Elimination diets involve systematically eliminating foods or food ingredients that are suspected of triggering a harmful response. This strategy is often used to help control inflammatory or autoimmune conditions. In some cases those foods can later be slowly reintroduced, but sometimes they must be eliminated for life.

An example of one step in an elimination diet would be a low-FODMAP diet. FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides Monosaccharides And Polyols. Low FODMAP diets have been found to reduce the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Another example of an elimination diet is the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP) which involves the elimination of grains, legumes, nightshades, dairy, eggs, coffee, alcohol, nuts/seeds, refined sugars, oils, NSAIDS, and all food additives. This diet has been found to alter the expression of intestinal RNA, modulating immune response to food in patients with autoimmune ulcerative colitis.

The elimination of gluten is also a form of elimination diet. While primarily used as an intervention for celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, elimination of gluten also has shown to be helpful with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) has been demonstrated with anti-gliadin antibodies (gliadin is a peptide that gluten breaks down into), with a significant correlation to autoimmune thyroiditis.

Paleolithic, or Paleo diets, which seek to mimic the dietary profiles of human ancestors, have also been used as a form of elimination diet. One application of Paleo diets is for the autoimmune conditions Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease.

There are also many other food reactions that can be identified via elimination diets, including reactions to carrageenan or food dyes.

These elimination diet strategies can easily be incorporated into a low-carbohydrate diet, providing a way to determine if the condition responds to the elimination strategy.