When most people think of allergic reactions, they think of anaphylactic reactions. These are the severe reactions that often send people to the emergency room.

However, there is another way that food can affect your immune system; food sensitivity. With food sensitivity, a persons immune system can be triggered in a much more mild way than an anaphylactic reaction. Symptoms can include skin issues (redness, acne, itchiness), nausea/bloating, diarrhea, postnasal drip chronic swelling, arthritis, and more.

Nearly everyone has had at least some of these symptoms. What most people don’t consider is that they may be caused by a food you regularly eat. The solution: allergy elimination diet.

Step 1: Remove milk, soy, eggs, grains, tree nuts, and nightshades from your diet for 1 month.

By removing these foods from your diet for 1 month you give your immune system a chance to relax. If you were having an allergic response to one or more of these foods, after eliminating it from your diet you should feel noticeably better.

This could mean less fatigue, less inflammation, happier joints, or less bloating. Each person is unique. It is advised to eliminate all foods at once as you may be allergic to more than one of these foods which will only be obvious if you take a break from them all.

Step 2: Reintroduce each food one at a time.

You can start with any of the foods you have eliminated. Perhaps a good place to start is with whichever food you have missed the most. Notice any symptoms you may feel. A convenient way to keep track is to use our symptom tracker

	Milk	Soy	Eggs	Grains	Tree nuts	Night Shades
Bloating
Nausea
Congestion
Runny Nose
Dry Throat
Dry Eyes
Itchy Ears
Headache

As you reintroduce the foods, note the intensity of your reaction in the boxes in the symptom tracker. If you do have a reaction to a food you have reintroduced, stop eating it. You have identified one of your food allergies. The reaction should go away in a few days.

Once you feel back to normal, introduce another food for a week and see how you feel. Continue with this process until you have reintroduced all the foods.

While the process can be long, it can also be very rewarding. Be patient and kind and hopefully in a few months you will be feeling great. If you don’t have a great response to the allergy elimination diet, don’t get frustrated. Consider a simple anti-inflamatory diet­ if you are suffering from chronic low grade inflammation or arthritis.

Diet is an important part of our health and deserves are time and attention to make sure we are getting the nutrients are body wants and needs.