Maggie Moon - The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies

Text Copyright 2014 Maggie Moon. Design and Concept Copyright 2014 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the U.S. by:

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN13: 978-1-61243-329-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013957325

Acquisitions editor: Katherine Furman

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Kathy Kaiser

Proofreader: Lauren Harrison

Index: Sayre Van Young

Front cover design: Double R Design

Cover art: wine lenetstan/shutterstock.com; walnuts Donatella Tandelli/shutterstock.com; fish Sergiy Zavgorodny/shutterstock.com; strawberries DenisNata/shutterstock.com; eggs apiguide/shutterstock.com; lobster Edward Westmacott/shutterstock.com; bread v.s.anandhakrishna/shutterstock.com; sesame seeds Olaf Speier/shutterstock.com; Swiss cheese Africa Studio/shutterstock.com; apples PhotoSGH/shutterstock.com; corn diane diederich/istock.com; steak Jacek Chabraszewski/shutterstock.com; soybeans Suzifoo/istock.com; watermelon Markus Mainka/shutterstock.com; peanuts Markus Mainka/shutterstock.com; tomatoes Robyn Mackenzie/shutterstock.com; kiwi LI CHAOSHU/shutterstock.com; salami al1962/shutterstock.com; pistachios Christian Jung/shutterstock.com; cherries Alberto Zornetta/shutterstock.com; oysters V. J. Matthew/shutterstock.com; spinach Dionisvera/shutterstock.com; figs kaband/shutterstock.com; blue cheese AlexussK/shutterstock.com; wheat illustrart/shutterstock.com

Design and layout: Jake Flaherty

Illustration page 21 La Gorda/shutterstock.com

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NOTE TO READERS: This book has been written and published strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be any form of medical treatment. You should always consult with your physician before altering or changing any aspect of your medical treatment. Do not stop or change any prescription medications without the guidance and advice of your physician. Any use of the information in this book is made on the readers good judgment and is the readers sole responsibility. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition and is not a substitute for a physician.

This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only.

For my mom and dad, Dr. and Mrs. Moon,
who nourished me and taught me how food can heal. For my siblings, Ahrie, Gurie, Suerie,
and Kahmyong, one of whom lives with a peanut allergy, and all of whom lived with me and
my food intolerance. Finally, for my husband Fred, one of the best eaters I know.

Contents

The major nutrition problems of our day can be solved with basic shifts in eating habits. Implementing these simple changes can be complex, but the guidance is simple: more vegetables, more fruit, more whole grains, a handful of nuts a day, seafood twice a week, lean proteins, and dont go crazy with booze or butter. But this is advice for the luckier ones, who have no more to deal with than, say, navigating the modern food system, which seems tailor-made to keep us overweight.

Imagine that in addition to the basic challenge of eating healthfully in the Western world, you had a particularly adversarial relationship with food. What if foodwhich is supposed to nurture your physical well-being, cement your cultural and social bonds, provide pleasure, and so much moreactually caused you distress and discomfort? What if it were the root of, or at least a contributing factor to, your fatigue, hives, rashes, stomachaches, migraine headaches, asthma, coughs, bloating, gas, or diarrhea? And what if you werent sure which foods were triggering your symptoms?

Although the percentage of people with food allergies (when the bodys immune system has an inappropriate reaction to a food) or food intolerances (most often a negative digestive reaction to a food) is dwarfed by the percentage of those without them, the number of human beings suffering from food sensitivities (encompassing both food allergies and food intolerances) is significant. In the United States, an estimated 5 percent of the population has food allergies (about 15 million), and 16 percent of Americans (nearly 60 million) self-report food intolerances (though blind tests suggest its closer to 1 to 2 percent). Because the relationship between foods and symptoms is incompletely understood and varies a great deal according to the individual, diagnosis can difficult. In conjunction with a thorough medical history, the gold standard for diagnosis is the subject of this book: the elimination diet.

If possible, I highly recommend that you work with a credible and supportive health care team to deal with your food sensitivities. They can provide the face-to-face guidance and individualized support you may need. Many registered dietitians have expertise in this area. But if for whatever reason you do not do this, I hope this book will help guide you through at-home versions of the elimination diet that can be done safely with minimal risk to the nutritional adequacy of your diet, and that can potentially have profound benefits for your quality of life.

My graduate training in nutrition on my way to becoming a registered dietitian means that I approach the topic of elimination diets with academic rigor and professional responsibility. I am also empathetic and want to help. Ive lived with a food intolerance for most of my life Although my lactose intolerance is now very manageable, I know how disruptive a food intolerance can be.

In addition, my graduate program at Columbia University demanded that we put concepts into practice. We tasted every liquid nutritional supplement we might ever have to prescribe in a hospital setting (not a five-star dining experience). We spent time on just about every basic therapeutic diet, popular diet, and even a food stamp dietall to get a taste of what our patients were going through. We juggled classes, work, family, and diets that were restrictive in one way or another. This means that the tips and tools that Ive created are practical, rooted in reality, and helpful.

The darker side of popularizing any specialized diet that cuts out foods is that it could promote disordered eating. It is in no way my intention or desire to do this. Quite the opposite. I come at this with a love of food and want to help you restore your diet to something you enjoy and that supports your vitality and good health.

Food is not just fuel. It is also delicious, it is fun, it can call forth creativity in its preparation, it represents caring, and it is healing. Thank goodness we are omnivores! We have many choices when it comes to nourishing the body. Lets discover the foods that disagree with you, put them aside, and discover a world of flavors that you can safely enjoy.

Wishing you good health,

Maggie Moon, MS, RD

The elimination diet is about helping you feel better by identifying what foods are causing your symptoms. Its a way back to enjoying food and getting the nourishment you need and deserve to support a healthful lifestyle. The elimination diet is gaining in popularity, though it has been known to the dietetics and medical communities for a long time as a way to figure out what food ails you. There is a lot of information out there, often conflicting or incomplete, on how you should go about this diet. This book is a guide to conducting an elimination diet that can be done safely at home, with minimal risk of depriving you of important nutrients in the long term.