c9bcf583

Elimination Diets: A Tool While You Heal Your Gut (Not a Forever Plan)

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:34:48 GMT

If you’ve been around here, you already know I’m not into traditional “diets.”

Cutting calories, fearing food, and restricting entire food groups in the name of weight loss or healing gut issues usually just disconnects you further from your body—and often makes your symptoms worse in the long run.

At Root + Nourish, my philosophy is simple:
Food is not the enemy. Your gut just needs support to digest it properly.

If broccoli, beans, dairy, or gluten make you bloated, foggy, or exhausted, that doesn’t mean those foods are “bad.” It usually means your gut isn’t in a place to handle them right now.

And that’s where elimination diets can be incredibly helpful—when used intentionally and temporarily.

Elimination Diets Are a Healing Tool—Not the End Goal

An elimination diet is not meant to be forever.
It’s not about living off a tiny list of “safe” foods.

It’s a short-term strategy to reduce inflammation, calm your gut, and gather data about how your body responds to food while you’re actively healing your digestive system.

Think of it as giving your gut a break so it can rebuild.

The real goal?
To be able to eat a wide variety of foods without symptoms.
Not to live in restriction mode forever.

Why Food Often Feels Like the Problem (But Isn’t)

So many women come to me saying,

“I can’t tolerate anything. Everything bloats me.”

Here’s the truth:
It’s usually not the food itself—it’s what’s happening (or not happening) in the gut.

Common root causes I see:

Low stomach acid
Enzyme insufficiency
Gut dysbiosis or SIBO
Inflammation or leaky gut
Chronic stress shutting down digestion

When digestion isn’t working well, even healthy foods can feel like a problem.

An elimination phase can reduce the load on your system while we work on healing the root cause.

So Why Do an Elimination Diet at All?

Because it can:

Calm inflammation quickly
Reduce symptoms like bloating, fatigue, and brain fog
Help you identify major triggers while your gut heals
Give you a baseline so you can feel what “good” actually feels like

And most importantly—it teaches you to listen to your body without fear.

You’re not eliminating foods because they’re bad.

You’re creating space for your gut to heal so you can bring them back.

How to Add Fermented Foods Without Bloating (Gentle Gut Tips)

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:31:11 GMT

Fermented foods are powerful, but more is not better—especially if your gut is already sensitive.
If you jump in too fast, your bacteria can throw a literal party in your intestines (hello gas and bloating).

Here’s how I help clients add fermented foods without the discomfort:

1. Start Tiny (Like… Really Tiny)

You don’t need a whole bowl of sauerkraut on day one.

Start with:

1 teaspoon of sauerkraut or kimchi
A few sips of kefir or kombucha

Think “condiment,” not side dish.

Increase slowly over 1–2 weeks.

2. Eat Them With Meals (Not on an Empty Stomach)

Fermented foods are easier to tolerate with a full meal , especially one with protein and fat.
This buffers the acids and slows fermentation in your gut.

3. Support Digestion First

If you have low stomach acid or enzyme issues, fermented foods can feel intense.

Support digestion with:

Mindful eating (chew, slow down)
Protein at meals
Digestive bitters or enzyme support (if appropriate)

Fermented foods work best when digestion is already somewhat supported.

4. Watch for Histamine Sensitivity

Fermented foods are naturally high in histamines.
If you notice headaches, flushing, anxiety, or itching, you might need:

Smaller amounts
Fresh ferments (shorter fermentation time)
A gut-healing phase before heavy ferments

This doesn’t mean you can’t tolerate them forever—just that your gut needs healing first.

5. Pair With Prebiotic Fiber

Probiotics are the seeds— prebiotics are the soil .

Add foods like:

Cooked/cooled potatoes or rice
Onions, garlic, asparagus
Green bananas or plantains
Oats or chia (if tolerated)

This helps your new bacteria actually stick around.

6. Know When to Pull Back

If you notice:

Severe bloating
Pain
Brain fog
Increased anxiety or skin flares

Pause or reduce. Sometimes the gut needs Phase 1 healing before fermented foods feel amazing.

Fermented foods should make you feel better, not worse.

Your gut is not broken—you just need the right timing, dose, and support.

