In truth, it’s deciding to do the diet and embracing your decision by fully planning and preparing for it, that’s the hardest.
Why an Elimination Diet?
After years of worsening eczema and unsuccessful attempts with multiple doctors to identify the triggers, I finally realized I could no longer put off an elimination diet for my son. It was time to figure out which foods were aggravating his eczema when allergy testing all came back negative. The best way to do that, according to many health professionals, in fact it’s considered the “gold standard” for food allergy diagnosis by many pediatricians, is by conducting a food challenge. A food challenge is when certain foods are consumed in small doses and then the individual is monitored very closely, in a physicians office is best, to determine if the food causes any reaction in the body.
Food challenges are the only 100% accurate way to prove a food allergy exists, other than a history of reactions with specific foods. Allergy testing is not usually reliable as false positives and false negatives, like was the case with my son, can frequently occur. In order to successfully conduct the food challenge, it’s best to remove the foods in question from the diet completely for a given amount of time in the form of an elimination diet.
Overwhelmed? Embrace the Diet and Plan, Plan, Plan.
When I finally decided to move forward with my son’s diet, the planning seemed very overwhelming. It’s best to work with a physician or nutritionist when planning the elimination diet to ensure all the proper foods are eliminated correctly AND to guarantee you’re not putting your or your child’s health in jeopardy. Removing nutritious foods from the diet means they need to be substituted with equally nutritious alternatives and this can be tricky if you’re not very well versed in a healthy eating and nutrition.
Not only is balancing nutrition hard, but it’s VERY difficult to remove staple foods from your diet. Many of the foods that should be eliminated have been in your or child’s diet since not long after you took your first bites of food as a baby. Perhaps, your body has been used to these foods for so long, that slowly over time a reaction has been building up (in the way of eczema or asthma. You don’t always consciously think about these foods because they’re part of you. You’ve never had to think about it before. So eliminating these foods is like learning a whole new language. You must become a thorough label reader, understand the confusing and misleading world of “may contain traces of,” recognize alternative names for foods (and there are many), and learn to cook with substitute ingredients.
Find the Right Resources
My mother-in-law is a super health food fanatic, so I relied much on her expertise. I also referenced “Dealing with Food Allergies in Babies and Children,” by Janice Vickerstaff Joneja, PhD, RDN. This is an EXCELLENT book that discusses food allergies in-depth and then offers detailed steps on how to conduct elimination diets for various ailments – one of which is eczema! Using Dr. Vickerstaff Joneja’s plan, made things much easier. Her book told me exactly what to eliminate and for how long. We followed her eczema elimination diet to the letter and it improved my son’s skin tremendously, within a matter of days. When it was time to add the eliminated foods back into his diet, by way of a food challenge, we immediately were able to identify which foods were triggering his eczema as he became very itchy after eating most of them, occasionally with hives. In some cases it took a few days of consuming the foods to see a reaction. In the end we identified the following as eczema triggers for my son: dairy, gluten, soy, and corn. We later also identified through trial and error that many tree nuts cause similar reactions for him.
I’m happy to say that through an elimination diet, we saw major improvements in my son’s skin! This was one of the biggest wins in his battle against eczema. I cannot recommend elimination diets enough.
Yes, it’s hard, but you CAN do it. Here’s how:
1) Embrace the decision 100%.
2) Arm yourself with the right resources: physician, nutritionist, books, friends for moral support, etc.
3) Identify the foods to avoid and ALL the alternative names for these foods.
4) Have recipes ready to go and your pantry stocked. Plan on spending a few hours at the grocery store carefully reading labels and finding new food substitutes.
5) Go for it! If you feel the need to cheat, think about why you want to cheat. Is it because you’re craving one of your favorite boxed/processed chocolate chip cookies that are no longer ok to eat? Then make some using alternative ingredients. Trust me, the alternatives are actually really good!
Here are some great bloggers featuring amazing, healthy recipes that are allergy free, some are top-8 allergy free. Prepare some of their recipes in advance and prevent the desperate need to cheat by having your favorite foods with alternative ingredients on hand and ready to go.
Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen – super healthy recipes from a nutritionist.
Gluten Free Goddess – most recipes are free of more than just gluten.
Tessa the Domestic Diva & Real Food Allergy Free – check out their Allergy Free Wednesday Recipe Hop!
