What can you eat on the elimination diet? This is million dollar question. What is truly safe for those with FM is always a pondering question. The answer that many foods are out for the first bit and the diet is very basic because FM is so individual that you need to stick to the very basic most safe low/no-fructose foods.
One thing I want to stress is the necessity to take wheat and brown rice out of your diet. Wheat and brown rice, as well as onions and garlic, contains fructans (which I’ll get into in another post). I also recommend that you keep these out of your diet for at LEAST one month, the longer the better. For myself and many others they have found wheat to be a problem, but because it is a fructan it seems to sometimes cause a different reaction then fructose and so we are often fooled into thinking that it is okay. For myself, fructose causes gas and bloating as the most obvious symptoms. Fructans give me brain fog and make me extremely tired.
Another thing that would be wise to do is to eliminate as much dairy as possible and use lactose-free products if you are using dairy. Many (dare I say the majority) of people with FM also have Lactose Intolerance.
Below is an idea of the safe foods to eat. As you can see this is very limited and you will find yourself eating a lot of protein … remember the goal is to feel better and relieve your pain and heal your gut so that it can better absorb the foods that it does get.
| PROTEIN | VEGETABLES | FRUITS | GRAINS | OTHERS |
| Eggs | WHITE potatoes | WHITE rice | 100% cane sugar in moderation | |
| Beef | WHITE rice noodles | Salt | ||
| Pork | Oats* |
| ||
| Chicken | Zucchini # | Rhubarb # | Amaranth | Canola margarine |
| Turkey | Spinach # | Pumpkin # | Millet | Canola oil |
| Fish | Sorghum | Lactose-free milk in moderation | ||
| Seafood | Quinoa | Low lactose items in moderation ** | ||
| Venison | Tapioca | White vinegar | ||
| Lamb | Buckwheat | Mayonnaise – look for a natural mayonnaise without the added garlic and lemon etc. or make your own | ||
- *If you suspect gluten intolerance then it is best to avoid these
- **Butter, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, hard cheeses (cheddar, parmesan)
- # Most people can tolerate these items. If you can avoid them for the first part of the elimination diet this would be best, but realizing that you may find you need some fruit and veggies these would be the best options in very small amounts
Are there any seasonings or flavorings besides salt and pepper that are acceptable on the elimination diet?
ReplyDeleteErin
DeleteDuring the elimination diet I would suggest sticking with just salt and pepper. It's not very interesting but it keeps you from questioning the other spices you might try. People are often able to use herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley and there are a fair amount of spices that you can give a try later such as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon. We are able to tolerate curry, but curry is different from one maker to the next and so it does require a testing period. If you can handle two weeks of just salt and pepper and sucrose then you will fell better equipped to evaluate the spices you add in after.