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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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}
- almond milk
- almonds
- amaranth
- aminos, coconut
- apple cider vinegar
- artichoke
- arugula
- avocado oil
- bamboo shoots
- basil
- beef
- black beans
- black pepper
- blueberries
- bok choy
- brazil nuts
- broccoli
- cabbage
- carrots
- cauliflower
- celery
- chervil
- chia seed
- chicken
- Chicken Bone Broth
- chives
- cilantro
- coconut milk
- coconut oil
- cod
- cucumbers
- daikon radishes
- delicata squash
- dill
- dulse
- endive
- escarole
- fennel
- flaxseed
- ghee butter
- ginger
- grapes
- green beans
- green olives
- greens, in general
- halibut
- hazelnuts
- hempseed
- kalamata olives
- kale
- kelp
- kiwi
- kombu
- lamb
- lentils
- lettuce, all
- macadamia nuts
- melon
- microgreens
- nori
- olive oil
- oregano
- parsley
- parsnip
- peas
- pecans
- Perfect Plant Protein (At checkout you can use my code – GUTSY10 – to save an automatic 10%.)
- pine nuts
- plantain
- pumpkin seeds
- quinoa
- radicchio
- radishes
- raspberries
- refried beans
- rice
- rosemary
- rutabaga
- salmon
- scallions
- sea salt
- sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- spaghetti squash
- sprouts
- strawberries
- sweet potato
- swiss chard / chard
- tea, green
- tuna
- turmeric
- turkey
- turnips
- Vegetable Broth
- wakame
- walnut oil
- water
- water chestnuts
- watercress
- white potato
- yellow squash
- zucchini
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.
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:
- What is the best gut healing diet?
- How to Reintroduce Foods After an Elimination Diet
- A Gutsy Girl’s Bible
Xox,
SKH
You will heal. I will help.