Grateful Foodie – practical recipes for the family.
Allergy Free Alaska – gluten and dairy-free.
Allergy Free Yumminess – check out my Pinterest board full of amazing allergy free recipe finds from around the blogosphere.
Looking for more info and tips on how to complete an elimination diet? Check out my guest post for ScratchMeNot “What’s an Elimination Diet Really Like?”
Have you tried an elimination diet? Did you see results?
How can one do an elimination diet if one is still breastfeeding? Since the effects of certain foods can appear days after you eat them, how can you find out which food was the trigger?
My baby got eczema on his face when he was 4 weeks old and it lasted for about a month. I was besides myself since I had no idea that babies can be affected by eczema. Being desperate, and not knowing what to do, I used on his face the Earth Mama Baby Angel diaper balm and i saw an immediate change for the better. I also used Calendula Cream by California Baby (even though they changed their formula last year and I didn’t know it) and within a month his face was clear and stays clear. His body, however it’s another story.
He had just a patch of eczema on his legs, didn’t bother him and he didn’t scratch until I started feeding him yogurt around 6 1/2 months. Mind you, this was organic yogurt as I refuse to give him anything that it’s questionable, full of GMOs, pesticides, or growth hormones.
Once I started giving him the yogurt, within a week, the eczema exploded on his tummy and on his legs, later on his back and arms, and then the itching started.
I stopped the yogurt and I started giving him probiotics as our holistic doctor recommended to heal his gut since she said that it might be the problem. I also started taking probiotics and now it’s been 3 months.
I used any cream imaginable, some worked some didn’t. I used and still do the Baby Balm by Badger, very good, also Body Butta by Bubble and Bee Organics.
When his skin got inflamed and red, I used Natralia, it does wonders especially if the skin is oozing. This cream dries the skin and calms the redness, but then you need to put some good moisturizer as Body Butta on it.
Since I am still breastfeeding him, I stopped all dairy for about a month or so, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
I’d like to do an elimination diet to see what kind of foods could be potential triggers but honestly I don’t know where to start just because of the fact that effects of a certain food can appear days and days later.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Simone –
Thank you so much for your comments. Please note that I am not a doctor or nutritionist, I’m just a mom who has done a fair bit of research on all aspects of eczema and specifically on elimination diets and natural healing. In your case, I’d recommend sitting down with a holistic nutritionist to make sure you’re diet is balanced and then remove all dairy from both your and your child’s diet. Do this for at least two weeks and then add it back in slowly over a four day period. See how he does. If this helps, but does not heal him completely, try the same with gluten, soy, and eggs – all major eczema triggers. Again, work with your nutritionist, but also take a look at the book I recommend in the post – Dealing with Food Alleries in Babies and Children. There is a great step by step elimination diet and process to follow. In addition to the probiotics (which need to be dairy, gluten and soy free, definitely confirm), try adding a good balanced fish oil. Your naturopath can help you with is and the diet as well. Good luck and keep me posted! You can do this! Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
I posted weeks ago and you were so kind to respond. We have been on the elimation diet for 2 months now and he got really bad, then better for 4 days and has been bad ever since. He is off all egg, dairy, soy peanuts, wheat gluten. My son is 15 months and covered head to toe. We’ve seen allergist, holistic drs, dermatologist etc. he is on fish oil, hemp oil, vit d, multi vitamin, probiotics and biotin. Please any advise is appreciated. My fear now is introducing foods back into his diet and we have now caused an allergic reaction. I do believe in the diet but he hasn’t gotten better…
Neisha
Hi Neisha –
Hang in there. To heal the gut, I’ve heard it can take a minimum of 3 months up to several months. Hard to wait, I know. We had a lot of luck with Dr. Reckweg’s 23 and Homeodel 43 and Immunoplex Moducare, when my son’s skin was severe and we were eliminating foods. The food and the supplements you mentioned and the homeopathy I listed here really all worked well together. You just have to find the right magic combination for your son. When you add back in peanuts, if he reacts, don’t forget that other legumes could be triggering eczema as well….beans, peas, for example. If the diet doesn’t work for you – talk to your practitioners about the idea of candida yeast overgrowth and possibly the GAPS diet. Also, what have you done to eliminate environmental triggers? Dust, mold, etc? Do you have pets, carpets, drapes, blinds? Do yo have a good air purifier and HEPA vacuum? Fingers crossed for you. Hang in there! Jennifer
How long should it take to kick in? We just started the elimination diet for my son who is 13 months. He has the worst excema i have ever seen, open soars, blood, itchy as can be… the whole nine yards. We started it 1 week ago and although it seems to be calming on parts of his body, it seems worse on his face and he seems to be so much itchier. He is on a soy, egg, dairy, nut, glutton, wheat free diet. Please let me know your thoughts, this has been so hard.
