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

I like this book. It has a lot of good information, like if you are allergic to nickel there is a list of vegetables that tend to be high in nickel. I have used Lyn Genet's "The Plan" before which I highly recommend. I bought this to have a "workbook" to use. I can totally attest to the fact that if you are not "allergic" to something you can still be "sensitive" to it and the best thing for your body and your health is to find out what those items are.

I purchased this book to guide me through an elimination diet to determine my food sensitivities. The author provides a lot of useful information about food allergies and sensitivities, the differences between them, what groups tend to be problematic and why, and understanding the difference between categories such as fish and shellfish. The author provides two types of elimination diets and why you would use one versus another. I recommend reading the whole book before jumping in (I did not, and there were a couple areas that would have helped to read first).There are a few things that were a bit confusing for me, but may not be a problem for others. One had to do with how long to follow the elimination phase before the challenge phase. I believe I understand now that you should follow the elimination phase for 4 weeks for the Targeted Elimination Diet and 2 weeks for the Catchall Elimination Diet (because the catchall diet is very restrictive). Another confusing part for me, and I'm not sure how you could make this easier, is trying to calculate the testing quantities. I had created a spreadsheet for challenges, and had a separate sheet for each category, but what I would have done differently for myself is to have the spreadsheet calculate the quantities automatically. The last bit of confusion for me had to do with not having challenges for all the groups that I eliminated, such as citrus fruits or nightshades, for example. I may need to further break those down in a separate challenge.I really like the guidance provided in this workbook. There are a lot of elimination diets out there, but this book seemed to me to have the ease of use that I needed. The elimination diet does require commitment and dedication. Keep in mind the rewards that you will find at the end, and it will help you to stick to the plan. I was worried that I would crave foods, but I was able to follow through with it. I took the challenges seriously, but with an open mind. Some of the things that I have issues with surprised me, and some that I expected to have problems with, I did not. My own discovery was: allergic type reactions to all dairy (congestion, massive phlegm production), sensitivity to peanuts (terrible intestinal cramping), sensitivity to benzoates (sharp headache and brain fog), and intestinal cramping with MSG. The benzoate symptoms happened within a couple hours of the last dose and the MSG symptoms did not appear until the next morning. The dairy symptoms happened immediately on the first ingested dose, and the peanuts symptoms happened shortly after the second dose. The elimination diet allows these symptoms to show up pretty quickly during the challenge, since you have stopped your exposure to them. Another section of the book guides you in avoiding your problem foods, by giving examples of keywords to look for on the nutritional content (like casein and whey for dairy).If you're like me, where you know you have food sensitivities, but have not been successful finding out what they are, and an allergist is unable to help you, this is a great start. I did not consult my doctor first, since I'd already gone the allergy testing route and all the allergist could tell me was to keep a food diary (which is different from a targeted elimination diet). You may use the workbook alongside your physician's guidance.

I was looking for more of a journal/workbook for tracking and following a guide on adding back items. This book is just a description of all the allergies. It gives a lot of info you can already get online.

I'd been frustrated for some time looking for information on the Elimination Diet that worked through all the steps of the elimination / challenge and gave a scientific basis for the protocol. This book is incredibly clear, detailed, and immediately usable. The author uses research and clinical studies to support her statements, and she makes you aware of potentially dangerous false information about food sensitivities. I don't have food sensitivities myself, but I work with people who do, and I have already given the book to two of them to find out which foods are giving them trouble. The last section of the book is devoted to tools for doing the diet. There are weeks of meal plans (which are key, because most people get confused three times a day about what they can and cannot eat and then they often scrap the diet and never get rid of their symptoms) and instructions for how to test if a food is problematic. I've found this book extremely valuable in helping people identify their food sensitivities. I highly recommend it!

Very useful book. The early chapters provide accessible overviews of various types of allergies and intolerances, the state of current research, and the rationale behind elimination diets. The later sections contain how-to guides and a ton of helpful material for actually executing the diets. The particular plan that my doctor recommended is essentially a variant of Moon's "catchall diet," so her suggestions and worksheets are spot-on and quite helpful. For me, the strength of the book is in its nutritional advice, especially the "alternative nutritional sources" and "substitutions" tables, the "label smarts" and ingredient lists, and pretty much everything else in Part Four. A book can't replace an allergist's diagnosis, but since most allergists don't have a nutritionist on hand, this is an essential resource for ensuring a safe, healthy, and hopefully not-too-miserable elimination diet.

As a certified health coach, I believe this should be the starting point for anyone who: wants to feel better, have a better sense of physical wellness, is experiencing gut problems, or experiencing symptoms of food allergies. Blood work and skin testing is expensive. Blood panels can be a crap shoot, and skin testing isn't always the most accurate indicator of food allergy.The Elimination Diet Workbook is an excellent tool and quick reference for individuals who want better understanding: food allergies v. intolerance, the process of an elimination diet, a maintenance diet, and tips for most common allergies and trigger foods.Note: consult with your physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program.

Okay book, but the information conflicts at the end. Better keep a written log of what you are eating and when and if your body reacts. Then note if you have a dairy or other food a trend and then look to avoid the issue foods or see a doctor.

Great Book alot of reading to do .

Excellent productive book for people like me who have a wide range of food allergies and intolerances. Sometimes all of the knowledge and information on this topic can make your head spin in a big way. This book is great because it allows the reader to do the one thing a newly diagnosed person needs to do and that is focus and eliminate the allergens and the group they could cross react to. All aspects of allergy and intolerance is covered, even coeliacs!!But having said that there is an element of this book that could lead a person to eliminate foods that they nessarily don't need to. I did work through the book but was truly only interested to detect another food allergy. My allergies were confirmed by my doctor had I not had a starting point I can see myself going off on a tangent using this book. If I decided to look into the intolerance too I don't think I'd have much left to eat. It's a great book but be beware as you may feel paranoid about all the foods that are potential triggers and cross react.

I had digestion problems, and decided to isolate the cause.my suspicion was that gluten might be the cause of my problem. ,so, I have followed my instinct and the book was such a help.i have isolated 2 food items,which I know upset me.

Returned this item. Could find most of this information online, for free. Not what I was expecting.

Need other info not just this book

Excellent book. Take your time with it because you will be happy with the end results.