Your Gut Healing Roadmap: From Symptoms to Food Freedom

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:26:16 GMT

Here’s how I think about healing the gut in simple, real-life phases:

Phase 1: Calm & Reduce Inflammation

(This is where elimination diets come in)

Goal: Give your gut a break so it can start healing.

Temporarily remove the most common trigger foods
Focus on simple, whole, easy-to-digest meals
Support your body with sleep, hydration, minerals, and gentle movement

Think of this phase as quieting the noise so your gut can reset.

Phase 2: Repair & Rebuild

(The root-cause healing phase)

Goal: Fix why foods were causing symptoms in the first place.

This often includes:

Supporting stomach acid and digestive enzymes
Healing the gut lining with targeted nutrients, foods and supplements
Balancing the gut microbiome (sometimes with testing like GI-MAP)
Work on mindset to believe in healing
Regulating stress and the nervous system so digestion can actually turn on

This is where real, lasting change happens.

Phase 3: Reintroduce & Expand Your Diet

(The ultimate goal: food freedom)

Goal: Bring foods back without fear or symptoms.

Reintroduce foods one at a time
Learn what your body tolerates well
Build confidence eating out, traveling, and living your life

The goal is variety, flexibility, and joy with food —not restriction.

Phase 4: Maintain & Thrive

(Your new normal)

Goal: Sustainable habits that keep your gut happy long-term.

A balanced, diverse diet
Stress and nervous system support
Simple routines that fit busy mom life
No fear-based food rules

This is where you stop thinking about your gut all the time—because it just works.

Healing your gut means expanding your diet, not shrinking it.

Fermented Foods: The Gut-Healthy Habit That Actually Tastes Good

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:23:24 GMT

If you would’ve told me years ago that I’d be eating fermented veggies every day on purpose, I would’ve laughed.
But here we are—and honestly, fermented foods are one of the simplest, most powerful tools I use (and recommend) for gut health.

They’re tangy, crunchy, and surprisingly addictive—and your microbiome loves them.

Why Fermented Foods Are So Powerful for Gut Health

Fermented foods are packed with beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that help:

Improve digestion
Strengthen your immune system
Support hormone balance and metabolism
Reduce inflammation
Increase microbial diversity (which is a huge marker of gut health)

Your gut microbiome is like a garden—the more diverse, living bacteria you have, the more resilient and healthy your system becomes.

Not All “Fermented” Foods Are Created Equal

Here’s where it gets confusing:
Not everything labeled “pickled” or “fermented” actually contains probiotics.

The probiotic-rich ones are:

Naturally fermented
Not pasteurized
Made with salt + time (not just vinegar)

Examples of truly fermented foods:

Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Kefir
Kombucha
Traditional pickles (the refrigerated, cloudy brine kind)

Most shelf-stable grocery store pickles and vinegars are not probiotic —they’re delicious, but the bacteria are gone.

“But I Can’t Do Yogurt…”

Totally fair. Yogurt is not the only probiotic food.
If you’re lactose intolerant, dairy-free, or just not a yogurt person (same), you still have tons of options.

Personally?
I’m a sauerkraut girl. I eat it almost daily—especially jalapeño sauerkraut with eggs. It’s spicy, crunchy, and feels like a gut-health cheat code.

My Spicy Gut-Loving Veggie Ferment (Mom’s Recipe, Root + Nourish Edition)

This is inspired by my mom’s recipe, with a few upgrades to boost nutrients and flavor.

Ingredients

5 organic carrots, sliced
10 organic jalapeños (whole or sliced for extra heat)
1 small head organic cauliflower, chopped
8 organic green onions (white parts only), sliced
6–8 organic garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
4 bay leaves
1 tsp ground peppercorn
1 tsp ground black pepper
1½ tsp marjoram
1½ tbsp ground thyme
Salt to taste
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add carrots and cook until slightly softened (you want them crunchy).
Add green onions, garlic, cauliflower, jalapeños, bay leaves, and spices. Cook for ~7 minutes, until jalapeños turn from bright green to olive green.
Add white vinegar and apple cider vinegar and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Transfer to airtight jars.
Store in the fridge or at room temperature for up to one month.