Neisha
Hi Neisha – For us it only took a couple of days to see results once we eliminated the right combination of foods and removed his other triggers – laundry detergent (switched to soap nuts) and cut out acidic foods like tomatoes and oranges, etc. Are you working with a nutritionist or allergist that could help you through this? I’d give it two weeks (although one month is better) and then start to add the foods back in. It’s possible some of those foods are triggers, some are not, and there are some you have yet to eliminate. You chose the correct foods to eliminate to start, but if nuts are an allergy, then it’s possible other legumes are too – like beans and peas for example. Please don’t get discouraged – you are doing the best thing for your child and you WILL figure it all out. And I’m sure you’ve done this, but have you verfied the food you are serving is free of all traces or possible contamination of the foods you’re eliminating? I found that to be the hardest part. Also, have you considered supplementing with fish oil (with certified low mercury levels) and probiotics (vegan and soy free)? His flare ups right now could be because he’s pushing out the toxins from his body OR it could be because he’s eating more of something he’s allergic to as a replacement for something you’ve eliminated. For example, you removed all gluten, so maybe he’s eating more rice or oats (make sure they are gluten free). Hugs! You’ll get through this.
Neisha,
Try Natralia cream for open sores, it dries them but then you need to put a good moisturizer on baby’s skin. It’s not the perfect solution, but at least you won’t have open sores.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/natralia-eczema-%26-psoriasis-cream/ID=prod6150057-product
Thanks Neisha – those homeopathic ingredients in that cream sound really interesting. Thanks for sharing. Jennifer
My daughter is 12 (almost 13) and has had eczema all her life. Every doctor had a different opinion. Some said she was outgrowing her allergies, etc. but my “mom instinct” told me different. I felt like something was still wrong with this child. My answer came when I met another mom with a little girl that had eczema 10x worse than my child. At first I thought she was really crazy…telling me it was gut issue…blah, blah. But then she discovered LDA (low dose antigen) and I started to listen. We went to a DO allergist that found my daughter allergic to 14 foods, maybe more. And she has been on elimination/rotation diets and candida, too, since August 2012 and what a tremendous eye opener it has been! After the 30 day elimination diet…she was like a NEW child! Her skin cleared and her eyes and mind really opened it. She was pleasant, cooperative. And like others have said…once you started ADDING foods back in…you really noticed the difference! Eggs and beef make her itchy almost instantly. Other foods make her uncooperative and crabby as can be. It is really amazing. We are now doing the LDA treatment for her because we felt that it would be impossible for a young person to avoid 14 foods and many of them big ones.
That’s wonderful! I’m so happy to hear you’ve found the answer for your daughter! Did you see Breanna’s guest post about LDA and how it’s helped their family? http://itchylittleworld.com/2012/09/27/allergy-and-eczema-improvements-with-low-dose-allergy-treatment-lda-guest-post/
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Great post, lots of info here! I’ve considered doing an elimination diet, but not for any specific reactions – just to see if it would HELP. We deal with high functioning autism and some of its cousins, so there’s just too broad of a scope here to pick something to test for – at least, in my mind. Looks like you found some major ones – going GF is a big deal change! Kudos to you!
If you’re considering doing an elimination diet for general health, take a look at this one by Whole Life Nutrition. It’s the my husband and I did and it really helped us see little food intolerances we had that altered our bodies an health in various ways.
If the thought of a whole elimination diet is too overwhelming to consider for your child with autism, then maybe just try going completely gluten free for a while. There is an excellent book by Dr. Kenneth Bock about all the growing childhood epidemics. You probably would find it interesting. Here is some info on the book, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies.”
I had to go on an elimination diet when I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome many years ago. It seems like my food tolerances have chaanged over the year. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment Tanya – did you figure out your new intolerances? What was causing your fatigue?
