Reintroducing Foods on the AIP Diet
You’ve done an elimination diet for at least 30 days and you’re eager to once again taste the foods you’ve been missing. Hopefully your taste buds have learned to enjoy some new foods in the process, and you’ve found your body can thrive on the nutrients it was missing for so long. Is it time to dive back in?
Maybe you’re the type who likes to take the plunge and dive head first into the water. But you’ve worked hard to begin healing your body, and you’ve learned something of patience as well. This patience will need to continue, and we recommend a much slower, toe first approach.
We will recommend you take a food sensitivity test (we use this Complete DAT Interpretation test from Dunwoody Labs) that will analyze your immune response to certain foods or parts of foods, helping to sort out what may be food allergies as opposed to food sensitivities. Food allergies will need to be avoided always, while sensitivities may just need more healing time to hurdle. This blood test is recommended because of the delayed nature of some sensitivities. It can sometimes take up to 72 hours for symptoms of sensitivities to show themselves; therefore, it can be hard to know what is a reaction or another factor. This can cause fear to move forward and make you feel stuck or you could miss reactions and move forward too quickly, creating inflammation in the gut and system, slowing down healing and halting progress.
If a food sensitivity test is not used, you will want to keep a journal as you begin reintroducing foods back into your diet in order to keep track of symptoms you may experience. This will help us as we guide you through the process.
Begin by reintroducing one food at a time (SEE OUR GUIDE BELOW). You may want to start with the food you’ve missed most, but it’s a good idea to be mindful of which foods may be more problematic than others. For example, it may be a better idea to reintroduce peppers before eggs, or broccoli (if you’ve eliminated goitrogens altogether) before dairy. Also, keep foods simple and avoid reintroducing complex foods right away such as chocolate, which may muddle the clarity as to whether reactive symptoms are from sugar or from caffeine. Incorporate the selected food into your menu at least two times a day for one or two days. Then pay attention to how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. Write it down.
Possible symptoms may include:
Insomnia
Fatigue
Joint pain
Skin rashes
Flushing of skin
Headaches
Bloating
Flatulence
Vomiting
Constipation
Diarrhea
Nausea
Reflux
Sinus issues
Depression
Anxiety
Irritability
Nervousness
If you experience any of these symptoms, stop the food and put it on your “try again later” list. You’ll most likely need more time. If you can reintroduce a food and you feel well, usually you can count that food as successfully reintroduced and continue incorporating it into your menu. Wait a total of five days before adding a new food. You’ll want to make sure you only introduce one new food at a time so there is no question as to what is the culprit of unwanted symptoms.
Have a relaxed mindset as you begin reintroducing. A stressed body is the enemy. Breathe deeply before eating. Don’t be demanding on your body, but do be hopeful. In most cases, your hard work will pay off.