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What Is a Rotation Diet?

A rotation diet is a method used to help prevent allergic type symptoms that may arise when you eat foods that your body may be sensitive to. It can also help to avoid the development of new food allergies. If a person rotates food families every four days, this allows the body to lower antibody levels that may cause unwanted symptoms. A rotation diet may be beneficial to people suffering from asthma, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and otitis media.

  1. The Facts

    • Doctors can perform food allergy testing providing the patient a list of foods to avoid and/or eat sparingly according to the results. If an allergy is severe enough to cause anaphylaxis, this food must be avoided completely. The rotation diet is a technique used to evaluate which foods a body is sensitive to and cause symptoms. Gradually begin to rotate proteins, such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy. Then choose another food category, such as vegetables or fruits. Grains do cause allergies, so these definitely need to be rotated. No one food is repeated until day five in a four-day rotation diet. For example, if beef is eaten on Monday, it cannot be eaten again until Friday. This is a healthy diet to follow, as the body has time to detoxify any antigens that some foods may produce in individuals before it is consumed again.

    Food Families

    • Research food families, as nature has many surprises. For example, white potatoes and sweet potatoes are not related. On the other hand, carrots and celery are related. In order to plan your weekly menu, it is necessary to find a chart that explains which foods are related so you do not eat two of the same foods in one given day.

    Considerations

    • Stick to primary foods, such as fish, meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables, and keep them as close to their natural state as possible. Avoid combination foods, such as packaged foods, mixes and sauces. Eat as many organic and preservative-free foods as possible.

      When making your menu, it's best to select a minimum number of foods for each meal and fill up on them, rather than choosing too many. For example, choosing a meat, potato and vegetable would be a good option for one meal's entree. Consume foods from only one family in each category per day. For example, Monday may be beef, apples, spinach and oats, whereas Tuesday may be chicken, pears, corn and wheat. Also, rotate spices, beverages and oils, as ingredients can also relate to food families.

    Keep Notes

    • It is necessary to keep a diary noting which foods have been eaten and if any symptoms appear. Some symptoms are immediate and others are delayed, showing up hours to even days later. Keep menus so they can be repeated the following week. Gradually add new foods when the previous foods have not caused any health problems.

    Effects

    • This diet and diary are valuable tools in both the diagnosis and treatment of food sensitivities. Take these papers to your doctor for further information and guidance.

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