Wow love this article and I’m going to be forwarding to my close friend who has a daughter that suffers from eczema. She is in her teens now but I’m sure this would help. What a great job doing this and the commitment it takes. Thanks for all the other websites and information you provided.
Hi Pam – Thank you so much for the kind words. I’ve been through so many hard times with eczema, so now that we’re through the worst part, I just want to help others see some eczema relief as well. I hope your friend is able to find some answers for her daughter. Thank you for stopping by.
Yup, elimination diets are GREAT.
After I lost over 25 pounds through Weight Watchers and got lifetime membership, I still felt horrible. I’d already been reading on how a gluten free diet might help w/different things like exzema and autism. But I had NO IDEA that it could affect SO MUCH. After taking gluten out of our diet, my oldest and youngest and I see TONS of improvement. Even in moods and memory! But I still think that there might be more… Looking at maybe soy. Or at least conventionally grown soy….
Hi – Yes, soy can be really hard on the body as can dairy, not sure if you consume a lot of dairy or not. For reasons you stated, my husband and I did another elimination diet. This one – http://itchylittleworld.com/2012/05/28/elimination-detox-diet-getting-started/. It really helped me figure out that certain foods make me itchy, sugar gives me headaches, gluten makes me sleepy, and soy/mushrooms/yeast/anything moldy like cheese/fermented foods make me very bloated and I cannot digest them well. To say the least, the diet was a real eye opener.
Congrats on your amazing weight loss! I encourage you to heal your body by determining what foods are aggravating your digestion. Think about how much better you can feel. Good luck! Thanks for stopping by.
Have you tried an elimination diet? Did you see results?
I have never tried an elimination diet. I have thought of it because I have itchy skin, mostly at night. I believe it’s caused by stress. Reading your post is having me thinking again about an elimination diet. I haven’t proven it’s stress, but I could prove it is (or is not) food related if I did do an elimination diet.
HI Cheryl – you sound like me. I did an elimination diet as well, a different one, because I get itchy too. Through the diet I found out it’s from eating certain foods for more than one day in a row. I guess it builds up in my system and wreaks havoc on my body. The guilty foods for me were coconut and almonds. I LOVE both these foods, so I now just make sure to not eat them every single day, but try to skip a day between eating them. Maybe for you it’s stress or maybe it’s some different foods. Either way, an elimination diet would help you figure it out finally. Here is the diet I did – it wasn’t too bad and the book made it super easy to follow. http://itchylittleworld.com/2012/05/28/elimination-detox-diet-getting-started/
Thanks so much for your comment and for stopping by.
We don’t suffer from eczema, but I had no idea it could be caused by foods like that! I do want to start eliminating things from our diets though…get less processed and more natural/whole foods!
Yes, that’s a great way to think. The more processed the more room for unnecessary additives, preservatives, dyes, and things like GMOs. Thanks so much for stopping by!
My three year old has severe eczema and is allergic to eggs, nuts, soy, and dairy. It is really hard to find foods that fit with her diet. So, I will be checking out some of the books mentioned here and adding you to my Google Reader. I am so glad that I came across your blog, really made me feel like I was not alone in this battle of … itchy skin.
Hi Sheree – I’m so happy you stopped by! Many thanks to Blogelina for connecting us
I hope some of the books are helpful for you. Please let me know if I can ever help in any way. Thanks for your comment!
I never knew eczema can be caused by food allergies. Thankfully the kids don’t have eczema but this is good to know. Food changes are hard but once you get into routine it does get easier.(We’ve just switched over to using as much Organic as possible)
Oh yes, the organic switch. We did that too, in order to help my son’s eczema – it’s funny because I wrote a post about that very topic. http://itchylittleworld.com/2012/04/04/how-eczema-led-our-family-down-a-more-natural-organic-path/ Going organic is expensive, but very helpful in avoiding many harmful pesticides. Did you see that the AAP has finally acknowledged that it’s not healthy for children to be exposed to pesticides? I think that acknowledgement is way over due. Don’t you?
We pretty much avoid Red #40, though it sneeks in occasionally. You have some great information in your post for people considering an elimination diet. Done properly it is “the gold standard.” Thanks!
