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The ultimate guide to the AIP Reintroduction process – understand when you're ready to reintroduce foods, what foods you can reintroduce and when, and how!
When To Start AIP Reintroductions
One of the most asked questions is “When am I ready to start reintroducing foods while on the AIP Diet?”
The answer?
Usually after at least 30 days and when you're feeling significantly better.
If you've had a large reduction in your symptoms – or if your lab tests show a large reduction in autoimmune antibodies, it may be time to start.
Fear of AIP Reintroductions
A very common problem is that you start feeling significantly better from your symptoms, perhaps better than you've felt in decades, and you don't want to take ANY chances to feel badly again.
At this point you know that the AIP elimination phase foods treat you well but the reintroduction foods are a big unknown!
While this is common, it is something that can keep you extremely restricted and make it harder to have a social life, travel, eat out, etc, so it's best to just rip off the bandaid and try some things!
To help you overcome any fear you may have read, How to Overcome the Fear of AIP Reintroductions.
AIP Reintroduction Stages
Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, the creator of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP Diet), has developed a specific schedule to follow.
This is based on foods that are at first typically well-tolerated after healing and then increasingly become less tolerated and/or more likely to cause leaky gut.
NOTE: It may be tempting to go out of order, it's usually recommended to follow this schedule so that you have the best success.
The following is the latest as of the May 2019 changes to the schedule.
(You can get a free printable of this AIP Reintroduction Stages in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library)
Stage 1
Egg Yolks (not the whites)
Beans/Legumes with Edible Pods: green beans, peas, runner beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, wax beans, bean/legume sprouts
Fruit and Berry-Based Spices: Allspice, Black Pepper, Caraway, Cardamom, Juniper, Peppercorns, Star Anise, Sumac
Seed-based Spices: Anise Seed, Annatto Seed, Black Caraway, Black Cumin, Celery Seed, Coriander Seed, Cumin Seed, Dill Seed, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek, Mustard, Nutmeg, Russian Caraway
Nut and Seeds (oils only): Macadamia, Sesame, Walnut Nuts and Seeds: Chocolate, Cocoa, and Coffee (occasional basis)
Dairy (ideally from grass-fed sources): Ghee
Stage 2
Nuts and seeds: Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews, Chestnuts, Coffee (regular basis), Hazelnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Walnuts, Cacao, Chia, Chocolate, Cocoa, Flax, Hemp Seeds, Pistachios, Poppy, Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame, Sunflower, or any other flavors, flours, butters, oils, and other products derived from them
Egg whites (or whole eggs)
Dairy (ideally from grass-fed sources): Butter and Butter oil
Alcohol (small quantities): Gluten-free beer or hard cider (8 oz or less), Wine (5 oz or less), Fortified Wine (3 oz or less), Liqueur (3 oz or less), Gluten-free Spirits (1 oz or less)
Stage 3
Nightshades (limited): Bell Peppers (aka Sweet Peppers), Eggplant, Paprika, Potatoes (peeled)
Dairy (ideally from grass-fed sources): Buttermilk, Cheese, Cottage Cheese, Cream, Cream Cheese, Curds, Dairy-Protein Isolates, Heavy Cream, Ice Cream, Kefir, Milk, Sour Cream, Whey, Whey-protein Isolate, Whipping Cream, Yogurt
Beans/Legumes: Split Peas, Lentils, Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas). Note: Beans may be more tolerated if soaked and fermented.
