Elimination Diet Food List and Shopping List + PDF

An elimination diet is a short-term test for finding foods that may trigger your symptoms: you leave out suspect foods for a few weeks, then add them back one at a time and track what happens. This list covers the elimination phase, with what to buy and what to leave out.

Shopping list

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Type

Diets for digestive health

How the elimination diet works

An elimination diet has two phases. In the elimination phase you leave out a chosen set of foods and keep a food and symptom diary. Sources give different lengths: the University of Wisconsin’s Osher Center says 2 to 4 weeks and to stop if symptoms haven’t improved by week 4, the VA guide uses 3 weeks, and Cleveland Clinic says 4 to 8 weeks.

In the reintroduction phase you add the removed foods back one at a time. The VA’s rule of 3s has you eat a food at all 3 meals of 1 day, in growing amounts, then wait 3 days before testing the next one. The Wisconsin handout builds up over 3 days instead, from a small portion to a larger one, and wants at least 5 symptom-free days before the first test. If a symptom returns, the food stays out; foods that cause none can come back once every test is done.

This list is for the elimination phase. It follows the moderate plan in the VA guide, which comes from the Institute for Functional Medicine, and it also leaves out what Wisconsin’s moderate plan removes, so it fits both. Plans differ: a simple one removes only dairy, gluten or eggs, and a stricter few-foods version allows just a handful of foods.

Removed foods hide in labels, for example casein and whey (dairy), albumin and lysozyme (egg), hydrolyzed soy protein, and modified food starch, which may contain wheat. Wisconsin’s moderate plan also says to drink at least 2 quarts of water a day.

What can you eat on the elimination diet

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  Lean protein

  Skinless chicken and turkey, lamb, and fish such as salmon, mackerel and halibut are allowed in the VA's moderate plan, and Wisconsin's plan allows lamb, fish or poultry with some caution. Check labels on ground and packaged products for hidden dairy, soy or wheat.

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  Vegetables

  Both plans allow most vegetables, and sweet potatoes are an allowed starch. Corn is out in both, and Wisconsin's plan also removes peas and tomatoes.

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  Fruit

  Most fruit is allowed, such as apples, pears, bananas, blueberries and pineapple. Citrus is sometimes removed in the VA table and is out in Wisconsin's plan along with strawberries, so it is left off.

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  Gluten-free grains

  Rice, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth are gluten-free grains the VA table allows, and oats count only if certified gluten-free. Millet is allowed in the VA table but removed in Wisconsin's plan, so it is left off.

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  Seeds

  Pumpkin, sunflower, chia, flax and hemp seeds are allowed. The VA table also allows nuts other than peanuts, but Wisconsin's plan removes them, so this list sticks to seeds.

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  Healthy fats

  Olive oil and coconut oil are allowed in both plans, and the VA table also allows avocado. Corn, soybean, peanut and generic vegetable oils are removed.

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  Dairy alternatives

  Coconut milk and hemp milk stand in for cow's milk, and the VA table lists both as allowed. Read the label for added soy or other removed ingredients.

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  Beverages

  Water, mineral water and sparkling water are allowed, and the VA table adds unsweetened coconut water. Coffee, tea, alcohol and soft drinks are out in Wisconsin's plan.

Foods to avoid on the elimination diet

During the elimination phase, leave out:

• Dairy. Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, ice cream and whey. On labels, dairy can appear as casein or lactalbumin.
• Eggs. Eggs and foods made with them, such as mayonnaise and meringue. On labels, egg can appear as albumin, ovalbumin or lysozyme.
• Wheat, gluten grains and corn. Wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, triticale and farro are out in the VA plan, so regular bread, pasta and couscous are too. Corn and corn oil are out in both plans, and oats stay only if certified gluten-free.
• Soy and peanuts. Tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, miso and soybean oil, plus peanuts and peanut oil. Hydrolyzed soy or vegetable protein on a label counts as soy.
• Shellfish, beef, pork and processed meats. Both moderate plans leave out beef and pork (Wisconsin's allows only lamb, fish or poultry), and the VA plan also removes shellfish, canned meats, cold cuts and frankfurters.
• Foods the plans disagree on. The moderate plans we cite disagree on nuts, legumes, citrus fruit, strawberries, peas and tomatoes: Wisconsin's removes them, while the VA table mostly allows them. Cleveland Clinic also lists nightshades (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes) among common sensitivities, so this list leaves all of these off.
• Alcohol, coffee, soft drinks and chocolate. Wisconsin's moderate plan removes alcohol, coffee, tea, colas and other soft drinks, chocolate and artificial sweeteners, along with vinegar and other foods that promote yeast.

Downsides to know about

• It is a short-term test, not a way of eating. Cleveland Clinic warns that without proper guidance the diet can leave you short of key nutrients, and the VA guide says the strictest few-foods version usually lasts only 10 to 14 days because it is not nutritionally adequate. The aim is to end up with a plan that removes only the foods that bothered you.
• It works best with a professional. Cleveland Clinic says to do it only with the guidance of a medical professional, because going alone can delay treatment or mask symptoms of conditions such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease. The VA guide also recommends a registered dietitian and warns that elimination diets can worsen or trigger an eating disorder.
• It does not diagnose allergies on its own. Allergies involve the immune system and can be life-threatening. FARE describes the diet as one part of an allergy work-up run by a doctor, alongside skin or blood tests, and the VA guide says foods known to cause anaphylaxis should not be reintroduced.
• The evidence is limited. The VA guide says its list of common trigger foods comes mostly from eosinophilic esophagitis data, which it says may carry over to other conditions, and that placebo-controlled food challenges, not home elimination, remain the gold standard. Many symptoms also come and go on their own, which is why reintroduction matters.