Yes, definitely the gold standard – I just wish more physicians were eager to suggest it to parents and patients. I feel that the days of the food challenge are so far behind us. Red #40 is a great food item to avoid – lots of behavior modification is associated with it, as I’m sure you’re aware. Thanks for your comment!
Elimination always sounds overwhelming so I’m glad you broke it down to something manageable. If we ever need to do an elimination, I am confident now that we could do it with a little planning and knowledge.
Hi Angi – I’m glad I could help! Thank you for stopping by!
This is so interesting. My husband suffers from eczema, I wonder if he would benefit from an elimination diet. It seems like we’re always chasing our tails on this one!
Hi Emily – Thanks for your comment! Yes, it’s quite possible food could be triggering his eczema. Would he be willing to give up gluten, dairy, soy, and a few other foods to see if it makes a difference in his skin?
Jennifer, this is so informative! While no one in my immediate family has eczema, my brother-in-law, niece and nephew all have it. I am going to pass this article to my sister.
Hi Kelli – Thanks so much! I’m glad you found it interesting. I hope it can help provide some relief to your brother-in-law and his family!
I agree that elimination diets are not impossible. I have removed dairy, soy, corn, sugar, gluten, eggs and peanuts from my diet. I will testing each food to see which I have the reactions with. It is amazing how much better I feel with the foods removed. I don’t think that most people realize that they may have minor intolerances to many foods.
Definitely not impossible, but certainly a challenge – if they weren’t, I have a feeling most the population would try them to uncover the root of various illnesses and ailments – don’t you agree? So happy the diet helped you!
I love that you were brave enough to do elimination. I actually have an friend that admitted her son’s eczema was due to a food allergy but there was “no way she was spending all that time looking for the source” and on steriods he went.
My daughter started having issues when she was four, lots of stomach pains. When she lost two pounds (went from 22 pounds to 20-already VERY little) in a matter of a few months, I had to do something. We went off dairy and gluten, and found very quickly it was gluten. I actually did this when she was two when my momma instinct kicked in that something wasn’t right-it’s amazing how many people will make you feel it’s all in your head, or that you are just doing one of those health kicks. We don’t do much dairy, but she is SO much better without any gluten.
Thank you – I didn’t feel brave at the time – I felt overwhelmed
But after having completed the diet and having found my son’s eczema triggers – I feel elated and so grateful. Good for you for working out your daughter’s triggers. It’s certainly not the easy path, but it’s so worth it!
This was an interesting article. I am thankful that, while my oldest had a few spots of eczema here and there, it was not bad at all and easily soothed (but not cured) with creams. We never had to do any kind of medications or anything for it, and he grew out of it by the time he was 2 years old. Now my youngest is having issues digesting milk fats (not the same as lactose intolerance), and I am wondering if two of my older children have had the same issue. I am starting him on coconut milk to see if he does better on it. I was buying him non-homogenized whole milk, and he was doing a lot better – until the ONLY store that sold it stopped carrying it. I’m hoping he’ll be able to get the fats he needs from the coconut milk – it’s sad to see him slowly losing weight because he can’t absorb it from the cow’s milk. If he gains weight on the coconut milk, I think I will just switch the whole family over to it for drinking. Aside from the two littlest ones, we mainly use it for cereal, anyhow.
By milk fats, you don’t mean casein, right? I think that’s a protein. Really interesting as I’m unfamiliar with the intolerance to milk fats. Have you tried goat and sheep’s milk to see if he reacts the same? What about cheese vs. milk vs. yogurt? All the same reactions? Fingers crossed for you on coconut milk – it’s really yummy stuff!
It is definitely the fats. He cannot digest them properly, and it causes him extreme constipation and weight loss. I could tell he was losing body fat – his skin was starting to get baggy on the insides of his thighs. The doctor only put him on a laxative. I had a hard time with that, because that would only help with his constipation, and not the issue of fat absorption. I did a little digging, and found that people who have the problem can usually absorb the fat in non-homogenized milk, because the fat is not bound to the protein – that is what causes the problem, the two being bound together. When I switched him to the non-homogenized whole milk, he was doing a lot better. No constipation issues, and he filled out again. When I had to go down to 2% milk, he started getting scrawny again. I’m trying him with this coconut milk, with the hopes that he’ll get what he needs from it, but I’m also going to ask about raw milk at the local Amish store. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find someone to sell me some if the coconut milk doesn’t work out.