Stage 4
Nightshades or spices derived from nightshades: Ashwagandha, Cayenne Peppers, Cape Gooseberries, Chili Peppers, Chili-based Spices, Garden Huckleberries, Goji Berries, Ground Cherries, Hot Peppers, Naranjillas, Pepinos, Pimentos, Potatoes (unpeeled), Tamarillos, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Wolfberries
Gluten-free Grains, Psuedo-grains, and other grain-like substances: Aramanth, Buckwheat, Corn, Fonio, Job's Tears, Kamut, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Spelt, Teff, Wild Rice (grains may be tolerated more when soaked and fermented)
Legumes and Beans: Adzuki Beans, Black Beans, Black-eyed Peas, Broad Beans, Butter Beans, Calico Beans, Cannellini Beans, Fava Beans, Great Northern Beans, Italian Beans, Kidney Beans, Lima Beans, Mung Beans, Navy Beans, Pinto Beans, Peanuts, Note: Legumes may be tolerated more when soaked and fermented
Alcohol (moderate quantities): Gluten-free Beer or Hard Cider, Wine, Fortified Wine, Liqueur, Gluten-free Spirits
The AIP Reintroduction Process
To start reintroductions, you pick a food from Stage 1.
Eat a small nibble of the food. If you are reintroducing a spice or powder, dip your finger into it to get a small amount and then lick off of your finger.
Wait 15 minutes.
If you have any reactions STOP and read the instructions below. If there are NO reactions, eat a larger bite of the food or 2 dips of your finger into the spice.
Wait 15 minutes.
If you have any reactions STOP and read the instructions on the next sheet. If there are NO reactions, eat an even larger bite of the food or 3 dips of your finger into the spice.
Wait 2-3 hours.
If there are NO reactions, eat a normal portion of the food and wait 3-7 days. Do not reintroduce any other new foods and do not eat this food again during that period.
If you have NO reactions after 3-7 days, you can bring that food back into your diet and then repeat the process with a new food.
Note: I typically recommend that you wait AT LEAST 7 days in between foods for Stage 4 foods, if not even longer, as sometimes these take longer to reveal any issues.
If You Have ANY Reactions
If you have any reactions at all, stop and do NOT include this food back in your diet at this time.
Wait at least 7 days until you feel as you did before you tried to introduce this food.
Depending on the severity of your reaction you may want to go back to the elimination portion of the diet until you feel better.
This could potentially take a long time if you had a particularly strong negative reaction.
If it was just a minor reaction though, it's typically ok to continue eating the foods up to where you last left off (prior to this food you had a reaction to).
Example: If you had reintroduced all Stage 1 foods and almonds from Stage 2 successfully, but then had issues with reintroducing egg whites, go back to eating all Stage 1 foods + almonds.
In either case, it's extremely important to wait until you feel better before you continue so you can determine if you react to the next food or not.
Skip this food when you restart and if you are able to move onto the next phase.
If there is another food from this same food group, skip that as well. For example, if you had a reaction to ghee in Stage 1, do not try to reintroduce butter in Stage 2.
If You Aren't Sure If You've Had A Reaction
One common problem is not being sure if you reacted!
If this happens, make sure you note it in your journal and make the decision whether to include it into your diet or not.
However, if you do include it, keep a watchful eye out for that symptom(s) again.
If it continues to happen and/or gets worse, go back to the reintroduction point before that food and wait until you don't feel that symptom anymore.
Then skip over that food and continue onto the next reintroduction.
If you aren't sure you had a reaction, it may be helpful to wait a bit longer and maybe having it at least one more time before reintroducing a new food.
Intolerance May Not Be Forever
Do not lose hope if you react to a food.
A reaction just means you cannot tolerate it at this moment.
It's possible with more healing that you may be able to successfully reintroduce it.
For example, when I first did AIP I could not eat paprika without getting mildly depressed for days after. This happened for almost a full year before I was able to eat it without any reactions.
My advice is to wait at least a few weeks before re-trying a failed food though. (and a few months for a larger reaction)
Sometimes though you may not want to reintroduce a food after a particularly strong reaction and that's totally fine.
Common Reactions
These are some of the most common food reactions you may experience while reintroducing foods on the AIP Diet.
