Being daring on your diet

June 1, 2022 by Joan Breakey Blog

You should be careful on your low chemical diet. But you can think about foods that would make your diet more pleasant and not produce a bad reaction. As one lady said “Diet is forever!” You are always assessing your diet. Following are ideas collected from food sensitive families who have reported their tolerance of tested foods in my clinical research over many years. Learn how often you can have different foods. many people can tolerate much more than they expect. Think testing foods you like rather than excluding a whole chemical group and you will be rewarded.
**Carob** – 25% of my research group reacted to carob and to vanilla, so decrease to use more other foods
**Vanilla** – a delicious addition to plain products you used way back at your initial diet trial
**Plain meats** – use if smell is very fresh, believing your own nose not others with less sense of smell
**Ham** – just enough to flavour a tomato-free pizza. Buy from a shop with a high turnover
**Bacon** – a little makes such a difference to flavour in savoury mince. Avoid “strong” bacon or ham
**Carrot** – only if sweet; taste each time you buy
**Avocado** (firm) – many people manage these with no gut cramping or headache
**Pumpkin** – so nice in savoury mince. Stay with butternut, and test others separately
**Nashi pear** – has the crispness we miss in apple, but avoid the core if you detect a tart flavour
**Lady Finger banana** – you will note that they do not develop the strong smell that cavendish do
**Pawpaw** – red variety. Make sure you remove every bit of inner flesh around seeds
**Mango** – if wine buffs can fuss about good quality flavour, so can we when it comes to all fruit
**Persimmon** – The variety available is different now; share one with others so your test is small
**Pure maple syrup** – make sure it is genuine; a different flavour with your tolerated dairy or dairy-like products adds enjoyment
**Oils** – all almond flavour goes into almond paste; copha and suet are rarely a problem. No olive!
Don’t forget the Total Body Load idea. As an example, if you have headaches and are wondering if you should reduce some foods you have been eating look at other possible causes:-
**Perfumes** or any strong smell increase. It is much easier to decrease perfumes than make your diet stricter.
**Stress** above your usual load. I have seen tolerance greatly increase when a sick relative is better helped.
**Infections** – It is not just the antibiotics but the infection itself that increases symptoms.
**Allergen load** – some foods are much better tolerated in non-allergy-load seasons
**Other body needs** – check with your doctor or physio if the muscles and tendons in your neck are too tight. You might benefit more from some neck exercises.
**Hormone changes** – menstrual; even growth spurts in children can make managed symptoms come back
So don’t blame one food for a reaction. Test, but test carefully.
Remember “*There are no poisonous substances, only poisonous doses*”. Start low and increase some other month. Tolerance does vary with individuals and tolerance of one does not predict tolerance of others. Many factors affect it. Think foods not *suspect chemicals*. There is lots more detail in my book **Tolerating Troublesome Foods**. See http://www.foodintolerancepro.com/

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Joan Breakey is the author of foodintolerancepro.com. She is one of the few dietitians in the world who has a lifetime of specialisation in the area of Food Sensitivity. She is a Dietitian, Home Economist and Teacher. In 1975 she began her first work on Diet and Hyperactivity, investigating the effects of the Feingold diet on children’s behaviour. For more than 45 years Joan has been writing books and articles, publishing and presenting the results of her ongoing research in this area.