If you are suffering from eosinophilic esophagitis, there is a high probability that your doctor will ask to you eliminate certain food items from your diet. This helps the doctor in determining what foods might be triggering your eosinophilic esophagitis. Notably, every patient has to follow an eosinophilic esophagitis diet, and for that, they have to consult a dietician.
While following an eosinophilic esophagitis diet, you will be required to cut out certain food groups that are highly likely to trigger an allergic reaction. Such foods mainly include dairy, egg, wheat, nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish. After restraining from eating these food items, you can reintroduce them into your diet one by one and see which one of them will give rise to eosinophilic esophagitis symptoms.
Multiple studies have shown that eliminating different foods from the diet helps almost 70% of individuals with eosinophilic esophagitis. This type of eosinophilic esophagitis diet where you have to cut off certain items from your diet is also known as an elimination diet.
How Does Elimination Diet Work?
After eliminating all of the high-allergen good items from your diet for around six weeks, the doctor will run a test on the sample of the tissue from your esophagus. This procedure is known as biopsy and is considered to be an important part of every eosinophilic esophagitis treatment and helps in getting a measure for later comparison. Then, you can reintroduce all of the food groups into your diet.
However, here you have to be very careful to not add all of the foods into your diet at the same time. Rather, add them every two to four weeks. This way, you can better determine which food group is actually acting as an allergen. The doctor will take biopsies of your esophagus throughout this process and see if there is any new inflammation. During this period, you have to be vigilant about your eosinophilic esophagitis diet. Once your doctor is able to identify foods that have been causing problems, you will be required to cut all of them from your diet.
How to Follow an Eosinophilic Esophagitis Diet
- Ste One: Plan
To follow an eosinophilic esophagitis diet efficiently, you will have to work with a team of healthcare professionals. They will help you identify food that you have to remove from your diet. You can plan out the timeline of the diet and list the foods that you will not be eating and will be eating during your diet in advance.
- Step Two: Eliminate
The next step is to eliminate all of the foods that have been identified as an allergen for straight four weeks with no exceptions. Always make sure to read food labels and be cautious while eating out. You will always be required to have control over the ingredients used.
- Step Three: Challenge
The last step of following an eosinophilic esophagitis diet is the challenge yourself. If you think your symptoms are not improving, reach out to your healthcare provide immediately.