10 Compelling Reasons To Try An Elimination Diet

William Cole, DC, a functional medicine practitioner, is an expert at identifying the underlying factors of chronic conditions and offering natural, holistic approaches to optimal health. This week, we're thrilled to share his series on the elimination diet and how it can improve your overall well-being. To learn more, check out his new course, The Elimination Diet: A 60-Day Protocol to Uncover Food Intolerances, Heal the Gut, and Feel Amazing.

Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, macrobiotic, vegetarian, pescatarian, ketogenic, Mediterranean ... it can be overwhelming trying to find the right way to eat. And with all the contradicting information online, it can make us feel anxious or apathetic about doing anything at all.

So what do I recommend? In all my years as a functional medicine practitioner, I've never seen anything do as much for people's health as the elimination diet.

In functional medicine, the elimination diet is seen as the gold standard for creating a sustainable food-as-medicine plan for life. The diet involves removing specific foods that are most likely to cause you problems for a few weeks, and focusing instead on eating real, nutritious foods. Not only will you help heal your body, but you'll realize what foods are contributing to health issues.

I've done this protocol myself and saw amazing results in my own health. I discovered increased energy, better digestion, deeper sleep, clearer skin, and I finally felt like myself again.

Many chronic health problems, from weight gain to fatigue, involve one commonality: inflammation.

Do you have trouble waking up in the morning, feel tired during the day, or get that energy crash in the afternoon?

Do you notice you don't feel as well when you eat certain foods? Maybe you're bloated or fatigued after a meal, or you have brain fog after eating out but don't know what caused it.

We are all beautifully different. What foods work best for me may not be right for you. In fact, I've seen the healthiest foods heal some people and cause issues in others!

"All disease begins in the gut," Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said thousands of years ago. Today, science is catching up, with research now suggesting that the majority of chronic health problems have at least a gut component to them.

We all know we shouldn't be eating processed junk foods, which are devoid of nutrients and feed health problems of all kinds.

The elimination diet has nothing to do with "dieting." Dieting is a dead, unsustainable relationship with food. Instead of punishing your body with yet another diet, focus on healing your body with your meals.

Eliminating foods that often cause people problems is not meant to prevent you from eating delicious foods. It's designed to identify which foods are not working for you.