Reset Your Health: Elimination Diet BASICS

There are many ways to do reset your health and there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach.  This is modified from an elimination diet that I recommended to my brother ... . 

Juicing and blending your foods aids in recovery, as it reduces the burden of digestion on your body and allows needed energy to be channeled to healing, but one may not own a quality juicer and/or blender.  Start from where you are.  A simple place that everyone can start is by consuming organic broths and easily digested foods that are beneficial and healing to the body.   Intermittent fasting is also something one can check into as well. 

21 Day Elimination Diet
It is easier than it sounds, but if you can't do the full 21 days, you can do at least for 10 days. 

PHASE 1:
Avoid:

1. All soy products
2. All dairy.
3. All corn and corn containing products.
4. All gluten containing grains (e.g., wheat, rye, triticale, spelt, kamut, farro, durum, barley, einkorn, and oats).  Note to avoid wheat products like bulgar, couscous, freekeh, and semolina.  This includes all wheat and wheat containing products like cereal, crackers, bread, pasta, frozen meals, processed meats, cakes, muffins, biscuits, cookies, etc.   
5. All refined sugars and all processed sugars.   Note: Many pasta sauces and salsas have added sugar - please read the labels, or better yet, make your own.  Use fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes (in glass), if fresh tomatoes are not in season. 

Some of the following  may be redundant, but trying to be clear.

• NO PROCESSED FOODS.
• NO CARBONATED BEVERAGES - sodas, beers, seltzer waters, sparkling waters, etc.
• NO GRAINS. 
• NO FRIED FOODS.  
• NO OILS (except coconut oil if you must ... I have an extra virgin olive oil [EVOO] I can recommend if you must have EVOO, but olives are a better choice than olive oil).  In general, all oils should always be avoided.  The first time I heard about the issue with oils and that all oils are best left to external use like body care, I was shocked.   After researching it thoroughly, I see the reasons why and I agree -- it is best to eat the whole foods and not isolated fats (oils) that are nearly or completely stripped of their nutritional benefits, likely rancid, and calorie bombs.  If you want to look further into this issue, please look up Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. of The Cleveland Clinic, Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Michael Gregor for more information.  That said, I use Dr. Bronner's Whole Kernel Organic Virgin Coconut Oil ... I am not 100% oil-free. 
• NO FLOURS. 
• NO PROCESSED MEATS: NO BACON, SAUSAGE, PEPPERONI, LUNCH MEATS, ETC.

Now what to eat!

• Consume lots of fresh fruits and vegetables (frozen is fine as well for both).
• Consume lots of good healthy fats: avocados, olives, coconuts, quality meat, wild (cold water) fish, sprouted seeds, sprouted nuts, etc.
• Consume sprouted legumes (aka pulses), like lentils and beans. 
• If one would like a grain, consume germinated brown rice, sprouted quinoa, sprouted buckwheat, or sprouted amaranth.
  
• Sweet potatoes are also fine.  I like mine with shredded (unsweetened) coconut,  100% grass-fed butter and/or unrefined coconut oil [no one is perfect ;)], Ceylon cinnamon, and sprouted pecans.
  

 
Phase 2 - can add:

• If consuming dairy, start with raw goat milk and see how that works for you.  If you can't access raw milk, try raw goat's or raw sheep's milk cheese.  If goat's and/or sheep's milk works for you, then you can proceed to RAW, GRASS-FED, and ORGANIC dairy from A2 cows.  There is a lot of research to back this up.  I can provide more information upon request.  
  
• SWEETENERS in moderation: RAW HONEY, ORGANIC BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES (must be organic, blackstrap, and unsulfured molasses), coconut sugar, and/or real maple syrup.
  
• ORGANIC SPROUTED GRAINS in moderation: AVOID WHEAT.
  
• FLOURS: COCONUT FLOUR and/or BUCKWHEAT FLOUR only.
  

/
Again I recommend skipping oils as much as possible not just during an elimination diet.

• Use avocados and seed/nut based dressings for salads. For example, tahini and lemon makes a great dressing.  If you have a blender, making homemade dressings is easy. 
• Olives are way better for you than olive oil -- any day of the week.  Most olive oil is RANCID and thus is CARCINOGENIC.  It is not an anti-inflammatory medicine.  Olive oil being touted as a health food is a result of good marketing and provided misleading conclusion from research studies.  That said, quality EVOO is superior to industrial (seed and vegetable) oils that are produced with neurotoxin  like alcohol ethanol and hexane¹, like soybean (soy) oil, corn oil, Canola oil (aka rapeseed), safflower oil, sunflower seed oil,  peanut oil, etc.
  
• Coconuts are better than way better for you than coconut oil.  Regardless, I use small amounts of coconut oil, because I love it.   I am trying to limit it, but quality unrefined coconut oil is so delicious.  It is a good transitional oil.  In my opinion, it the best choice over other oils without question.
  

You will lose weight by getting healthy.  Do not make weight lose a health goal, make getting healthy your goal and the rest will follow. 

Points to ponder:

1. One can't keep eating garbage - it is called junk food for a reason - and expect to be healthy. 
2. Your health is your greatest wealth.
3. Think about what is important to you.   
4. Anything worth having takes time and effort. 
   

References:
¹National Institutes of Health [NIH].  U.S. National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information.  PubChem.  Hexane.
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/hexane#section=GHS-Classification