Root + Nourish Truth: Fermented Foods Are a Tool—Not a Cure-All

Fermented foods are incredible, but they’re not a magic fix on their own.
If your gut is inflamed, if you have SIBO, histamine intolerance, or severe dysbiosis, some fermented foods can actually make symptoms worse at first.

That’s why I see them as one tool in a bigger gut-healing roadmap —not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Gut Science 101: Why Food Isn’t the Problem

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:20:36 GMT

You’re not “bad at digesting food.” Your gut just might need support.

When your digestive system is working well, you should be able to tolerate a wide variety of foods. If everything makes you feel bloated, foggy, or tired, something upstream usually needs healing.

Here are the most common root causes I see in clients:

1. Low Stomach Acid

Stomach acid is the first step in digestion.
If it’s too low (very common in stressed, postpartum, or chronically dieting women), food doesn’t break down properly—leading to bloating, reflux, and nutrient deficiencies.

2. Insufficient Digestive Enzymes

Enzymes help break down protein, fats, and carbs.
If you’re low on enzymes, foods like meat, dairy, and beans can feel heavy or uncomfortable—not because they’re bad, but because your body needs more support to digest them.

3. Gut Microbiome Imbalance (Dysbiosis or SIBO)

Your gut bacteria help ferment and break down fiber and complex carbs.
When the microbiome is off, foods like onions, garlic, broccoli, or fruit can cause gas, bloating, or brain fog.

4. Inflammation or “Leaky Gut”

Chronic stress, ultra-processed foods, infections, or antibiotics can irritate the gut lining.
This can make your body react to foods that used to feel totally fine.

5. Stress & Nervous System Dysregulation

Digestion literally shuts down when you’re in fight-or-flight.
Busy mom life, trauma, under-eating, and poor sleep can all reduce digestive capacity—no matter how “clean” you eat.

The Goal Isn’t to Avoid Foods Forever

The goal is to heal your gut so you can enjoy food without symptoms.

Elimination diets simply reduce the digestive load while we rebuild your gut’s ability to digest, absorb, and tolerate a wide range of foods again.

Intolerant, Sensitive or Allergic?

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:45:34 GMT

Food intolerance and allergies are rampant and a hot topic of conversation lately.

There’s online mail-in food sensitivity tests, doctors specializing and food allergies and lots of treatments and solutions promised by the internet.

But what exactly is going on in your body? How do you know if you are allergic to something or just intolerant? Do you have weird symptoms such as “random” headaches or itchy ears that you can’t seem to explain?

As with most things, it all starts with food, is closely tied to your gut and in this case has a lot to do with your immune system.

Your guy houses 70-80% of all immune system cells! That means that your digestive system is one of the first lines of defense in your immune system and healthy gut flora (keeping the good bacteria in your gut happy) is of paramount importance to keep your immunity top-notch.

Food Intolerance

An intolerance, which can also be called a food sensitivity is when your body has an adverse reaction to a specific food or ingredient.

These include both genetic and non-genetic problems digesting certain nutrients in food and include:

Lactose or Fructose Intolerance
Sensitivity to certain carbohydrates
Difficulty digesting fats
Sensitivity to certain additives, minerals or pesticides

If you are lactose intolerant, that’s an easy thing to identify and subsequently avoid. But what happens if you are sensitive to a random food coloring? Reactions to sensitivities can vary widely from person to person and can be anything from an upset stomach to severe migraines. The problem is that when you expose your body to a food that your sensitive to over and over, you create chronic inflammation in your body that suppresses the immune system and can cause a whole host of problems. If you’re dealing with unexplained physical symptoms (anything from headaches, to seasonal allergies, to asthma and more), then there may be an underlying hidden food reaction that is either causing some of the symptoms or making them worse.

Food intolerance and sensitivities generally do not go away specially if they are genetic. However, sometimes healing your gut can make a sensitivity go away as it can be directly caused because you do not have the appropriate enzymes and gut lining to support digestion of that food.