Digestive:
Bloating
Burping
Constipation
Diarrhea
Gas
Heartburn
Nausea
Stomach Pain
Undigested Food in Stool
Fatigue
Low Energy Levels
Afternoon energy dips
Sleep:
Trouble falling asleep
Trouble staying asleep
Waking up throughout the night
Not feeling rested after sleep
Pain*
Joint
Muscle
Tendon
Ligament
*common with nightshade reintros
Skin:
Flushing Rashes Hives Itchiness Acne Breakouts
Mood:
Anger
Anxiety
Depression
Irritability
Low-Stress Tolerance
Tearfulness
Rage
Miscellaneous:
Dizziness
Coughing
Headache
Itchy Eyes, Mouth, or Ears
Lightheadedness
Phlegm, runny nose, postnasal drip
Racing Pulse
Sneezing
Return of Autoimmune Symptoms (or worsening)
Additional Things to Note with the AIP Reintroduction Process
The following are some additional things you should keep in mind or do while following the AIP Reintroduction Process for the most success.
Keep a Journal
It's best to keep a journal throughout this process.
This way you can write down any foods you are eating and reintroducing, anything else out of the ordinary (less sleep, more stress, more exercise, etc) and the symptoms you might be experiencing.
This comes in handy with a lot of the more subtle symptoms or ones that don't necessarily show up for a few days.
I've got a printable journal you can purchase and print yourself, or you can buy my pre-printed one off of Amazon).
Stage 4 Reintroduction Reactions May Take a While To Show Up
Some reactions to Stage 4 foods in particular may take a long time to really show up.
For example, if a few weeks after reintroducing some grains you have a flare-up of your symptoms, try removing the Stage 4 foods for at least a week.
See if you feel better. If not, you might have to go back to the elimination phase for a bit if you really feel poorly.
And then if you try reintroducing the grains again, go very slowly on the reintros, perhaps only one new grain a month.
I often tell my clients to take at LEAST a week to try out each Stage 4 food, if not even longer.
There Often May Be Certain Amounts You Tolerate
You also may have to play around with the amount and frequency of eating these foods if you want to include them in your diet on an on-going basis.
Sometimes you may be able to tolerate eating something every day with no issues, and sometimes it may only be tolerable if you eat it a few times in a month.
My Own Personal Example
For example, I noticed I didn't have any immediate reactions if I ate oats. Yet if I had them a lot in a month I'd start to feel my Hashimoto's symptoms creeping back.
So I played around with the frequency over the following months until I didn't notice any issues.
Now I know not to eat them more than 5-6 times in a month.
Frequently Asked Questions About the AIP Reintroduction Process
What if I have severe or anaphylactic allergies to something, should I try to reintroduce it?
Do not attempt to reintroduce anything that you might have a severe or anaphylactic allergy to.
The reason you react to these is different than the reason you react to foods due to a leaky gut and unfortunately, this reason will not go away.
What if I had to eliminate other foods beyond the normal AIP ones?
If you had to eliminate some additional foods during the elimination phase, like high-FODMAP foods or an elimination-compliant food you were having reactions to, try reintroducing those first before moving onto Stage 1 foods.
However, if you had eliminated high-FODMAP foods and still react once you reintroduce them, you might want to get in contact with your healthcare provider and see if anything else is going on (like SIBO – diet alone will not heal SIBO).
Is there such thing as an occasional tolerance to a food?
Sometimes you may tolerate a food on an occasional basis but not on a regular basis.
This should be easier to determine when you journal, but it may require a bit of experimentation and trial and error.
For example, I seem to do ok with chickpeas (garbanzo beans) a few times a month but more than that I start to get reactions. Also see my oats example above.
What if I don't want to reintroduce a particular food?
There may be several foods you might not WANT to reintroduce, and that's ok.
This often happens with stage 4 foods, particularly some of the grains, legumes and dairy, especially if you've reacted to these foods in the past.
This is a totally individual process and do what works for you.
How long does the AIP Reintroduction process take?
