Do you need an elimination diet food list as a starting place for your elimination diet?

While I do not want you to take my elimination diet food list as the end-all, be-all for your elimination diet trial, I do think this could be a great place to start.

This is especially if you’ve never really dabbled into gut healing up until this point.

What is Elimination Diet Phase 1?

Phase 1 of the elimination diet is the most basic, watered-down version of any sane long term gut healing diet. 

That’s right, I don’t believe that phase 1 of an elimination diet is completely sane nor is it optimal for an extended length of time.

And yes, I do realize that someone, somewhere could find some scientific study to refute that idea, but I come from a place of both research AND real life experience with all of this.

The idea of phase 1 is to calm the digestive system down and reduce all inflammation in order to effectively add foods back in, one at a time, to realize what truly is and is not working with your unique body.

Is Elimination Diet Phase 1 a Detox?

I’m frequently asked if Phase 1 is like doing a “detox.”

My answer would be, “Maybe.”

If you have never done an elimination diet (or it’s been years), then removing foods except for those below will ultimately be very detoxing.

However, some schools of thought say that the “true” elimination dieting “detox period” is for 1-3 days at the beginning of any elimination diet where an even shorter list is followed.

In other words, there would be a Detox Phase and then you’d move to Phase 1.

During this Detox Phase, the only things you’d consume would be any combination of the following, depending on the sort of detox it is (plant-based vs. animal):

  • fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies
  • puréed vegetable soups
  • herbal teas
  • meats, fats, and broths

You’ll need to work with your healthcare professional to determine where you’ll start.

The focus for this post is on the general Phase 1 portion of an elimination diet.

Food Journal

Before you hit the grocery store, be sure you have a food journal of sorts.

If you are going to do an elimination diet, keeping a food journal is critical. Some think you only need to start using the food journal once you hit phase 2 and are adding in more and new foods.

This could not be further from the truth. 

You must start your food journal on Day 1 of Phase 1. Heck, you might even want to start it 3 days prior to beginning so you can see where you were then vs. where you’ll be in the coming days.

If you don’t know where you’re at from the beginning, then how will you understand what did or did not contribute to your state of being on day 7, 14, 21, 28, 101?!

I’ll teach you how to keep a food journal for free HERE.

Or, skip all of that, and let me send you my tried-and-true 28-day gut healing food + lifestyle journaling system. (Alternatively, you can print your copy of it right HERE today.)

Moving on….

Elimination Diet Food List {Phase 1}

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Elimination Diet Food List agutsygirl.com

Because this list is focusing on what you can eat, to learn more about the general foods to avoid on an elimination diet, be sure to read the full post on The Elimination Diet HERE.

General Elimination Diet Food List

  • Fruits: Most fruits, excluding citrus fruits
  • Vegetables: Most vegetables, excluding nightshades
  • Grains: Including rice and buckwheat
  • Meat and fish: Including turkey, lamb, wild game and cold-water fish like salmon
  • Dairy substitutes: Including coconut milk and unsweetened rice milk
  • Fats: Including cold-pressed olive oil, flaxseed oil and coconut oil
  • Beverages: Water and herbal teas
  • Spices, condiments and others: Including black pepper, fresh herbs and spices (excluding cayenne pepper and paprika) and apple cider vinegar

Taking that into consideration, here is a list of 102 items for Phase 1 that you could work off of:

