Let's finish up going over the foods we cannot eat during our elimination phase! We've already hit on dairy and gluten...so long pizza!! (only for a bit)
What we cannot have:
-alcohol
-beef
-chocolate (although if you are dying you can do pure cocoa powder in hot water with a tad of honey or maple syrup). I tried this at the beginning of the three weeks and thought...disgusting. HOWEVER your tastes WILL change!! I am currently drinking some now and I'm off the elimination phase. Once you detox your sugar, things that seemed bitter taste sweet! I promise I was shocked! So cocoa is borderline since it has caffeine. However for me it was cheat or drink the cocoa water so I went for it!!
-Coffee, soft drinks, tea. We drank non-caffeinated herbal teas. Another fave is hot water with real ginger and lemon!! You can keep your ginger root in the freezer, I just take it out and use a vegetable peeler to peel some into my water.
-Corn...this includes corn starch, corn oils
-Dairy (see prior post)
-Eggs...if recipes called for eggs I used flax and water, it is a great binder. I missed eggs more than I thought I would!
-Gluten (barley, rye, spelt, wheat)...see previous post
-Peanuts (yes that includes peanut butter!)
-Pork
-Processed meat (see my post on turkey sausage...great recipe!!)
-Shellfish
-Soy and soy products..includes soybean oil!! I had no idea soybean oil was in so many things!
-Sugar (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup)...you can sweeten with honey, maple syrup, agave, stevia although honey or maple syrup are recommended (less than 2 tsp).
What we CAN have:
-Dairy alternative: coconut, nut milk (I've heard milk companies want them to start calling it nut 'drink' because it is technically not a milk! HAH!). Watch for added sweeteners and gums. Unsweetened coconut kefir has both prebiotic and probiotic potential.
-Fish. Low mercury fish such as halibut, salmon, sardines, tuna, herring. Wild caught is preferred over farmed fish to limit hormones and harmful chemicals.
-Fruits: fresh or frozen (no sugar added). It is a good idea to add a protein with fruit to avoid sugar spikes. Berries are wonderful because of their antioxidants (blueberries are one of the highest!). Pomegranate seeds support detox! Apples suppress inflammation! Dried fruits are allowed but in small quantities.
-Proteins...Wild game including buffalo (I love a good bison burger!), elk, lamb, venison. You can also eat chicken, Cornish hen and turkey. It is recommended to eat lean, pasture-raised, grass fed and non GMO sources. Vegetarian options for protein are spiraling, legumes, lentils, peas and some protein powders (hemp, pea, rice)
-Legumes...one serving a day is recommended (our biggest one was hummus although beans are a favorite of mine!)
-Nuts (except peanuts)...raw, unsalted rather than roasted in oils. Nut butters are permitted as well. One serving a day is recommended.
-Seeds
-Vegetables...ideally we should get 10-12 servings of vegetables a day!! That is right!!! A serving is 1/2 cup of vegetables or 1 cup of green leafy veggies. Most important thing to remember with vegetables is RAINBOW!! Try to get all colors during the day. Yes the darker ones are higher in phytonutrients but they are all important. Our go to snack? Homemade sweet potato chips...baked in the oven with olive oil!
-All herbs and spices. Vinegar is permitted. No other condiments as they contain sugar. Mustard without added sugar is allowed. ~To help digestion: cinnamon, cumin, dill
~To aid in detox: cloves, oregano, rosemary, thyme
~To reduce pain and inflammation: cayenne pepper, chili powder, cilantro (our staple!! We put it in everything!), ginger, nutmeg, paprika, and the infamous turmeric
-WATER: remember from previous posts...take your weight divide by 2 (to get an estimate of your kilogram body weight) and that is how many ounces you should drink per day
-Fats and oils: high quality fats on a daily basis are recommended for reducing inflammation, stabilizing blood sugars and minimizing sugar cravings. This is a hard concept to swallow depending on your age. I grew up in the fats will kill you and everything needs to be low fat or fat free!! NOT SO!!! Extra virgin olive oil will help with your good cholesterol. Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA) are awesome because they go straight from our gut to the liver to be used as energy or they are made into ketones for our brain to use. Therefore they do not have time to be changed into fat! We use them too efficiently! Where do we get these?? Coconut based fats, which includes canned coconut milk!! I did not even know avocado oil existed until functional medicine entered my life! Did you know half of an avocado has more potassium than a banana. We all know the antioxidant potential in avocado so bring on the guac!! Ghee...ever hear of it? I hadn't until last year!! It is clarified butter and it is still on my list to make because I love butter! You can eat ghee because the milk proteins are removed. Ghee is made of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and they help stimulate stomach acid production (acid reflux is an entirely crazy topic on its own!!). Butyric acid is great to help digestion and contains antiviral properties! Other oils to use: sesame oil (helps the liver and reduces inflammation), almond oil, flax oil, hempseed oil, walnut oil!
Some practitioners may recommend you stay away from histamine foods, oxalates, salicylate or nightshades as well. This is beyond the scope of this post but I'm sure we will hit on these foods in the future, but let me know if you have questions.
As always this information is for education and should not replace advice or recommendations from your own personal physician.
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