This is highly individual, depending on how well you tolerate the foods you reintroduce, but at the very least it will most likely take a few months.
Do I have to reintroduce EVERY spice before moving onto the next stage?
Unless you have a reaction to any of the spices, I usually say trying out 3-4 spices individually from each category seems to be sufficient, though you may want to separate out and do each of the nightshade-based spices individually as those tend to cause more issues with people.
Again, keeping a journal of what you've eaten will help you determine the cause if you suddenly have reactions.
Printable AIP Reintroduction Stages Guide
Remember, you can get a free printable PDF showing which stage and food to reintroduce during AIP in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library (under the AIP Diet section).
Related Posts You Might Like
The ULTIMATE Guide to the AIP Diet – Everything You Need to Know to be Successful
AIP Food List – Remind yourself what you can and cannot have on the elimination part of AIP
How to Overcome the Fear of AIP Reintroductions – I linked to it above, but here it is again. Don't be scared!
AIP Chai Latte – enjoy a delicious beverage while figuring all this out 🙂
Hi there Michele,
There seems to be no mention of reintroducing soy products in any place I’ve looked thus far. With gluten, there is the asterisks that it is mostly not tolerated well and therefore not included in the reintroduction guidelines, but I have not found any such information about soy. Would edamame fall into the Legumes with Non Edible pods, and soy product into Other Legumes (Best Soaked and Fermented)? Or is this another category of “not generally well tolerated, go at your own risk” like with wheat gluten?
Thank you for your time and information, your resources have been exceptionally helpful.
That’s a great question – I probably should specify that in the post. If you’ve noticed issues with soy prior to AIP or have peanut intolerance/allergies, I recommend waiting until well into Stage 4 as they can cross-react. Some people do notice hormonal changes from soy as well (especially if you tend to eat a lot), so that’s another case for keeping it until later, like a Stage 4 full month reintroduction and seeing if it affects you in that way. But if you never noticed specific symptoms to soy prior to AIP then I’d say edamame is a good candidate to reintroduce as an edible pod Stage 2 reintro and the other soy products like tofu as “Other Legumes.” Soy lecithin and soy protein are more of the more problematic things since they’re in so many products, so I’d recommend reintroducing those as a Stage 4 month-long one if possible (like eat as much of them as you want throughout the month without any other reintroductions and see if you have any issues cropping up – hormonal or otherwise). It may be that you’ll find it’s ok a few times a month in very small quantities but not good at all if you eat it constantly. Either way I’d say it’s probably safer to keep it as an occasional food rather than an everyday one.
What stage would nut milks be reintroduced (almond, cashew, macadamia, pili nut)? I know nuts are stage 2 but would nut milk be also?
Yep, stage 2 is really where all the nut products are reintroduced (except for a few oils in stage 1). Some people like to try nut milk first, then the nuts themselves, just because there is less “nut” in the milk (if that makes sense – it’s just the nut “flavored” water).
Hi Michele,
I’m doing the reintroductions and I was wondering if seed based spices, seed oils, and occasional coffee (also a seed) can be reintroduced the same day since they all come from seeds and are all in phase 1. Or do I have to individually do these? Admittedly I’m trying to speed up these few reintroductions just a little bit so I can get some additional foods back in my diet, but of course I don’t want to jeopardize the process.
I will say that I have introduced 3 items so far: egg yolks (which seem to be a no), nuts (I thought these were phase 1 — oops! — but I didn’t react to them) and fruit/berry based seasonings (so far so good). Also, in case it helps to know this, I have Hashimoto’s but am in the very early stage of it so my symptoms were minimal before I started this anyways (no change in hormone levels, just antibodies – which did drop by almost half after doing Dr. Izabella Wentz’s protocol – AIP + supplements).
Thank you!