Elimination Diet Food List {102 Items}

  1. almond milk
  2. almonds
  3. amaranth
  4. aminos, coconut
  5. apple cider vinegar
  6. artichoke
  7. arugula
  8. avocado oil
  9. bamboo shoots
  10. basil
  11. beef
  12. black beans
  13. black pepper
  14. blueberries
  15. bok choy
  16. brazil nuts
  17. broccoli
  18. cabbage
  19. carrots
  20. cauliflower
  21. celery
  22. chervil
  23. chia seed
  24. chicken
  25. Chicken Bone Broth
  26. chives
  27. cilantro
  28. coconut milk
  29. coconut oil
  30. cod
  31. cucumbers
  32. daikon radishes
  33. delicata squash
  34. dill
  35. dulse
  36. endive
  37. escarole
  38. fennel
  39. flaxseed
  40. ghee butter
  41. ginger
  42. grapes
  43. green beans
  44. green olives
  45. greens, in general
  46. halibut
  47. hazelnuts
  48. hempseed
  49. kalamata olives
  50. kale
  51. kelp
  52. kiwi
  53. kombu
  54. lamb
  55. lentils
  56. lettuce, all
  57. macadamia nuts
  58. melon
  59. microgreens
  60. nori
  61. olive oil
  62. oregano
  63. parsley
  64. parsnip
  65. peas
  66. pecans
  67. Perfect Plant Protein (At checkout you can use my code – GUTSY10 – to save an automatic 10%.)
  68. pine nuts
  69. plantain
  70. pumpkin seeds
  71. quinoa
  72. radicchio
  73. radishes
  74. raspberries
  75. refried beans
  76. rice
  77. rosemary
  78. rutabaga
  79. salmon
  80. scallions
  81. sea salt
  82. sesame seeds
  83. sesame oil
  84. spaghetti squash
  85. sprouts
  86. strawberries
  87. sweet potato
  88. swiss chard / chard
  89. tea, green
  90. tuna
  91. turmeric
  92. turkey
  93. turnips
  94. Vegetable Broth
  95. wakame
  96. walnut oil
  97. water
  98. water chestnuts
  99. watercress
  100. white potato
  101. yellow squash
  102. zucchini
Elimination Diet Food List for phase 1 agutsygirl.com #foodlist #guthealth #eliminationdiet

Notes about the list

1. Remember, this is ONLY for Phase 1

And phase 1 should only go for 2-3 weeks. Max. Seriously, do not extend this for months on end without a very clear prescription from you doctor.

p. 100 the 21-Day Plan is a Temporary Elimination diet.

2. Elimination Diets Exclude Citrus Fruits During Phase 1

Not many people have problems with citrus fruits, but I still kept them off for this list.

At the very least, you could definitely add lemons and limes to this list, if desired.

Beyond that, some things to add would be: oranges, clementines, and grapefruit.

3. High-FODMAP Food Exclusion

Many high-FODMAP foods are included in various phase 1 food lists.

I didn’t do many because I know that they can be trigger points for so many.

I want you to eat allllll the FODMAP foods.

But I also believe that if you’re really wanting to do an elimination diet (the right way) you might as well go all out for 2-3 weeks so that you can add things back in to understand what is / is not working for you more clearly.

That said, high-FODMAP foods like avocado, garlic, onion, and apples could definitely be part of your phase 1 list.

You (and your doctor/nutritionist) decide what will be best for your personal situation.

4. Histamines

For my phase 1 list, I also excluded most high-histamine foods. However, not all. I still kept my bone broth on the list because I think that it helps more people than it hurts.

If you know for certain you cannot do any high-histamine foods, then you’ll need to take those few off this list. Not sure about histamines? Learn more about Histamine Intolerance HERE.

On that note, if you know for certain you are okay with histamines, then definitely make my Coconut Yogurt recipe.

5. Beef and Chicken

Many elimination diet plans will tell you no chicken or beef during phase 1.

I don’t believe that for most, except in the cases where you cannot buy organic, high-quality chicken and beef.

Conventional meats are not the same, but if conventional is the choice, then you might also consider not including the turkey, lamb and/or fish as well.

6. Beans and Lentils

These are also debatable for various phase 1 elimination diet lists.

I kept some on my list because they are typically non-allergenic and they also contain things which can help the body detox.

Again, remove them if you’d like.

7. Nightshades

Yes, I did exclude most nightshades because I’ve found that many people with chronic issues due to food intolerance have joint pain and fatigue that accompany digestive issues.

Therefore, excluding nightshades could certainly help. However, please make note that white potatoes are a nightshade, but I did include them on this list.

Again x’s 1,000 – you do you.

You See….

….it doesn’t matter what “diet” protocol you follow. There will (and should) always be caveats.

I’m here to help jumpstart this process for you. And for all the nitty gritty, see THIS.

Hope this list at least helps get you started.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

  1. What is the best gut healing diet?
  2. How to Reintroduce Foods After an Elimination Diet
  3. A Gutsy Girl’s Bible


Xox,
SKH

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