Fewer than ten foods are responsible for triggering most cases of inflammation and numerous autoimmune disorders in humans: wheat, soy, dairy, sugar, corn, eggs, peanuts, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. To find out whether any of the items on this list ails you, get tested for food allergies and sensitivities or perform a modified elimination diet. The table lists the most common culprits to test.
| Category | Include These Foods | Exclude These Foods |
|---|---|---|
| Fruits | Fresh or unsweetened frozen fruits, unsweetened fruit juices, avocado | Oranges, orange juice, dried fruit |
| Vegetables | Raw, fresh, steamed, sautéed, juiced, or roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes, and yams | Corn, creamed vegetables If you have arthritis, also exclude nightshade vegetables and spices made from those vegetables: tomatoes, white potatoes, eggplants, peppers, paprika, salsa, chili peppers, cayenne, and chili powder |
| Starch, bread, cereal | Rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, teff, tapioca, buckwheat, gluten‐free oats processed in a plant that doesn’t process wheat | Wheat, barley, spelt, khorasan, rye, triticale |
| Legumes | Any beans, lentils, peas, and hummus not listed in the “Exclude” column | Soybeans, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy sauce, edamame, other soy products |
| Nuts and seeds | Almonds, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds (tahini), sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds; butters made from these nuts; seeds that do not contain added ingredients | Peanuts, peanut butter |
| Meat and fish | All canned (water‐packed), fresh, or frozen low‐mercury fish; wild game; pastured, hormone‐free, antibiotic‐free chicken, turkey, and grass‐fed lamb | Beef, pork, cold cuts, frankfurters, sausage, canned meats, eggs, shellfish |
| Dairy | Rice, hemp, almond, or coconut milk — all unsweetened and without soy | Milk from animals; products made from milk or cream (cheese, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, butter, ice cream, frozen yogurt); non‐dairy creamers |
| Fats | For cooking: Coconut oil, palm oil, ghee, cold‐pressed olive oil No heat: Flax, safflower, sunflower, sesame, walnut, pumpkin, and almond oils |
Margarine, butter, shortening, processed (hydrogenated) oils |
| Beverages | Filtered or distilled water, herbal tea, seltzer, or mineral water | Soda, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, coffee, nonherbal tea, other sweetened or caffeinated beverages |
| Herbs, spices, and condiments | Vinegar, any spices not listed in the “Exclude” column | Chocolate, ketchup, mustard, relish, chutney, soy sauce, teriyaki, tamari, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, and sandwich spreads |
You can do an elimination diet in a couple of different ways.
Remove a suspect food from your diet for 28 days. If you feel better without it, you can eliminate that food from your diet for good, reintroduce it to see whether it really does cause problems, or get tested to confirm or rule out your suspicions. If you notice no difference whether you eat or abstain from eating the food, you can add it back into your diet.
Eliminate for 28 days foods that are most likely to cause problems and then slowly re‐introduce them, one every two to three weeks, until your symptoms return. Then eliminate any food(s) that triggered symptoms.
Don’t eat even a small amount of the food you’re testing for the entire duration of the 28‐day period. If you’re allergic to that food and you eat even a small amount, the antibodies to that food remain elevated in your system, and you may not notice an improvement in symptoms, defeating the purpose of the elimination diet.