Enter: the elimination diet. A way of eating that’s more about getting healthy and relieving ailments, by removing various problem-causing foods from your diet, than fitting into a pair of skinny jeans. It’s also a huge buzz word lately. “Elimination diet” was number 9 on Yahoo’s list of top-searched diets of 2014. The nation’s top progressive docs, Frank Lipman, MD, Mark Hyman, MD, and Alejandro Junger, MD, all prescribe some form of it. Celebrities, like Gwyneth Paltrow, have tried it and trendy health coaches, like the ones at Urban Detox Club, recommend it to their clients. So what is it exactly? If you think about it, you probably have some “ailment”—whether it’s a chronic stuffy nose, trouble sleeping, or headaches that you’ve wanted to get rid of (and your regular remedies aren’t exactly doing the trick). Los Angeles-based Dr. Junger, whose books called Clean and Clean Eats give some indication as to his stance, says that certain foods might be the cause of those problems. And cutting them out can help you put the puzzle pieces together about why you’re experiencing these conditions—largely by helping you learn which foods might be making you feel crappy. Here’s what you need to know about the elimination diet before your next grocery haul—or, to be more accurate, your kitchen purge. Keep reading at Well+Good!