Have you thought about raw milk? Not sure how you feel about it – but I’m sure you can find a local farm that could supply you with some. Check out Westin A. Price foundation for more information. I tried it once, because we wanted to see if my dairy allergic child could tolerate it – he couldn’t, but it was the BEST tasting milk I’ve ever had.
Jen,
I don’t know where you live, but Organic Valley has non-homogenized organic milk and you can find it at Whole Foods and probably other stores.
The only thing I have tried eliminating from my daughter’s diet is Red Dye #40. I had mixed results but it did seem like it helped some. My biggest challenge was keeping others from feeding her something with the dye in it, as there are millions of products that contain it. Currently striving for less artificial dyes overall, less processed food, more whole foods.
That’s a great approach as many UK studies show the negative affects of dyes on children. It’s pretty scary stuff!
Oh the joy of elimination diets. We had to go through this for my oldest’s ADHD and youngest’s reflux while I was nursing him. It was such a pain but once we figured it all out the results where great.
Hi – That’s great you figured it out! Curious – what were each of their triggers? Thanks for stopping by!
Angel reacts to artificial dyes and Gabriel to dairy. Oh the fun of eating in our home after you add everyone’s allergies
Ha! Tell me about it – eating out is pretty much nonexistent these days and I spend hours each day in the kitchen cooking for scratch. Thank goodness I like to cook!
Hi, this is topical steriod addiction… Please please go to this site http://www.itsan.org. You are suffering from ‘Red Skin Syndrome’ which is caused by overuse of topical steriod creams and therefore your skin has become addicted. This can be cured by a total cessation of steriod creams however the steriod withdrawal process is HELL. Please go to this site and join the forums where you will get insight information and support from others who are withdrawing.
Hi Scott – Thanks for the comment. I know all about topical steroid addiction and have featured it in quite a few posts on this blog. My son is no longer on steroids and is doing great now. Jennifer
Thanks for this post and the list of bloggers! I have eczema and am currently on Day 10 of an elimination diet myself so this post gave me some encouragement. I gave up the Big Eight of allergens plus potatoes, tomatoes, carrot, celery, apple, banana, coffee, and chocolate and have made a few posts about my diet on my blog. I am starting to get discouraged as I haven’t really seen improvement and I am starting to wonder if maybe I am ‘intolerant’ to something else or if I made a mistake and accidentally ate a “forbidden” food that was hidden under another name, even though I have been diligent about reading labels and not eating out and making my own foods. How long did it take for your son to see improvement, and how long overall did the diet process last?
Hi there – Good for you! And how exciting that you may start to see some changes in your body soon! We did the full diet minus the gluten and didn’t see any changes. When we added gluten to the diet, we say changes within a few days. Now, it can take much longer from what I’ve read – best to give it at least one month or two. Some people with major issues with gluten can take up to one year to fully flush their bodies of the invading food, if you can believe that!! Don’t get discouraged though, hang in there for a month. If you don’t see any changes at all, then try to add the foods back in one at a time and note any changes. I’m sure you’ll see something that will surprise you. As I said, we didn’t notice any changes int he eczema until all the foods were removed that were triggering the eczema, but man, did we see eczema flared ups when EACH one was added back in. You may not catch everything this first round, but surely you’ll catch a couple. – Jennifer
This is a great article! I have so many friends that want to take the leap, but as I am sure you,can relate….taking that first step canbe very difficult and overwhelming. You have to embrace it 100%….half measures in most instances will simply not tell you what you need to know. I have a good friend who put it succinctly: is taking the leap really anymore difficult than your current existence of watching your child in constant discomfort, constantly beating your head against the wall wondering? Knowledge is power, and even though intimidating….discovering a new way to eat will often yield a healthier diet too, thanks for sharing! Ps, it was through elimination that we discovered my kids triggers….all the specialists and tests were inconclusive and grey….but elimination and challenge were crystal clear!
Thank you Tessa! Elimination diets are hard, but not impossible, as you understand first hand. My hope with this post, and my guest post for ScratchMeNots, is that I can remove some of the fear around starting an elimination diet. As you know, they are so critical in determining not only true food allergies, but also the harder to identify food sensitivities or intolerances. I do love your blog and recipes, so I hope anyone dealing with food avoidance of any kind can benefit from your site, as my family has. – Jennifer