Yesterday I wrote about allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. There is often confusion, dare I say frustration and misunderstanding when it comes to this world. Yes, those living with food allergies (and intolerances) often feel like they are in their own world that doesn’t make sense to those on outside.
Because we live in that world I am always on the lookout for information and products that make living with food allergies easier. When I find things I like I try to tell you about it. I spend way too much time reading books, researching lunch boxes and medical ID bracelets along with lots of other items. If you find good stuff feel free to email me about it.
One of my recent discoveries is The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies
This Book Is Not For
This book is not for someone who has experienced anaphylaxis or children! It does not cure food allergies but it can help you understand which foods may be making you sick. The author strongly encourages people to seek medical guidance and use this to supplement information from their doctor.
Allergies and Intolerances
I learned a lot about food allergies from this book. It goes into a lot of detail on the common food allergies (think big 8 plus nickel, corn, banana/latex) and food intolerances that I wasn’t really familiar with like sulfites, benzoates, tartrazine, monosodium glutamate, lactose, and others. Each item discussed is written as a stand-alone section (within a chapter) explaining the allergen and how and where you would come into contact with it, what typical reactions could look like, how to diagnose an allergy or intolerance, and how to get the nutrients you could be missing after eliminating the offending food.
The Elimination Diet
The book walks you through how to prepare for an elimination diet and helps you determine what type of elimination diet is right for you. It’s important not to rush the process. As you eliminate foods then later add them back in you should be able to get a clear picture of which foods are causing problems.
For example, I noticed when I would eat Italian food I would feel bad. Headaches, achy joints, and other random symptoms. I assumed I had a problem with wheat, after all my son had a known wheat allergy. I later learned that I have an intolerance to basil (among other things). Since I would eat wheat pasta and basil together I blamed the wheat without thinking about the basil. By eliminating wheat and still experiencing the same symptoms I can deduce that wheat wasn’t the problem.
Meal Plans and Recipes
This book stresses the importance of meal planning. You know I completely agree the Meal Planning is important and everyone can benefit from it.
They try to make it easy for you by including meal plans (and recipes) you can follow but they include a lot of meat and would not work for us. Since I’m a Meal Planning Extraordinaire (self-proclaimed) I can create a Meal Plan that would work for me but you may need a little help if you are a meal planning novice.
Helpful Tips and Worksheets
There is also a lot of helpful information to help you avoid foods that make you sick. For example, if you need to avoid corn this book has two pages of foods that may contain corn including cough drops, luncheon meats, spaghetti sauce, etc.
The Elimination Diet Workbook takes a lot of the guess-work out of navigating an elimination diet to discover food allergies. I think it is a great first step for those who have experience chronic systems with no known cause.
Win a Copy
You can win a free copy of The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies
Every time I think I’ve nailed our food sensitives down more symptoms pop up. Once the kids are back in school I’ll be MUCH more diligent with the kids’ diets. Playing with grain-free and more raw these days 🙂
I completely understand Jacqueline! I have the same issues. We are actually seeing an allergist tomorrow hoping to resolve my sons issues. We are very careful with his diet so I think there must be something new.
Earlier this year I developed a lot of intolerances seemingly out of the blue. I’m in the testing phase trying to determine if tomato sauce is giving me headaches or chili powder. Two of my favorite things. 🙁
I would love to have this book. I know we have some sensitivities and I am sure this book would be helpful.
Goodluck in the giveaway Kari! I learned a lot from this book!
I would love to read this book. I think there are a couple of people in family that have food sensitivities .
It’s really hard when everyone has different sensitivities. My husband and son have similar ones but mine are basically their safe foods.
I hope you are able to figure them out. I felt so much better once I knew what to avoid. I still have a few that I’m trying to figure out.
I know for sure I have a diary sensitivity. I am wondering about gluten.
Hi Amanda,
I thought I had a gluten sensitivity for a while but thankfully it was other foods. I can easily live without dairy. I was never a huge fan and it helps me make healthier choices since I know it’s not an option for me.
