How to Reintroduce Allergenic Foods Into Your Diet

Certain diets, such as the Whole 30 diet and the ketogenic diet, require you to eliminate certain foods from your diet temporarily. However, once the diet is over, and you have achieved the desired results, you might not be sure how to reintroduce the potentially allergenic or sensitizing foods into your diet. We recommend seeing a nutritionist for professional advice.

Similar is the case with infants and toddlers who are allergic to certain foods and their parents are scared to reintroduce the allergenic foods because they don’t want their child to have an adverse reaction again.

Dietary elimination can be very helpful but reintroducing the allergenic foods in a haphazard manner can undo all the progress. Here are some recommendations to help with it:

1-Decide What Foods To Reintroduce First:

It is a good idea to get your doctor onboard to make sure you do not reintroduce any food in your diet that can potentially be life-threatening. If you cut out certain foods because they tested positive for food allergy, then you should introduce the foods that you were the least allergic to first. Your decision should be based on the best available information and common sense. For instance, if you suspect a certain food to be the biggest culprit, it obviously shouldn’t be reintroduced first.

2-Be Mindful Of The Servings:

If you were disciplined enough to go on an elimination diet, you shouldn’t sabotage that by overindulging. As a general rule of thumb, it is not a good idea to eat anything beyond the recommended serving size, even the food item is considered to be very healthy. The same is true for unhealthy food. It might be okay to have a teaspoon of sugar and salad dressing, but going overboard can certainly have repercussions. Moreover, when you reintroduce a food item that you had eliminated, you should start with a very small amount and increase the serving size gradually to avoid an adverse reaction. It is a good idea to add one food item every week to allow enough time to detect a reaction, otherwise, it could be very confusing. Some evidence of a food reaction includes cramps, vomiting, and reflux.

3-There Is No Need To Reintroduce Everything:

Our diet is highly processed and we have gotten used to foods that have no nutritional value at all. For instance, sugar and white bread aren’t healthy at all and you are better off without them. Same is the case with hydrogenated oil.

4-Try Again:

While certain allergies persist, it is also possible to outgrow some. Moreover, the immune system is a little tricky and if you couldn’t handle a certain food during the reintroduction period, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be able to tolerate it ever again. Stress levels, physical activity, sleeping patterns, and other factors affect your metabolic and immune responses to foods. That’s why the results might be little different when you reintroduce certain foods again.

A nutritionist can help you reintroduce foods into your diet after the elimination period. You can find and book an appointment with top Nutritionists in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad through oladoc.com. You can also call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT Doctor for your health concerns.