I wouldn’t do them all at once just because it would be very difficult to figure out what the problem was if you did react to them – or if it was not just a reaction to one and the fact you had so much at once. But you usually don’t need to do more than a few from each category, so I’d probably do coffee as one, then pick the oil or spice of one seed and try it out, and then the oil or spice of another seed. If all of those are good then you’re probably ok to try more at once at that point. But if you do eventually get through those first few and then try a day where you have several seed oils and/or seed spices on the same day, make sure not to reintroduce anything else for at least 72 hours. So just treat that day as another reintro, just in case you do wind up reacting to one of them – it’ll make it easier to know it was one of those bulk-reintroduced spices or oils rather than anything else you tried.
Hi! Love your blog. I am going to start my reintroduction phase in early June (hopefully), and I had a question about the reintroduction phase.
For the stages there are different groups of foods, do I have to try all the foods in each group? For instance in Stage 1 Fruit & Berry-Based Spices, would I have to try all the spices listed, or is 1 sufficient to make a determinant for that group of foods?
Thank you!
You don’t need to try all of them – it really comes down to your comfort level. Some people do try all because they really want to be sure not to miss a reaction to one, but others only do a few. I do recommend doing at least 2-3 in each category though, just to be on the safe side. And then when it comes to the later stage ones, like the nightshade-based spices, I’d test out each of them individually, just because they can be more problematic.
Hello! I am on the AIP diet for about 20 days. I think one of the things to look for before starting reintroductions is that your BMs should ‘normalize’. However I don’t know if that will ever happen for me. For one, it seems like my digestive system doesn’t love meat and oils which are some of the only things I can eat on this diet. Secondly and more certain, I have cysts that cause some sort of structural blockage to my GI tract I think, so this causes things to never seem ‘normal’. Just not sure if I will be able to wait for that signal point to start reintroductions.
Have you addressed low stomach acid? It’s extremely common and is usually one of the main reasons people have gas, bloating, nausea, and loose stools from eating meat and fats. You can take digestive enzymes or sometimes people do well with Betaine HCL Pepsin (it’s basically stomach acid – but I’d word with a practitioner on that) but this article has some gentler ways to start: https://www.parsleyhealth.com/blog/low-stomach-acid-symptoms-treatment/ and this one is more about the symptoms but might give you some better understanding: https://healthygut.com/articles/hypochlorhydria-3-common-signs-of-low-stomach-acid/
So I’d see if addressing that with some gentle things first would help for a few weeks. If it doesn’t then consider what you have now as your “baseline” aka “normal” and go from there. Look for OTHER symptoms as you reintroduce foods that aren’t usually there. But don’t do the stomach acid thing and reintroduce foods at the same time since that’ll just confuse everything.
Hi there!
I’m slowly adding in foods after being on AIP for about 8 months now. I have a question about cheese though… there are so many different types of cheese. Do I have to treat each kind of cheese as something completely separate to try? Or do I separate them out based on milk type (cows milk, goats milk, raw milk, etc)? I’m just trying to find the most efficient way to reintroduce… and do you have any suggestions for what is usually easiest to introduce after doing ghee and butter?
That’s a great question and it really kind of depends on you and your risk tolerance. I do recommend at the very least separating out the milk types, starting off with a typically more tolerated type like goat’s or sheep’s milk cheese and then moving towards cow’s if you want to include all of these in your diet. Also try to get the highest quality, like pastured grass-fed over cheap, factory-farmed cow’s milk cheeses. As for each type of cow’s milk, it’s a good idea if you can try to do each one separately, or at least the ones that have different “qualities” to them, like cheddar for example is far different from blue cheese. I recommend parmesan though as a good first one as it’s lower in lactose. If you don’t tolerate that, chances are you won’t tolerate ones higher in lactose/casein. Good luck! I’ll be jealous if they all work for you as they don’t for me, wah wah, haha.