Good luck on the giveaway! If you don’t win be sure to grab a copy on Amazon! The kindle version is only $9.99 right now and the print copy is just a few dollars more.
I think I might have a variety of sensitivities, and this book would really help!
Good luck in the giveaway!
I would love to learn more about how I can make my body feel better! I often wonder if my migraines are linked, at least in part, to food. Thanks for the chance to win. 🙂
I had started getting headaches pretty much everyday before figuring out food was the culprit. I still get them occasionally but it’s usually related to poor food choices.
I hope you find some relief!
Yes I already know some of them but I’d like a more systematic way to find out.
I think one of the great things about this book is you take a very thorough inventory of systems that helps determine what foods are causing problems. Although you do have to commit for a few weeks if it brings relief it is worth it.
Good luck!
I would Love to have a copy of this book. I know I have mild allergies and sensitivities to foods. I am not quite sure which ones yet. This book would be helpful in figuring them out. 🙂
Hi Jody, For us, determining our food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities has been instrumental to our well-being. It’s amazing the effects food can have on our body, good and bad. Good luck!
I am just figuring out some of my problems. After I had my second child, I could no longer eat bananas. It took me 2 years to realize it was the bananas causing me to severly cramp for 5 hours after consumption. My doc diagnosed me with IBS, because no one could figure out why I was so bloated and in pain all the time. I just found out I am also allergic to peanuts!! How could one not know? I guess I would expect to get hives or itchy throat, but I get the abdominal swelling. I am thinking my daughter is also has food allergies so we are just starting to monitor her. My baby gets huge hives on his face and hands when he comes into contact with peanuts. We have an epipen for him. He also breaks out when we have added herbs to the spaghetti sauce. So I make plain sauce for him. It seems like everyone has food allergies these days. Why? I wonder if it’s because of all the pesticides, or the genetic modifications?
Hi Sandra,
Your story sounds similar to mine. Most of my food sensitivities seemed to pop up after having children. I’m glad you were able to figure out what was causing your discomfort.
Having a family with multiple food allergies makes it difficult to eat out or buy store-bought items like spaghetti sauce. The only real restaurant we feel comfortable eating at is Red Robin be we each have a “safe” meal there. I feel like they take food allergies seriously.
Good luck in the giveaway!
Good luck everyone!
I suspect I have sensitivity to dairy and starches. My immunity used to be more compromised when I used to eat dairy. I also am more fatigue and bloated after eating starches. I have slowly eliminate those items and feel much better.
I would LOVE to win this to help my husband. We have been plant-based for 3 years, but he started having some severe abdominal pain after eating at the start of this year. He has been to the doctor, had some exams, but nothing has turned up. We think it is allergies or food sensitivities, but we have been back and forth with so many possibilities…it starts to feel a little crazy. For now, we can calm his pain with teas, and that has helped to some degree. We really need to get to the source of the problem, though. Thanks for offering this giveaway!!
Hi Rebecca,
Wow, it sounds like your husband does need this book. At the beginning of the year I noticed symptoms coming on slowly, after a few months I was uncomfortable (and sometimes quite miserable). After I discovered what I needed to avoid I felt much better. I hope your husband will too.
I think this book would be good for me. I’ve been getting a lot of inflammation flareups and I think this might help me get an idea of if I’m allergic to a particular food or not.
Good luck in the giveaway Tiffany! Inflammation is so difficult to figure out sometimes. I hope you are able to pinpoint what is causing yours.
I know I have food sensitivities but they seem to change every year. Last year I couldn’t eat any stone fruit, e.g., plums, apricots, pluots but this year I can. But this year I can’t eat any carrots except purple ones! Go figure…
I definitely am suspecting sensitivities to some foods that may be causing bloating, etc.
I know I am sensitive to lactose and follow a plant-based diet so I don’t consume it at all. I’m interested in isolating other sensitivities that caused bloated feelings occasionally.
I think I have sensitivities due to events in the past.
I am sure I have some type of food allergy but haven’t been able to figure out what it is. It would be wonderful to narrow it down and figure out what is making me sick.