For those of you not familiar with rotation, it's a system of controlling food allergies/sensitivities by eating biologically related foods on the same day, then not eating them again for four days because they contain similar antigens. Some believe that any food, if eaten repetitively, can end up causing problems. People with food allergies, intolerance, and sensitivities are often told to just avoid the problematic food, but they are not told that they could be susceptible to developing issues with more foods over time.
The idea is that this way of eating can help to heal a leaky gut (which I've made progress on but am not convinced that I'm done, hence trying something new!), which may prevent developing problems with more foods. Rotating your diet can also can help discover foods that you are currently sensitive to that you are unaware of. In addition, it may allow you to eat foods that you have a "borderline" sensitivity to (for me that would be peanuts, tree nuts, rice, and cherries), though potentially on a longer rotation schedule, like 7 or 10 days. [This does NOT mean that I will be able to eat gluten - I have celiac disease, which rotation won't change. Sugar is something I am highly sensitive to, so I'm not even going to try rotating it in anytime soon - no need!].
I became interested in rotation when a client of mine asked for help and support with creating and sticking to a rotation diet. My first step was purchasing Nicolette Dumke's book The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide and read it cover to cover. I had some questions, so I emailed Nicolette, which began our e-friendship (see part one and part two of my interview with Nicolette).
I saw myself in the pages of the book, so I let the idea of doing rotation percolate for a couple of months. I experimented by eating some tree nuts after a long, long time of going without - I just had a minimal amount - and found that I did not experience symptoms. When I ate them again the next day, I did have symptoms. It made me think that there is something to this rotation stuff - and I would LOVE to be able to have tree nuts and peanuts again!!!! To bake with almond flour is something I have been dreaming about...
Experimenting with different foods, alternative grains, etc. and making many of Nicolette's recipes has given me the hope that, with some planning and preparation, I can do this.
...and so begins my rotation journey. I've set my first goal at sticking to rotation for one month. This felt right to me. Truth be told, my hope is to go longer than that - in fact, Brian and I are planning to start a family. I would like to stick to a rotation diet for the duration of pregnancy and breast feeding. Although there isn't a ton of hard evidence out there about what a mother should/should not eat to lessen her child's risk of food allergies/intolerance/sensitivities, rotation seems to be a way to reduce those chances. I plan to chronicle my journey here, so please stay tuned!
Some other things of note:
Today is Slightly Indulgent Monday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. Be sure to check it out for delicious recipe ideas! This week, Amy is also giving away two subscriptions to her favorite magazine, Eating Well.
I got an email that Amazon.com is offering an extra 15% off of Hain Gluten Free products
including Arrowhead Mills, Imagine, De Boles, and more. If you use subscribe and save, you get an additional 15% on top. Might be worth checking out.
I wish you lots of progress! Rotation diets can be a bit overwhelming. We've gotten good results from a rotation diet in our home. We did a strict rotation for our son for a few months, while maintaining the SCD. Now we just do a general rotation and SCD(keeping track of the garlic, egg whites, etc and he has few items that were sky high so we don't go there). My own ELISA IgG Food Panel showed my bakers yeast antibodies to be sky high (and I had avoided it for over a year), it suggested I do a rotation with an anti-yeast diet as well. I work 50 hrs a week, so I've only slowely moved that direction, but I do feel better. I found Nicolette Dumke's book to be the most helpful one. I've also read that some of us are more prone to being antibody producers, caveman genes I guess. Although I can't touch my toes, let alone get my knuckles to drag the ground.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I have done an elimination diet (twice in fact) while breastfeeding and it is hard but doable. I have never thought about rotating 'suspect' foods in and out on a 4+ day rotation but that is something that I may consider soon.
ReplyDeleteLet us know how it is going. I am discovering I have other food allergies aside from gluten sensitivity, and I might need to do this sort of diet at some point.
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