Elimination diets are a broad range of diets meant to uncover food allergies or sensitivities. There are a lot of common food allergens and inflammatories that people react to in foods.
People go on elimination diets to uncover food sensitivities. They may think that something is affecting their mood, hormones, weight, and many other things, but not know exactly what. The elimination diet is a way to uncover which foods are responsible.
Unless you are REALLY comfortable with self-experimentation AND you have noticed a lot of symptoms that do NOT include pre-existing food allergies (see list below), then please talk to your doctor BEFORE going on an elimination diet.
Nothing in this episode is medical advice. This is all based on my experience with elimination diets, specifically the traditional one.
Common symptoms that indicate food sensitivites:
- Bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Insomnia or trouble sleeping
- Lethargy or fatigue
- Excessive or unexpected acne, especially cystic acne
- Rashes
- Joint pain
- Stomach pain/cramps
- Headaches and migraines
Again, please talk to your doctor if you’re worried about your blood sugar control while figuring out your sensitivities.
Wins & Fails
Jessie’s Win: She started tracking how fast she goes through her supplies so she has an accurate idea of what she needs to take with her to college next year. She has divorced parents, which means both houses have diabetes supplies, and she isn’t sure how fast she actually goes through them.
Colleen’s Fail: I didn’t bolus enough ahead of time for my chocolate peanut butter Keto Chow earlier this week, and so my blood sugar rose to about 175 and stayed there for several hours before finally coming down to do a mini-roller coaster between 75 and 120 mg/dL as I kept treating it with smarties.
Tip of the Week
Start a diabetes journal! Document your supply usage (or use our handy tracker which you can download at the bottom of this page), track your moods, and make it colorful and fun if that’s your jam.
I used a journal (and still do) to track what I’m eating, my weight, total daily dose, and any notes about the effects foods are having on my body during my elimination diet.
Diabetes Spotlight
The spotlight this week is on Dr. Ken Berry, a family physician in Tennessee who has a YouTube channel talking about keto, low-carb, and how both are beneficial to people with diabetes. Dr. Berry eats the carnivore diet, which is basically meat-only. He recently interviewed a type 1 diabetic who eats carnivore and only uses 9 units of insulin a day.
Now It's Your Turn...
Have you ever tried an elimination diet, with or without doctor supervision? What have you found out about your body from doing one? Did you find that your blood sugars were better or worse for certain foods?
Mentioned in This Episode
- Support the blog & podcast by buying us a coffee through Ko-fi!
- Healthline: How to Do an Elimination Diet and Why
- Dr. Ken Berry’s YouTube Channel
- Lies My Doctor Told Me, by Ken Berry (Affiliate Link)
- What KETO Did to My Type 1 Diabetes, Interview w/ Andrew Berger
- Ep. 52: Developing a Healthy Food Mindset, with Dr. Glenn Livingston
- Ep. 51: Diabulimia
- Ep. 37: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load
- Ep. 9: What to Eat as a Type 1 Diabetic
Community & Social
- Join us in the Half-Dead Pancreas Club, our private Discord community for people with T1D.
- Follow us on Instagram @thisistype1pod, @jj_crystalkat, & @type1ravenclaw
- Follow us on Facebook
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Credits
Our music is by Joseph McDade. Check out his website here!
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