As Spring moves into full bloom, it’s a perfect opportunity for us to check in with ourselves and how we’re feeling. The transition from Winter to Spring is a beautiful one but often takes a lot of self-care to harness the energy needed to get ready to shift into more Yang-like energy. It’s natural for us to mimic what nature is doing and living seasonally is a cornerstone to holistic health. It feels as though mother nature is getting a fresh start and a Spring cleansing is a great way to offer that to ourselves too. The elimination diet is one way to reset our system and find what makes us feel energized or what is contributing to our fatigue, stress, digestive issues, etc. Especially if you’re already feeling undesirable symptons, this diet highlights the food(s) that trigger inflammatory responses in the body. First, you take 7-10 days to eliminate various foods from your diet. You then move into a few days of only fruits and vegetables in the diet, then two days of juice cleansing, two days of water, and one more day of juices. At this point, you take the next seven days to slowly reintroduce foods one at a time and give each food item a few hours in the system to see how it affects you. It’s a good idea to take notes during this process so you can remember and decipher which foods had what effects. During the elimination diet, light exercise, saunas, or anything else that helps you to sweat toxins out is another good reset for the system. Below, you’ll find an easy-to-follow chart for this diet from “Staying Healthy with the Seasons” by Elson M. Haas, MD. This whole diet takes 15-30 days. & remember, when you incorporate foods again, do so one at a time with a good portion and give yourself a few hours before the next food to note and detail how you feel. Have fun!
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ELIMINATION DIET HOW-TO:
| Day: | Instructions: |
| 1 | Eat your normal diet |
| 2 | Eliminate all chemicals from the diet [food additives, drugs, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine] |
| 3 | Eliminate all processed foods [refined sugars, white flour, and their products] |
| 4 | Eliminate meat products [any live or once living animal] |
| 5 | Eliminate dairy foods [all cow, goat, chicken products] |
| 6 | Eliminate nuts and beans |
| 7 | Eliminate seeds |
| 8 + 9 + 10 | Eliminate grains. Eat only fruits and vegetables in raw, steamed, or juiced forms |
| 11 + 12 | Fruit and vegetable juices only. All fresh [no cans] |
| 13 + 14 | Water only [spring or purified, not tap] |
| 15 | Fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice again |
| 16 | Fruit – one kind at a time. [3 or 4 hours between different types of fruit] |
| 17 | Add vegetables |
| 18 | Add grains |
| 19 | Add seeds |
| 20 | Add nuts and beans |
| 21 | Add dairy foods |
| 22+23+24 | Add meat products [only if desired] |
