I am currently going thru a 14 day detox -no, not those crazy Hollyweird types where you flush your system with 18 days of grapefruit juice or something equally as horrible, LOL! - but this is a simple way to cut things out of your diet and then slowly add them back in one at a time to see which, if any, cause you pain, illness, or weight gain.
I'm trying to figure out if there's a certain food(s) that I have an intolerance for... from what I understand, the four biggest are gluten, dairy, peanuts, and red meat. But different people have different problems.
I'm just in the beginning of this detox, so gluten is the first thing I'm cutting to see if it's the culprit. But during the detox, I have to avoid caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and certain foods (i.e. citrus fruit, but not other fruits).
Has anyone else done this sort of detox? How long did it take you to figure out what food(s) troubled you?
I didn't intend it as a "detox" or even as an elimination diet, but I discovered that I felt so much better on a low-carb diet, and saw such a dramatic improvement in several health issues that I decided to try to discover what about the diet was making the health improvements.
I'd go weeks without wheat, then I'd try adding it back. then I'd go week without wheat and try different forms of wheat...
I repeated the experiment a lot because I know how easy it is to believe there are connections when coincidence is to blame.
I've discovered that I can have small amounts of wheat or a serving of pasta once in a while and not have symptoms, but if I eat baked products such as bread or cake, even one small serving is enough to see skin inflammation, rashes, and/or breakouts by morning.
It's possible that wheat isn't the culprit, but something else in the baked goods is (but I do fine with eggs, and I thought maybe yeast, but cake doesn't have yeast).
Maybe baked goods tend to be made from a different form of wheat than pasta? Not really sure.
Spelt doesn't seem to bother me and my celiac (gluten sensitivity) test came back negative.
When I "passed" the gluten sensitivity test four months ago, I started adding back in more wheat to see if maybe I was wrong - but hubby can still tell if I've eaten too much wheat by looking at my face. If it's red and flaky, I've inevitably had a small amount of a baked good or a large amount of pasta. A large amount of bread and I can get "face rot" (hubby's name for an impetigo type rash that I can get if I eat too much wheat or eat very high carb for a stretch).
Because coincidence and placebo affect are possible, I'd recommend a symptom log in addition to a food log.
On amazon.com if you search on HEALTHMINDER Personal Wellness Journal (a.k.a MemoryMinder Personal Health Journal) Health Diary and Symptoms Log by F. E. Wilkins
You can even look inside the book (under the picture of the book) and see if it's something you'd be interested in buying, or it can inspire you to create your own, based on what you want to keep track of.
To convince myself I had to repeat the experiments several times (over several weeks each). I have to admit though that I was a slow learner, because I was really hoping that there was no connection. I LOVE bread, and I still sometimes eat it (not smart considering it's effects, but old habits are really hard to break, especially when you grew up thinking of a food as "healthy" and as the "staff of life."
Giving up processed white bread and buns (like Butternut and Wonder bread) hasn't really been a sacrifice, but giving up crusty, home-baked whole grain breads, has been tough. I can't bear to give away my bread machine, but I've at least moved it into the pantry so it isn't a constant temptation.
I found out this way that I have a slight allergy to sulphites. In my case it was somewhat dramatic. After weeks of eating fruits and veggies and no preserved sauces or packaged stuff, I had a bowl of that instant oatmeal when I was in a hurry and got a rash on my hand. I'd had the rash before and wondered where it came from...it made no sense. I looked at the ingredients and the only odd thing was the sulphites. Since then it has been very consistent with sulphite content in stuff=rash. But I imagine if you have several intolerances, it would be much more difficult.
to Kap:
you may have "passed" the gluten sensitivity test, but from what you've written, it certainly sounds to me like you have a gluten sensitivity! ~thanks for your response!
to Tea2: wow, that's amazing about the rash from sulphites. (I'll have to Google "sulphites" now )
I haven't done this but a friend of mine has. She had bad asthma, and had to take several medications (including a daily inhaler and a rescue inhaler). Unfortunately, the medication caused her to break out in hives and made her lips swell up for a "duck bill" effect.
She went to a series of traditional doctors, none of whom could help her. On the advice of a flakey, new-agey kind of medical practitioner, she eliminated wheat, sugar, dairy, oranges and potatoes. She was able to go completely off her daily meds and uses her rescue inhaler only occasionally.
Normally I'm a big fan of traditional, western-style medicine, as I have a lot of faith in science and I'm married to an MD. But this was definitely a case of how medical schools in the US are not teaching enough about food and nutrition (IMHO).
Also, I know when I was breastfeeding, the lactation ladies said you had to be off dairy for three weeks before it was out of your system. I don't know if that's true or not. Most of the lactation consultants I knew were pretty anti-dairy.
All that to say, best of luck and I hope you find something you can work with!
WHen I did the elimination/detox, I cut out EVERYTHING.
I ate one meat that is not my usual (in my case lamb) brown rice and sea salt and LOTs of water. Nothing else for 48 hours. Not even vitamins. THen added foods back. It was surprising what I didn't tolerate and what allergies I turned out to have. (allergies to rye, citrus, and my vitamin e supplements; intolerant of other grains, mild lactose intolerance, some difficulty with legumes)
I now also do low carb and do quite well. I do include dairy, but always cheese and yoghurt, seldom plain milk, its harder on me. I can use lactose free products, and take soy and beans with a digestive enzyme to reduce gas.
It is more radical, but in a week you will do get malnutrition and are more likely to find the real culprits. BTW, I have friends who turned out not to tolerate their supplements, which is why I recommend taking them out.
Wow - thanks all for your responses! - it amazes how sensitive the human body can be - just due to one specific food!
A friend of mine found out she has a total gluten sensitivity by doing this kind of "detox" - and it has really made all the difference in the world to her diet; not just weight, but mostly how she feels & other "symptoms".
I just find it all so .... so.... interesting! ...and hopefully I can discern what's not "treating me right".
I think there's some decent evidence that most humans have some problems with at least some grains. It's possible that gluten may not be great for anyone.
Even if it were proven true, I think it would be a hard sell, because bread is so central to our culture (try going without and see what I mean). I still crave toast and bread almost constantly. And I've not found a gluten-free bread that tasted or functioned well for a sandwhich.
The gluten-free tortillas are ok - until you open the package. Whether you put them on the counter or in the fridge, or freezer the first two tortillas are useable, and the rest are brittle and impossible to roll.
Likewise the breads mold or crumble.
And they're all still made of grains that can still cause some of the digestive problems associated with grains. As I understand it, breads have "anti-nutrient" substances that can work against other nutrtients by pulling some of those nutrients out of the body.
The rest of your diet probably can compensate, but what if it doesn't? And who knows what you need to eat to compensate?
To read some of the nutrition texts, it appears that some of this information is "common knowledge" among experts in nutrition sciences, but it isn't getting passed along to non-experts - including not only the average person, but doctors and other health professionals.
How can we benefit from knowledge if it doesn't get passed along.
If I can get my health issues under control and get of disability, I'm seriously thinking of going back to college to get my doctorate in a nutrition field - maybe nutritional therapy.
Food Intolerances?
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...and hopefully I can discern what's not "treating me right". 