Hi Michele,
I am new to AIP (about 2 weeks in) and I’m wondering if I should stick with it. I haven’t had normal digestion since I started and I haven’t noticed any improvement in symptoms. I am also thinking that this may not be the best time for me to do this either. I am getting married the end of May and, based on the amount of time it takes for reintros, I don’t know if I will be done in time for my wedding and honeymoon. Additionally, my autoimmune disorder causes boils in my armpits and groin, and I wonder if the reintro stage is just going to put me way worse off when I get married than if I hadn’t done the diet at all. Do you have any advice? Should I just package up all the AIP approved foods I bought and save them for after I get married?
There could be a bunch of reasons why your digestion isn’t normal, and 2 weeks isn’t a ton of time to notice a difference in symptoms – however – if you’re worried about your wedding in May and the reintros, now may not be the best time to do it as it seems like it might stress you out. And stress can be just as detrimental as food that you can’t tolerate. Could you maybe take a gentler, easier approach for now, like not go Standard American Diet but maybe try strict Paleo for at least 30 days? Since you’ve already put the 2 weeks of AIP in, you’re already 2 weeks into healing your gut so you have that going for you. But Paleo may seem easier. Whatever you do, I’d try to stay gluten-free for sure as gluten and autoimmune diseases are so closely linked.
But a few things for digestion – I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with you but many times the increase in veggies/fiber can cause issues so I recommend drinking like a peppermint or ginger tea after meals which can help with digestion and also perhaps looking into some digestive enzymes to also help or drinking water with lemon juice in it before and during meals. Good luck and congrats on the upcoming wedding!
Michele,
Thank you for this guide and advice! I am hoping to get more clarification between the difference and type of chocolate and cocoa! Is it dark chocolate or milk chocolate, is there a percentage to start with? Am I still hindered to the fact that I haven’t reintroduced dairy? (Stage 1)
Thank you!
Kat
Sorry for the delay – but so cocoa is just the powder with no other additives, and if you do chocolate I’d definitely start with the higher dark chocolate percentage (like 85%) and stay away from milk chocolate until you’ve reintroduced dairy. Milk chocolate also tends to have soy or other additives as well, so just better to find as clean a bar as possible and just see how you do with that. But I’d try cocoa/cacao powder first as you can then control any other ingredients that go with it.
I thought this was good information until I got to the part where it stated that Sarah Ballantine developed the autoimmune protocol. This is not true. It was first developed by Dr. Loren Cordain and then refined by Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution – The Original Human Diet). This is a simple thing to fact check.
While Dr. Cordain and Robb may have originally created it over a decade ago, there have many versions created since, kind of like branches on a tree. The most popular and accepted version though is the one by Dr. Ballantyne as she’s done a ton of research specifically on the subject and therefore it’s the one I talk about here! 🙂
Hi Michele! Thank you for providing such helpful resources for those of us on AIP. I’ve loved many of your recipes! I do have some questions about on-going symptoms and deciding when it’s time to reintroduce. I should start by saying that I do not have an autoimmune disease (at least that I know of — and from what I’ve read, they can be quite debilitating), but I came to AIP in order to help my dysbiosis. I have been working with a nutritional therapist for the past 1.5+months with a detailed supplement protocol to help get my GI symptoms under control and I had opted to do AIP instead of MRT food sensitivity testing (I wasn’t sure how accurate it is… seems to be hit and miss for people). That said, my GI symptoms have gotten immensely better (yay!), but some of my other symptoms are still very present (runny nose, post-nasal drip, body acne, dark circles under my eyes). I started testing Stage I foods because I was feeling better GI-wise and have felt fine adding them in (except for coffee… it gives me a lump in my throat every so often but not every time I’ve tried it). In your experience, should I have stuck it out (or should I revert back to the elimination phase) until my other symptoms subsided or could they be related to other issues (I.e., adrenal fatigue/stress, potential hormone imbalances, insufficient detox pathways)? I was torn because like I said, GI-wise, I’m feeling awesome, but then I see so many of the symptoms that I have are also listed in those that may give someone a reaction. How do we know if it’s food-related vs. another system needing extra help and healing from other food-based supplements? Where do we draw the line, or is it too blurry? Thank you very much for your input. I’m super happy with my GI system, but then really discouraged by the other symptoms I still have, so I’m doing my best to try to figure this out along with the help of my nutritional therapist.