Food Allergies

Allergies, as opposed to intolerance, create an immune response in your body and involve your entire immune system. A true food allergy is one that is triggered by an allergen and your body responds within 15-30 minutes. Allergies cause physical reactions such as hives, asthma and difficulty breathing and are the only type of food reaction that can result in anaphylactic shock. Think peanut and strawberry allergies.

Non-Allergic Hypersensitivity

The third type of food reaction is hypersensitivity. Like with allergies, there is an immune response in your body, however, they cannot result in anaphylactic shock. These tend to have more chronic symptoms and ongoing inflammation and are associated with disorders such as Grave’s disease, Lupus, Celiac’s and Chron’s disease.

So how can you tell the difference?

The difference between an allergy and everything else is pretty easy to figure out. An allergy is an immediate, physical reaction that can be lethal. A food intolerance is a physical reaction, but it just doesn’t have an immune response and more often than not, has a digestive reaction. A non-allergic hypersensitivity does have an immune response as your body attacks food or itself thinking they are pathogens but cannot result in anaphylactic shock and is associated with chronic illnesses and autoimmune disorders.

The Mind–Body Connection (Why Healing Is Never Just Physical)

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:43:05 GMT

For a long time, I thought of my mind and my body as two separate things.
I’d try to “fix” my body with food, workouts, supplements—without ever asking what was happening in my mind.

Now I know: you can’t heal one without the other.

Your mind and your body are not separate systems.

They are in constant conversation—every thought, every stressor, every emotion sends signals to your gut, your hormones, your immune system.

And yet, so many of us live completely disconnected from both.

We Are Not Textbooks

Most people want a formula:
“Tell me exactly what to eat.”
“Tell me how many reps, how many miles, how many calories.”
“Give me the plan so I don’t have to think.”

But we are not textbooks.
What works for me might not work for you. I could run five miles a day and not lose weight, drink celery juice every morning and still feel bloated—and that doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong.

It means there is more to healing than protocols.

There is you.

Getting to Know Yourself Is the Work

For anyone who knows me, it won’t be shocking that I believe therapy is one of the most transformative tools we have.
I’ve been in psychoanalytic therapy for years, and it has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life.

Therapy taught me something nutrition never could on its own:
My body is mine. My mind is mine. And they are deeply connected.

Getting to know yourself is not easy. It’s messy, contradictory, and humbling—like those teenage years where you wanted independence but not responsibility. You’re pulled in opposite directions.

But the only way forward is to listen.
To your instincts.
To your body.
To the parts of you that are trying to communicate through symptoms.

And yes, you will make mistakes. That’s part of being human. But no one can take your lived experience away from you.

You Don’t Owe Anyone Your Health

I recently read a line that stopped me in my tracks:
“You don’t owe anyone your health.”

For so long, I wanted to change my body to fit in—to be thinner, to be noticed, to look like everyone else.
Then my “why” shifted. I started running for my grandmother, then for my family, and eventually—for me.

I move my body now because it makes me feel strong, powerful, capable, and proud.
Because I want energy to chase my kids.
Because I like how it feels to be in my body, not just judged by it.

Studying the mind for years and then reconnecting with my body felt like coming home.

Healing One Part Heals the Whole

I still have a long way to go. We all do.
But I truly believe this: we are not separate parts stitched together. We are a whole system.

When you heal your gut, you affect your mood.
When you regulate your nervous system, your hormones shift.
When you process emotions, your body softens.

Mind and body—always in dialogue.

So my invitation is this:
Start seeing yourself as a whole.
Listen more. Control less.
Heal with curiosity, not punishment.

Because when you heal one part of you, you heal all of you.

Reintroduction: A Guide

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:38:18 GMT

A pivotal step of the elimination diet.

On a personal level, we think reintroduction is the hardest part of any elimination diet. We’ve done a handful of Whole30s and always struggle with it because when 30 days are up, we are mentally done and exhausted - so trust us we get it, we know you want all the pizza/chips/cheese/pasta after the past 10 days.

Part of the reason we made this Challenge 10 days was because of that. Ten days isn’t that long, and at 10 days, you feel so great, you want to keep going so there’s more incentive to do reintroduction right. And guess what? We’re still here! So you have our full support and can stay accountable.

