Trial

Hi! Pippi is trying an elimination diet to see if she has a food allergy or perhaps some other allergy, as she’s having persistent problems with her ears. I needed a bit of help with her ears, and I was advised that when I reintroduce different foods after 8 weeks, I SHOULD give her all the allergens at once. In other words, just go ahead and give her all the food she’s eaten before. That way, I’ll be able to see if she has a food allergy or an environmental allergy. I just really wanted to hear some thoughts on this because I’ve been looking into how to proceed after these 8 weeks here on the platform and got a bit confused.

• Hi! Hmm, that sounds strange. The point is to introduce one protein source at a time to see if there is anything specific she reacts to. If you test all the common protein sources (pork, beef, chicken, salmon, etc.), and she shows no reaction – then you can more easily conclude that the food isn’t the problem, and look at the environment instead. The thinking behind the advice you were given might be this: if Pippi can tolerate having ‘all her old foods’ back without a reaction, an environmental allergy is more likely than a food allergy. And that is true in theory. But it is a rather crude way of testing, because you lose the opportunity to identify specific triggers. And since chronic ear problems are actually often seen in conjunction with food allergies/hypersensitivity, it’s usually…