This one is always a hard situation to decipher, especially since I don’t know the rest of your history. I think 1.5 months may have been quick before reintros for you just because many of those symptoms still sound like you have leaky gut, which would be helped by a bit more time without exacerbation by foods you may not yet be tolerant to. That being said, if you didn’t notice any symptoms within 72-ish hours after eating the Stage 1 foods, then they’re probably safe to keep in. However, I probably would stay there for another few weeks if possible just to give your body a little more time to heal so that it’s easier to decipher symptoms/reactions in the next few stages. I just say this as I feel the stages get progressively harder to both tolerate but also sometimes to notice symptoms as easily. It’s not that you won’t continue to heal your gut as you go either, but to give yourself the best chance of really knowing what’s affecting you or not, it’s probably best to hit pause for at least 2-4 weeks. And as your GI symptoms keep getting better your body won’t be spending as much time dealing with those, and will be able to concentrate on healing even more.
I completely understand where you’re coming from and you make very valid points, especially in regard to healing my gut more so that energy can be devoted elsewhere for healing other systems when my gut junctions are in better condition. Thank you very much for you insight, you’ve confirmed my thoughts, even though I’m SO looking forward to adding more foods into my diet again! Patience has always been challenging for me, and I’m finding it to be EXTRA good practice in doing AIP. 😉 I’ll continue trying out as many foods as I can on AIP to keep things semi-interesting and flavorful, thanks again for the amazing recipes you provide in addition to your resources… and, of course, your sweet spirit and gracious time! 🙂 Take care!
Hi Michele, I recently came across your blog and love the abundant info! I’m doing the reintros now and wanted to know how I can be certain if I’m reacting to a reintroduced food or another food I’ve been eating? Example. Today I had cauliflower but had some bloating and general digestion issues. I had reintroduced wine a few days ago With no symptoms (today is day 3 of wine intro). How can I know if this is related to the wine or it’s just a general symptom that everyone tends to get with veggies like cauliflower once in awhile?
Eh, it’s always hard to be completely certain about things like that – especially since alcohol sometimes can trigger the gut bacteria that feeds on sugars in your body to proliferate again. But like you said, cauliflower also can cause that gas and bloating sometimes. My suggestion would be to take wine back out for another month, then try it again and see if it happens again. Definitely wait at least 72 hours (and maybe a full week) after reintroducing it and see if you get the same response. It may not be the wine specifically but the alcohol. I notice I get bloated and gassy after alcohol so it’s not uncommon. (I do drink every so often, but a lot less than I used to as a result – like one cider or glass of wine every few months kind of thing)
Great! Thanks. But since I tend to react to cauliflower even though it’s Paleo and AIP-friendly, should that be taken out? Or it’s OK to have some gas/digestion issues here and there or if we react like that to even AIP foods, we should take them out of our diet?
If it’s just causing some gas and bloating it may be a normal cauliflower thing that happens periodically but if it happens EVERY time you may want to remove it for a while. Also, if it’s causing you to have problems discerning whether a food is giving you a reaction during reintro just like the wine issue, then it also might be a good idea to remove it for a while – or at least the 3-4 days that you’re reintroducing a food. That way there will be no question “Is it the new food or is it the cauliflower?”. I sometimes get gassy after cauliflower too, so I understand the dilemma!
Hi michelle, I was wondering, in each stage are we supposed to introduce them in the order written or can we pick and choose what to try first from stage 1 (start with seed based spices, for example and then move on to egg yolks)
You can choose whatever order you want within each stage. Yay for choices, haha!