Nutritional Updates and the Elimination Diet

During a small break from our office move last week, us doctors had a nutritional update from Dr. Ed Zimmer – our expert chiropractor and nutritionist – in Suite 8E of our office complex, 317-813-1998, www.zimmerchiropractic.com. He and his partner Dr. Abby Eaton and their office are available for chiropractic care, physical therapy, massage, and nutritional consults (and many insurances pay for chiropractic care and physical and massage therapy through his office). I will discuss more in later blogs, but below are some highlights.

Weight loss – Many people with problems losing weight after good efforts (lower calorie diet and exercise) have gluten sensitivity or other food allergies and will lose significant weight with a gluten free diet and elimination diet.

ADD (attention deficit disorder) – Many children and adults show significant improvement in their ADD with a gluten free diet and elimination diet (to determine food sensitivities).

Acne problems and Allergy problems – Many children and adults benefit from the anti-inflammatory benefits from an elimination diet which discovers food sensitivities that fuel inflammation. Dr. Zimmer recommends all people with significant acne eliminate dairy products and often corn and gluten – need to do the elimination diet.

Many chronic diseases including fibromyalgia, immune disorders and others significantly benefit from the anti-inflammatory elimination diet.

Foods with greatest pesticide risks – dairy products, peanuts and peanut butter, and soft skinned fruits and veggies which are difficult to wash (like strawberries). The fruit/veggie wash sprays work well with most fruits and veggies, but not strawberries. Dr. Zimmer recommends organic milk or rice/soy/or almond milk, and organic peanuts and peanut butter.

Elimination Diet (and Dr. Zimmer has detailed booklets for this and his treatment and detox protocols)

Basics – NO wheat/gluten, dairy, corn, red meat, excessive sugar, or foods with preservatives, food colorings, or added chemicals for 3 weeks

-learn to eat for hunger not pleasure and eat only until full

-need to carefully read labels to fully avoid gluten/wheat, corn, dairy

-good idea to have food allergy blood test before starting

Fruits – all fresh or frozen fruits (NOT large quantities of high sugar fruits like dried fruits, pineapple, grapes, bananas and at most 4-6 oz of 100% fruit juice/day)

Vegetables – all Fresh raw, steamed, sauteed, juiced or roasted (NOT corn)

Starch rarely – rice, oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth, tapioca, buckwheat, potatoes (NOT wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, anything with gluten)

Bread/cereal rarely – anything made from the grains listed above (not the ones in the NOT section)

Legumes (beans) – all including peas and lentils (no restrictions unless allergic to any)

Nuts/seeds – almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, peanuts, hazel nuts (no restrictions unless allergic to some)

Meat/fish – all fresh organic fish, lamb, chicken, turkey, wild game, eggs, shellfish (if not allergic) – NOT beef/pork/cold cuts/hot dogs/sausage

Milk products – rice/soy/almond/coconut milks, goat milk (NOT any cow products like milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream)

Fats – oils like extra virgin olive, flaxseed, canola, safflower, sunflower, sesame (NOT margarine, butter, shortening, mayonnaise, spreads, trans fats)

Beverages – filtered/distilled water-best to drink at least 1/2-1 gallon/day (Dr. Miller drinks at least a 13oz bottle of water before each meal and mid afternoon), herbal teas, mineral water (NOT soda pop, alcohol, coffee, tea, caffeinated beverages – but can drink a small amount of coffee or tea each day – 1 cup)

Spices/condiments – vinegar, all spices including salt, pepper, cinnamon, dill, cumin, garlic, ginger, turmeric, oregano, parsely, thyrme, mustard, etc. (NOT chocolate, ketsup, relish, BBQ sauce)

Sweeteners – brown rice syrup, stevia, blackstrao molasses, xylitol, honey, real maple syrup, rapadura sugar (NOT corn syrup, processed maple syrup, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners)

Gluten-free diet helpful resources

-http://gfkitchen.server101.com and http://www.csaceliacs.org/

Glycemic foods – want an index number below 50 for a low glycemic food – http://www.glycemicindex.com/

I will write more about this later!!!