You’ve eliminated all these food groups, now it’s time to see how your body responds to them, one by one. You definitely don’t have to reintroduce all of them, if you are happy going dairy-free and know it causes issues for you, you can certainly skip it but start with making a list of which foods (not food groups) you want to reintroduce to your diet. Be specific.

We recommend you start with the big ones, the ones that most people are sensitive to, but this is your challenge so you can decide. For most adults in the US, that means dairy, gluten and grains.

How does it work?

To properly identify which foods you’re sensitive to, you have to try each one by one. So, for example, if you want cheese back in your life, you would try that on day 11. You have to stick to the Challenge-approved meals and ONLY add cheese, so no pizza. So, you would have your normal challenge-approved breakfast, lunch and dinner and add some cheese to one or all meals (i.e. add some to your eggs or toss it in your salad).

Then, for the next two days, you go back to being 100% back on the challenge. Here’s where you really need to pay attention, how’s your stomach? Are you bloated? Is your poop normal? How’s your mood? Any acne? We highly suggest you take notes, even on your phone, to keep tabs on anything out of the ordinary.

Feel good? Great, welcome cheese back into your life with open arms! Not so great? Now you know that you are probably sensitive to cheese. This doesn’t mean your can NEVER eat cheese again but every time you do it, it’s causing stress on your body and digestive system and over time, can develop into serious problems so try to limit it and make it really worth it.

This is how reintroduction works. You would then move on to yoghurt, milk, whey, then on to gluten and beans and legumes. We know, this sounds super tedious but it’s one-and-done. You try, you evaluate and then you know and knowledge is power when it comes to your body. Once you know how you react to foods, you can truly know when things are worth it, how to feel your best and that freedom is worth more than any chocolate cake in the world (because you can have that too!).

What if you can’t figure out any effects?

Another really cool test you can do is called the Coca’s pulse test, and while it’s not 100% accurate, it can give you an idea of what foods may trigger some reaction if you aren’t feeling anything obvious in your body. Usually, you should have Nutritional Therapy Consultant (that’s us!) do it for you for best results but you can try it at home. Here’s what you do:

Sit down and relax
Take your pulse for 60 seconds, write it down
Put a pice of the food you want to test in your mouth and leave it there for 15-20 seconds
With the food still in your mouth, re test your pulse for 60 seconds

If your pulse went up 6 beats or more, you probably have an allergic reaction to that food. Pretty cool right?

A note on allergies vs. sensitivities vs. intolerance

Allergies are an immune response in your body. Symptoms include rash, hives, swelling, trouble breathing and can be life-threatening. If you have leaky gut or intestinal permeability, some food may end up on your bloodstream and cause an immune reaction because it’s not meant to be there but that doesn’t necessarily mean your allergic to that particular food - it just means your body is reacting to food particles in places it shouldn’t be.

Sensitivities and intolerances are way more common and are a digestive reaction to food. These cause a digestive response in your body and are not life-threatening. Symptoms include bloating, gas, diarrhea, eczema, etc. and range from mild to severe. When you are intolerant to a food, it means you are not properly breaking it down and digesting it so it causes stress and distress in your digestive tract. You may have lactose intolerance for example, which means you don’t have the right enzymes to process it OR you may be sensitive to a food because your digestive tract isn’t working properly and you can’t break it down.

Remember that knowledge is power, but also remember that your gut microbiome (that’s the bacteria in your gut) changes every 24 hours, so every little piece of healthy that you’ve been putting in your body these past days have radically changed your gut into a powerful machine. And just like the microbiome changes, our sensitivities can change over time as well. If you find out that you are sensitive to beans, for example, it doesn’t mean that you will be sensitive to them your whole life. Sometimes, with a little gut healing (that’s where we come in as health coaches), you can safely incorporate those foods back into your diet.

Another note on reactions, reactions to food can range from physical to emotional to mental, here’s a short list of things to look out for:

bloating
gas
diarrhea
constipation
aches and pains (all over)
fatigue
foggy brain
memory issues
depression
anxiety
acne
eczema
trouble sleeping
feeling groggy

Literally anything can be caused by a reaction to food, that’s why its important to take notes on it about how you feel right now, and how you feel once you start reintroducing, think of it like a before and after picture!